After all, Lionel Messi is a man. There have been moments in Messi's remarkable career when football fans have legitimately wondered if he is truly human. He maintained the same approach during his recent record-breaking run of scoring several goals in five straight Major League Soccer games. FC Cincinnati defeated Inter Miami 3-0 at TQL Stadium on Wednesday night, putting an end to this and all of his previous superhuman accomplishments.

The 38-year-old Argentine star, who had scored braces in each of his previous five MLS games, was effectively neutralized by a well-organized Cincinnati defense for the entire ninety minutes. Throughout the game, Miami only managed two shots on goal, neither of which posed a significant threat to Roman Celentano, the Cincinnati goalkeeper.

Miami moved up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference thanks to Messi's five-game stretch of scoring several goals—the longest run of its kind in MLS history—which led to four victories and a draw. Messi is still tied for the league lead in goals scored, with 16 goals in 17 games this season.

Nevertheless, Cincinnati took the lead right away on Wednesday. Gerardo Valenzuela, a midfielder for the United States, scored his fifth goal of the year in the 16th minute with a low, angled shot from the left side of the penalty area. Evander, the Brazilian forward, scored twice more in the 50th and 70th minutes, giving the home team a decisive victory.

Javier Mascherano, the head coach of Inter Miami, acknowledged that his team had been outplayed.

"We were clearly outplayed from the start of the match today," Mascherano said through a translator. "It was very hard for us to win the individual duels. Perhaps one explanation is that we are physically a very busy people, and in the end, we pay the price.

Additionally, Messi was reportedly hit late in the game, although Mascherano minimized the impact, saying, "Leo suffered a knock at the end but it ended well."

Miami, which currently has a record of 11 wins, 4 losses, and 5 ties, saw its five-game winning streak come to an end with the defeat. Philadelphia leads the league in the Eastern Conference, eight points ahead of the club, but has three more games remaining.

"They beat us very well; we weren't fresh or lucid, and they kept us under pressure the whole time," Mascherano said. "We didn't play the game we wanted." From the beginning to the end, the opposition outplayed us. The way they defeated us, as well as the outcome, undoubtedly concerns us. We must now relax and contemplate the upcoming match.

The following test for Inter Miami is a road game against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

According to reports, Argentine international Rodrigo De Paul will be moving to Inter Miami on loan from Atlético Madrid for the duration of the 2025 campaign, with a purchase clause valued at more than $12 million, in other news. De Paul is reunited with Messi, his teammate from Argentina's World Cup-winning team in 2022, by the transfer, which may influence Miami's attempt to persuade Messi to prolong his contract, which ends at the end of this year.

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