MIA vs SEA Highlights, Major League Soccer: Messi scores and assists as Inter Miami beats Seattle Sounders

And that is the last major action of the match as the referee blows the whistle for full time. A goal and assist for Lionel Messi as Inter Miami moves up to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Seattle is all in at the moment as the Inter Miami players put their bodies on the line to stop their opponents from having a clear sight at goal.

Five minutes of added time to play in the match.

Seattle needs to get one back now if it needs at least a point from this game. Minoungou gets the ball on the left side of the box and passes it into the middle. Musovski gets a touch on it but Ustari makes a routine save to keep the two-goal lead intact.

Seattle Sounders: Ferreira is replaced by Musovski.

Silvetti is now booked, two minutes after he came on, for a bad challenge.

Inter Miami: Allende is replaced by Silvetti.

Jordi Alba is shown a yellow card for trying to waste time by kicking the ball away while play was stopped.

Seattle gives away the ball cheaply, and Alba once again finds Messi, this time on the edge of the box. The Argentine holds off a defender and makes his way into the box before taking a shot.

Frei comes out and make a great save to keep his side in the game.

The momentum is completely with Seattle at the moment as Inter Miami tries to slow things down, passing the ball around the back whenever possible, trying to tick away precious seconds.

VARGAS SCORES! Morris is played through into the right side of the box by Rusnak. The substitute cuts back a pass to Vargas in the middle, where he finishes first time to get one back. 

Inter Miami: Fray is replaced by Weigandt.

Ferreira plays a cross into the penalty area from the right. Ustari comes off his line to try and punch it, but ends up missing. Minoungou tries to take a shot withe keeper off his line but send his attempt sailing into the stands.

Looks like the home side is happy with its lead as the players are sitting deep in their own half with Seattle enjoying more possession of the ball. 

Seattle Sounders: Roldan and Rosario are replaced by Morris and Brunell

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WATCH: Lionel Messi scores Inter Miami’s second goal against Seattle Sounders

Watch Lionel Messi’s goal for Inter Miami during the Major League Soccer match against Seattle Sounders.

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Minoungou is played through on the left wing. He drives to the box and passes it to the middle where Rosario’s first time shot rattles the left post before going out for a goal kick.

FRAY SCORES!

Miami makes full use of the extra man advantage as De Paul whips in a corner from the left. Fray is wide open in the box and easily nods the ball into the goal to make it three.

Play resumes as Kim is taken to the sidelines to have his hand wrapped. Seattle is playing with 10 men for now. 

Play is stopped as Seattle’s Kim is on the ground after Noah Allen accidentally stepped on his left hand. He is receiving treatment on the pitch.

Seattle kicks off the second half, shooting from right to left.

Seattle Sounders: Rothrock and Yelmar Gomez are replaced by Rusnak and Ragen.

And that is the last major action of the half as the referee blows the whistle for half-time.

Noah Allen fails to clear away the ball properly, and Rothrock wins it away from him. The Seattle player goes through on goal and takes a shot from close range. Ustari does well to stand his ground and make a decent save.

Two minutes of added time to play in the first half.

MESSI SCORES! Jordi Alba returns the favour!

Once again, Seattle gives away the ball. This time, it comes to Abla on the left, who looks up and sees Messi’s run into the box. He plays an inch-perfect low cross into the area where Messi slides and stretches to poke the ball past the opposition goalkeeper.

Seattle is having a good spell of possession at the moment but can’t seem to find a way past the Inter Miami defence.

Messi stands over a corner kick on the right and goes for goal himself. However, goalkeeper Frei keeps his eye on the ball and catches it easily in the air.

At the other end, Ferreira takes a shot from outside the box which ends up going well wide of the left post.

A ball over the top is played to Messi, who makes a run into the box. He has a lot of time and cuts away from two defenders to his right before poking at the ball with his left leg. The ball rolls and strikes the left post before being cleared away.

What a chance to double the lead. 

Rienzi plays a good-looking through ball to Rosario out front. Miami’s goalkeeper Ustari does well to anticipate the pass and come way off his line to sweep the ball away. 

Seattle’s Ferriera gets the ball outside the box and lashes his right boot at it. The shot had a lot of power, but ends up going straight into Ustari’s hands.

Fray is on the floor now after suffering a high boot challenge from Minoungou. The Seattle player is lucky to get away without a card there.

Seattle gets a freekick deep in its own half after Allende commits a foul.

Messi is on the ball again, this time just outside the box. He lays it off to Fray on the right, and he takes a shot which goes straight at the goalkeeper.

Inter Miami has already done better than what it could manage when the two sides met in the leagues cup final earlier this month. 

JORDI ALBA SCORES!! Seattle’s Roldan gives away the ball in the middle of the pitch, and it falls to Messi, who charges towardsthe goal. He finds Alba wide open on the left and the Spaniard takes a touch into the box before smashing the ball into the back of the net.

Inter Miami gets a freekick in its own half after Minoungou fouls Fray.

It is a very pacy start to the game with both teams showing their intention to try and score first.

A corner is played in from the right by Messi. However, the opposition defence had it covered and cleared the ball away easily.

A good spell of passes from Inter Miami helps it play out the ball from its own half. However, it was all to waste as Alba cheaply give the ball away to the opposition.

Miami is on the attack straight away, with Allende taking a shot from outside the box. The opoosition goalkeeper has an easy save to make in the end.

Inter Miami kicks off the match shooting from right to left.

Inter Miami will host Seattle Sounders in a very anticipated rematch of the Leagues Cup final, which could have major ramifications on each team’s MLS playoff seeding.

Inter Miami fell 3-0 to FC Charlotte on Saturday with talisman Lionel Messi missing a penalty, and slipped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference while Seattle sits in fourth place in the Western Conference.

The last time the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami faced each other, things got ugly. A postgame scuffle in the Leagues Cup championship match August 31 led to sanctions on both teams from both the tournament and Major League Soccer, most notably a three-game MLS suspension for Inter Miami superstar Luis Suarez.

Seattle pulled away from Miami in the second half that night at home to win 3-0 and secure its first Leagues Cup title. Suarez was suspended for spitting on a member of the Sounders’ staff and will be serving the second match of his league sanction Tuesday.

The Inter Miami vs Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer match will not be telecast anywhere in India. The match will be livestreamed on the AppleTV app and website.

Ustari (gk), Fray, Lujan, Falcon, Allen, De Paul, Busquets, Bright, Allende, Messi, Alba

Frei (gk), Kossa-Rienzi, Kim, Gomez, Tolo, Roldan, Vargas, Rothrock, Ferreira, Minoungou, , Rosario

Inter Miami: Ustari (gk) Weigandt, Lujan, Falcon, Allen, De Paul, Bright, Busquets, Segovia, Allende, Messi

Seattle Sounders: Frei (gk), A. Roldan, Yeimar, Ragen, Tolo, Vargas, C. Roldan, Ferreira, Rusnak, Morris, Musovski

Welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of the Inter Miami vs Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer match being played at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.