Messi found his former Barcelona teammate, Luis SuƔrez , in stride for a goal that opened scoring in the eighth minute. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner then added a first-half goal to give Inter Miami an early 2-0 lead.
The Argentine superstar checked out of the match in the 50th minute. It wasn't immediately clear why Messi subbed out ā he had rested in Sunday's 3-2 loss to Montreal, which is the only game he has missed this season.
Messi was replaced by Robert Taylor, who scored in the 63rd minute to give Inter Miami a 3-0 lead.
Inter Miami advanced to the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals with the win and 5-3 advantage in aggregate goals in the total-goals series.
The teams had tied in the first leg in Nashville last Thursday. Messi scored in regulation, and SuƔrez scored the tying goal in stoppage time to rally Miami to a 2-2 draw. Messi went down late in regulation of that game when Nashville defender Lukas Macnaughton stepped on his left calf.