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Messi double propels Miami in 4-0 MLS win over NYCFC | The Express Tribune

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Messi double propels Miami in 4-0 MLS win over NYCFC | The Express Tribune



NEW YORK:

Lionel Messi scored two goals and assisted on another as Inter Miami thumped New York City FC 4-0 on Wednesday to clinch an MLS Cup playoff berth.

Another classic performance from Messi propelled the Argentine superstar to the solo lead on Major League Soccer’s scoring list, taking him to 24 goals in 23 matches played — two more than LAFC’s Denis Bouanga.

Luis Suarez converted a penalty for Inter as he returned from a three-game ban for spitting on a Seattle staff member after Inter’s loss to the Sounders in the Leagues Cup final.

Baltazar Rodriguez also scored for Miami as they secured a playoff spot in convincing style.

Inter were clinging to a 1-0 lead at rainy City Field — home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets — when Messi delivered a vintage goal in the 74th minute.

Put through by Sergio Busquets, Messi powered into the box, eluding one defender and neatly chipping a shot over Matt Freese as the New York goalkeeper dived at his feet.

After Suarez made it 3-0 from the spot, Messi struck again in the 86th with a precise angled shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner.

Inter were being outplayed early on in the awkward confines of the converted baseball field, but they seized the lead in the 43rd minute through Rodriguez.

Bousqets fed Messi, whose crisp through ball found the charging Rodriguez. The 22-year-old Argentine raced into the box and confidently slotted a low ball past Freese.

Until then the best chances belonged to New York.

Thiago Martins forced a save from Oscar Ustari with a header in the 21st minute.

One minute later NYCFC were denied again when Aiden O’Neill’s long-range shot was blocked and in the 29th minute Nicolas Fernandez hit the right post.

Ten minutes on Freese denied Messi, but eventually Miami made New York pay for their inability to finish.

Miami are in third place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind East leaders Philadelphia with two games in hand and still in with a chance to claim the Supporters’ Shield awarded to the team with the best overall regular-season record.

Messi, who will play the MLS Cup Playoffs for the second time, has three consecutive matches with at least one goal and one assist and has stamped himself a candidate for the 2025 Most Valuable Player award.



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2026 Winter Olympics: Live updates from Milan Cortina

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2026 Winter Olympics: Live updates from Milan Cortina


The second Sunday of the 2026 Winter Olympics is a busy one for fans of Team USA.

Mikaela Shiffrin skis in the giant slalom — the race she won at the 2018 Olympics, and her second shot at a medal in Milan Cortina. It’s also the race where she suffered a severe injury with a puncture wound in 2024. Shiffrin has had to deal with PTSD from the crash, and competing again in Olympic giant slalom is part of her comeback. Speedskater Erin Jackson will attempt to defend her Olympic gold in the 500 meters. Pairs figure skating begins, with Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea the top American pair. They had clutch performances to help the U.S. win gold in the team event and have an outside chance of a medal. And U.S. men’s hockey will be back in action against Germany.

Key events (all times ET)

  • 4:00 a.m. — Women’s giant slalom

  • 11:03 a.m. — Women’s 500m speedskating

  • 1:45 p.m. — Pairs figure skating

  • 3:10 p.m. — Men’s hockey (USA vs. Germany)

MORE: Medal tracker | Full schedule of events | Olympics 101

Here’s a live look at the top moments from Sunday’s events.




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The biggest sporting event in Milan on Saturday wasn’t the Olympics

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With a global sporting spectacle going on nearby, locals in Milan flooded San Siro to witness a riveting Derby d’Italia between Inter Milan and Juventus.



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Olympic hockey fans raise Greenland’s flag during USA’s dominant win over Denmark, sparking viral reaction

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Olympic hockey fans raise Greenland’s flag during USA’s dominant win over Denmark, sparking viral reaction


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During Team USA’s comeback men’s hockey win over Denmark at the Winter Olympics, two fans raised the flag of Greenland in the stands to protest President Donald Trump’s intent to acquire Greenland for the U.S. 

The flag was raised enthusiastically after Denmark took an early lead. However, the U.S. came back to win the game 6-3. 

Vita Kalniņa and her husband Alexander Kalniņš, fans of the Latvian hockey team who live in Germany, held up a large Greenland flag during warmups and again when the Danish team scored the opening goal of the preliminary round game against the U.S., which ultimately beat Denmark 6-3.

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The United States’ Brady Tkachuk, right, challenges Denmark’s Oliver Bjorkstrand during a preliminary round match of men’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

“We are Europeans, and I think as Europeans we must hold together,” Kalniņš told The Associated Press.

“The Greenlandic people decide what will happen with Greenland, but, as it is now, Greenland is a part of the Danish kingdom and, as Greenland is a part of Denmark, as in this case, we support both countries against the U.S.”

A Danish fan at the game, Dennis Petersen, said, “It doesn’t matter whatever sport it is — it could be tennis, it could be bobsledding, it can be ice hockey, it could be football — it has nothing to do with politics. … They are athletes, not politicians.”

Read More About The 2026 Winter Olympics

An American fan at the game, Rem de Rohan, said, “I think this is the time for people to kind of put that down and compete country versus country and enjoy,” he said. “We love rooting on every country that’s been here.”

Fans on social media had their own reactions to the flag display and the result of the game. 

“Now that the USA is up 4-2 could we place a wager that if the USA wins the game, Denmark gives up Greenland?” one fan wrote in response to the flag.

One fan wrote, “Team USA won, do we get Greenland now?”

AMERICANS ATTENDING OLYMPICS URGED TO ‘EXERCISE CAUTION’ AFTER ITALIAN RAILWAYS HIT BY SUSPECTED ‘SABOTAGE’

Jack Eichel celebrates

The United States’ Jack Eichel, second right, celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal during a preliminary round match of men’s ice hockey against Denmark at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Another fan similarly said, “How did that turn out? we won, we get greenland now.”

Some American conservative influencers used the U.S. victory as a springboard to make viral jokes about annexing Greenland. 

The comeback victory by the U.S. appeared uncertain early in the game. 

After trailing 2-1 through the first period, the Americans dominated on offense to take a 6-3 victory over Denmark Saturday in the Milan Cortina Olympic Games.

The Americans scored three unanswered goals to open the second period, with 4 Nations hero Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) and Noah Hanifin (Vegas Golden Knights) finding the back of the net. 

Both sets of brothers on the team — Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack and Quinn Hughes — each had a point in the contest. Fourteen players had points for the Americans with a different goal scorer each time the lamp was lit.

The Americans had 47 shots on goal compared to Denmark’s 21.

The U.S. ends preliminary play Sunday with a game against Germany at 3:10 p.m. ET. The Americans will once again be heavy favorites, and a victory will put them into the knockout stage.

The Americans can also go right to the knockout stage with an overtime loss. With a regulation loss, their fate would be determined by Canada’s game against France and point differentials with Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

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But as a heavy favorite against a German team with just eight NHL players, the U.S. may not need to worry.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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