Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami final score, result as Lionel Messi brace seals Supporters' Shield in wacky game

A wild and wacky 90 minutes of football saw two MLS Cup title favorites clash down the end of the regular season, and who else but the generationally brilliant Lionel Messi made the difference.

Inter Miami weren't great, but the Argentine legend scored a brace as the Herons defeated defending champions Columbus Crew 3-2 in Ohio on Wednesday evening, securing the club's first Supporters' Shield as regular season title winners. It marks the 46th major trophy in Messi's illustrious career, and the second time he's led his MLS club to silverware.

The Crew could have kept their own Supporters' Shield hopes alive with a result against the league leaders, but were done in by a host of cataclysmic mistakes. They were undone for the first time by a long-ball dealt with poorly on Messi's first goal just before halftime, before moments later the Argentine ripped a free-kick into the back of the net to snatch a shocking 2-0 lead going into the break.

MORE: All the latest soccer action | Lionel Messi news

Columbus pulled one back 20 seconds out of halftime, but shot themselves in the foot not long after as Rudy Camacho bulldozed his own goalkeeper to see Luis Suarez bag Inter Miami's third.

The hosts pushed extremely hard for a comeback just as they did months prior in the Leagues Cup, snatching a second goal on a penalty by Cucho Hernandez, but continued to do themselves in. Camacho was sent off for a brainless challenge with 25 minutes to go, and even with the man disadvantage, Hernandez found himself with another spot-kick to draw level but was denied by Drake Callender.

Could these two teams meet again in an Eastern Conference title decider? It's certainly possible, plausible even, but Wilfried Nancy knows the errors must be stamped out to have a chance of reaching that stage.

The Sporting News followed the Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happened.

Latest live updates | Team news and lineups

Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami final score

Kickoff: 7:57 p.m. ET / 4:57 p.m. PT
Location: Lower.com Field (Columbus, OH)
Referee: Drew Fischer

Starting lineups:

Columbus Crew (3-4-3, right to left): 28. Schulte (GK) — 31. Moreira, 4. Camacho (red card, 63'), 18. Amundsen — 23. Farsi (Herrera, 86'), 20. Matan, 6. Nagbe (Chambost, 74'), 27. Arfsten — 9. C. Hernandez (Russell-Rowe, 74'), 17. C. Ramirez, 10. Rossi.

Inter Miami (3-5-2, right to left): 1. Callender (GK) — 32. Allen, 5. Busquets, 17. Fray — 57. Weigandt (Kryvtsov, 76'), 20. D. Gomez (Rojas, 88'), 42. Bright, 56. Redondo (D. Ruiz, 70'), 18. Alba — 10. Messi, 9. Suarez.

MORE: Find out which games are streaming free on MLS Season pass from Apple TV each week

Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami live updates, highlights and commentary

FULLTIME: Columbus Crew 2-3 Inter Miami

A truly wild 90 minutes finally comes to a close as Inter Miami take this by a single goal and are your Supporters' Shield champions! The hosts pushed hard for a winner even after falling down to 10 men, but it wasn't to be as they never truly tested Drake Callender after Cucho Hernandez's penalty was turned away.

Wilfried Nancy will be furious after this match, as he will know his Crew were probably the better side through the whole of the match, but continually beat themselves with silly errors. Rudy Camacho had a nightmarish match, conceding the foul on Messi's free-kick goal, taking out his own goalkeeper on Inter Miami's third, and then picking up the red card to end his evening.

The Crew must dust themselves off and get ready for the playoffs, while Inter Miami can celebrate a second trophy under Lionel Messi!

90+5 min: If you didn't know Columbus were down to 10 men, you wouldn't be able to tell, as the hosts have held all the pressure down the stretch of this game. They've come close to generating a few good chances through DeJuan Jones, but nothing truly dangerous quite yet.

90+1 min: We expected a lot of stoppage time at the end of a second half full of twists and turns, and sure enough, we see 10 minutes shown by the fourth official's electronic board. Buckle up!

86th min: Columbus makes a substitution after the penalty save, swapping the booked Mohamed Farsi for Marcelo Herrera. An Inter Miami assistant coach is booked for protests about who knows what.

A few moments later Yannick Bright picks up a very silly yellow card for literally blocking a throw-in with his arms. Diego Gomez is then replaced by Matias Rojas who returns from injury.

80th min: The Columbus crowd is FURIOUS as they see a replay of a cross by DeJuan Jones that clearly hits the arm of Ian Fray who slides to block the delivery. This is a very clear penalty, and sure enough the referee will go to the monitor! Could VAR hand Columbus the chance to level the match?? A sliding defender is allowed to have a support arm as they go to ground, but Fray's was outstretched!

The referee returns from a long look at the monitor, and the decision is........ PENALTY, COLUMBUS! Ian Fray knows it too, as Lower.com Field erupts! Will 10-man Columbus draw level with less than 10 minutes left in regulation?

Stepping up to the spot once again is Cucho Hernandez for his second penalty of the night. He got the first past Drake Callender, and this time... ITS SAVED!! BRILLIANT BY DRAKE CALLENDER WHO MAINTAINS THE LEAD! It's a poor penalty in a savable position!

76th min: Chance, Columbus! Drake Callender makes a wonderful save on a tight-angle blast by Mohamed Farsi as a cross squirts through the trees to the Columbus winger at the far post! Lower.com Field is LOUD right now!

75th min: There's a concern for Inter Miami as Marcelo Weigandt limps to his feet and motions to the bench that he needs a substitution. Serhiy Kryvtsov will come on, meaning one of Noah Allen or Ian Fray will move out wide to wing-back, as Tata Martino has another injury at the back to deal with.

70th min: Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino makes the first substitution of the match, bringing on David Ruiz to replace the cautioned Federico Redondo in midfield.

Columbus counters a few minutes later with a triple substitution. Darlington Nagbe, Christian Ramirez, and Arfsten are replaced by DeJuan Jones, Jacen Russell-Rowe, and Dylan Chambost.

63rd min: RED CARD, COLUMBUS! What an awful challenge by Rudy Camacho, who lunges studs-up into Federico Redondo and is sent to the showers! He's already been booked, so it's officially a second yellow card, but that is absolutely a challenge worthy of a straight red card, so he can have no complaints!

Wilfried Nancy will be rueing his team's brainless mistakes after this one, because his team's played very well but shot itself in the foot on multiple occasions!

61st min: PENALTY, COLUMBUS! Mohamed Farsi does extremely well to keep the ball in play while in the air, and as he taps it away from the end line, it clips the outstretched arm of Noah Allen! Penalty, says the referee!

Stepping up is Cucho Hernandez, and... GOAL! COLUMBUS! He sends Drake Callender the wrong way, and the Crew are back within one goal! Game on, again!

58th min: Rudy Camacho is shown a yellow card for wrestling Luis Suarez to the turf in the Inter Miami half.

The broadcast is showing Columbus defender Steven Moreira limping around the pitch. You wonder if his time on the field is coming to an end soon, but no substitute being readied by Wilfried Nancy as of yet.

50th min: Marcelo Weigandt is shown a yellow card as the referee Drew Fischer looks to get a better grip on the match.

48th min: GOAL! INTER MIAMI! Oh no, it's calamitous from Columbus at the back and Inter Miami are back on top by two almost immediately! What is happening!?

Patrick Schulte rises high to collect a long ball forward for Inter Miami, but then out of nowhere the Columbus goalkeeper is bulldozed by his own defender Rudy Camacho and spills the ball! Luis Suarez is there to tap in the gift of a goal!

46th min: GOAL! COLUMBUS! THE HOSTS ARE BACK WITHIN A GOAL NO LESS THAN 20 SECONDS AFTER KICKOFF!

Diego Rossi has the finishing touch on the move after a fortunate bounce at the top of the penalty area! Remember, the Columbus Crew turned around a 2-0 deficit in the Leagues Cup meeting between these two sides, winning 3-2, can they do it again?

There's a long VAR check, as Rossi looked offside on replay, but the goal is ruled good as he may have been just kept on by Sergio Busquets!

2nd half kickoff: After Columbus waited forever out on the pitch for Inter Miami to return from the dressing room (a common Tata Martino strategy), they're finally under way for the second half at Lower.com Field.

HALFTIME: Columbus Crew 0-2 Inter Miami

I mean, what else can you say except bow in reverence to the greatness of Lionel Messi?

Despite being challenged for much of the first half, Inter Miami suddenly have 45 minutes to seal the 2024 Supporters' Shield as Messi has scored two goals out of nothing just before the break. What a player!

45+5 min: GOAL! INTER MIAMI! LIONEL MESSI'S ONLY GONE AND DONE IT AGAIN! It's a trademark Messi free-kick, as the Argentine great notices that the wall isn't set up properly and bends his set-piece delivery around the defenders and into the top corner! WHAT A BRILLIANT STRIKE!

Inter Miami were arguably second-best most of the first half, but will go into the halftime break up by two goals!

45th min: GOAL! INTER MIAMI! The Herons have the Supporters' Shield in sight as Lionel Messi strikes to put the visitors in front! It comes from almost nothing, as Jordi Alba pings a long-ball forward for the Argentine great and as the two defenders fumble around trying to stop the chance, Messi squirts free and fires the ball into the back of the net!

It might be advisable for Rudy Camacho to try and play the ball when defending Messi rather than stop and appeal for a referee's whistle. He wanted a handball on Messi's initial settle but it's clearly a legal play.

44th min: Cucho Hernandez crops up with some space near the top of the penalty area but his low shot on goal is too weak and easily held by Drake Callender.

38th min: Federico Redondo is, finally, the recipient of the game's first yellow card as he takes out Diego Rossi from behind. This game is starting to get very, very chippy. The referee has somewhat asked for this.

36th min: Sergio Busquets absolutely cleans out Cucho Hernandez from behind and then tries to angrily yank the Crew forward to his feet. Again, incredibly, he's not punished for the incident. What does he have to do to get a card of any kind?

34th min: Chance, Columbus! WHOA! A vicious volley from Christian Ramirez goes just wide of the right post! That was a RIP, and just missed by inches!

30th min: There's been a number of baffling referee decisions through the first half-hour of this game. We still do not know why Inter Miami's opener was disallowed (maybe offside on Diego Gomez for interfering?), and then Columbus will feel aggrieved for the disciplinary decision a few minutes ago between Mohamed Farsi and Sergio Busquets.

Regardless, we play on, and you might expect the temperature of the match to rise...

26th min: The first yellow card is shown to Mohamed Farsi as a foul on Sergio Busquets produces a bit of heat between the sides. Cucho Hernandez is furious and arguing for a different call, as Farsi is down and requires treatment.

On replay, it does look like Hernandez has an argument as it appears Busquets, not Farsi, was the one with malice in the challenge, as he shows puts his studs up as the Columbus midfielder comes flying in. There's a chat with VAR.....but it's check complete and the Columbus crowd is incensed. Busquets gets away with a bad tackle, that was a nasty one.

Ultimately, at least for Columbus, the yellow card was never shown to Farsi, so it appears that at the very least the officiating crew decided not to make that call.

25th min: Chance, Inter Miami! Now it's Inter Miami who have the ball in the back of the net only to see it ruled out! Lionel Messi plays a corner short and before getting it back and sending it in again with his left, and the ball is redirected into the net, either off Marcelo Weigandt's head or a defender!

It's ruled out for some reason, but nobody's quite sure why! Lionel Messi does the finger wag, but to no avail!

24th min: Since the early Columbus spark, this match has been extremely slow and bereft of much attacking intent. Both teams feel comfortable to let the time tick off the clock and get to halftime with the score relatively even.

14th min: Inter Miami have weathered the early Columbus pressure and have now managed to get forward a few times themselves. Game on.

8th min: Chance, Columbus! Cucho Hernandez slams the ball into the back of the net from an extremely tight angle, causing the Lower.com Field bells and whistles to all fire as if a goal had been scored, but the flag is up for offside! Replay shows it's the right call, as the Crew star was leaning just over the shoulder of Ian Fray.

Humorously, the field is covered in yellow smoke as the home supporters section couldn't hold their fire!

5th min: The first five minutes has been Inter Miami trying desperately to play out of their own half and Columbus Crew pressing extremely high making life difficult. It hasn't resulted in a high turnover just yet, but the Herons have been less than impressive while attempting to possess the ball in a nervy area.

Kickoff: They're under way in Columbus! The MLS regular season title is on the line as the campaign roars towards a conclusion! Lionel Messi did not play in either of the previous meetings between these two sides this season, so he gets his shot here today.

Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more

15 mins to kickoff: Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino says "being consistent throughout the 90 minutes" will be the key tonight to winning the Supporters' Shield. He says he wants the Herons to be a little more clinical in front of goal, and they should come out on top. Confidence from the visitors!

30 mins to kickoff: Besides the Supporters' Shield, there's something else on the line tonight for Inter Miami. They have to win to keep alive the hope of setting an MLS regular season points record. A few weeks ago, it seemed a virtual certainty that they would set a new mark, but after a few recent slips it's now a lot more difficult of a task.

Inter Miami are eight points behind the record of 73 set by the New England Revolution in 2021, meaning with three matches to go, they must win out to rewrite the history books.

45 mins to kickoff: Lionel Messi will win the 46th major trophy of his illustrious career if Inter Miami are victorious tonight.

For fans new to Major League Soccer, here's an explainer on what the Supporters' Shield is, what it would mean for Inter Miami, and how it differs from the MLS Cup.

1 hour to kickoff: The starting lineups for this match are in, and Lionel Messi IS included in the Inter Miami XI, despite thoughts that he could potentially be rested.

For Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy, the only change to the expected lineup is that Jacen Russell-Rowe drops out and is replaced by Christian Ramirez up front.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Given what's at stake, a lot of smart MLS folks are billing this as the biggest regular season match in the league's history. Do you agree? If not, what is bigger? Hard to get more intense than two teams — on the defending champs and one with the greatest player ever — gunning for the regular season title with three matches left!

1 hour 30 mins to kick: Inter Miami get much of the headlines, much of the spotlight, and a lot of the chatter this season, and they have exonerated that attention with their place atop the table, but they are not in great form at the moment. The Columbus Crew would love nothing more than to remind MLS viewers tonight who are the defending champs and who is still the favorite to win the MLS Cup.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: The stakes tonight are clear for Inter Miami — win and the Supporters' Shield is secure.

For Columbus Crew, their pathway towards the MLS regular season title is a little murkier, but it starts with avoiding defeat tonight. In all likelihood, a victory is necessary for the math to make sense. They have a game in hand, so victory would pull them to within five points with three matches to go, a reasonable gap to recover.

2 hours to kickoff: After missing the World Cup qualifiers in September, Lionel Messi has been called back into the Argentina national team for the matches this month!

Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami kickoff time

This MLS regular season match kicks off from Lower.com Field on Wednesday, October 2 at 7:45 p.m. local time in Columbus, Ohio. Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:

Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami lineups, team news

Columbus boss Wilfried Nancy has enjoyed exceptional availability from his squad for much of the season, with just backup goalkeeper Evan Bush the only long-term absence for much of the year.

Defensive midfielder Sean Zawadzki has missed each of the last two matches with a rib injury, and could miss out again today, but otherwise they are in great shape with the playoffs approaching.

Columbus Crew starting lineup (3-4-3): Schulte (GK) — Moreira, Camacho, Amundsen — Farsi, Matan, Nagbe, Arfsten — C. Hernandez, C. Ramirez, Rossi.

Columbus Crew subs (9): Hagen (GK), Herrera, Yeboah, Cheberko, DeJ. Jones, A. Jackson, Der. Jones, Chambost, Russell-Rowe.

The defensive line for Tata Martino has neared a breaking point with the playoffs looming. Tomas Aviles is suspended for picking up yet another yellow card last time out against Charlotte FC, while Nicolas Freire is out for the year with a torn ACL and David Martinez continues to recover from a groin injury. Serhiy Kryvtsov , Noah Allen , or Ian Fray are likely to step in at center-back alongside Sergio Busquets .

Thankfully, Lionel Messi is fit for the stretch run, and starts despite the now weekly possibility of being rested for the playoffs. Facundo Farias remains out with a torn ACL and Leo Afonso is not yet back from his groin injury. Matias Rojas has recovered from his ankle injury and should start up front.

For today, Julian Gressel is rested in midfield, replaced by Yannick Bright .

Inter Miami starting lineup (3-5-2): Callender (GK) — Allen, Busquets, Fray — Weigandt, D. Gomez, Bright, Redondo, Alba — Messi, Suarez.

Inter Miami subs (9): Ustari (GK), Negri, Kryvtsov, Gressell, Cremaschi, D. Ruiz, Taylor, Rojas, Campana.