“Messi is unserious”, “He just stands at the halfway line” - Fans hit out at Lionel Messi after Inter Miami secure narrow 1-0 win vs Columbus Crew

Lionel Messi has drawn the ire of fans online for his performance in Inter Miami’s league match with Columbus Crew on Saturday (April 19). The Argentine icon was relatively quiet for a huge chunk of the game as the Herons ground out a 1-0 win at Huntington Bank Field.

Ahead of the match, Inter Miami and Columbus Crew were seated in the second and first positions on the Eastern Conference league table, respectively. Both teams were also unbeaten in the 2025 regular MLS season.

The Ohio-based club had more of the ball from the onset but were undone when Benjamin Cremaschi gave Miami the lead on the half-hour mark. The U.S. international headed home a cross from Marcelo Weigandt.

Columbus came into the second half with more determination as they forced Inter Miami’s goalkeeper, Oscar Ustari, into making three diving saves. They continued their onslaught towards the end of the game, but the Herons displayed resilience to secure all three points. With the win, they leapfrogged their opponents to the top of the table.

Lionel Messi, who is in the midst of an impressive season so far for Inter Miami, had a night to forget in his side’s latest clash. While he had some impressive moments on the ball, his overall impact was missing. Messi had a chance to make it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time but missed, sending his shot wide. He lost possession 12 times and had just one shot on target for the entirety of the game (via Sofascore).

After the match, fans took to X to slam Messi for this performance. A user wrote:

“It was a mistake. Never watching Inter Miami again. Messi is unserious, always prioritizes his club de amigos over everything. Scaloni saved his career. Good night.''

Another tweeted:

“Messi is hilarious….other team have been passing around your box for like 5 minutes and he just stands at the halfway line waiting for a counter while all his teammates defending for their lives lol.''

“I hope the money the haslems made from moving this game becuse of a washed up Messi was worth it thank you for fucking the fans who are passionate about the club over #Crew96,'' @KonorKnowsFooty wrote.

“I don’t know why I’m still watching bro. Messi has had like 3 touches in the second half, this is Getafe-level football from Inter Miami,'' @Lavafelll added.

“MLS charges people huge ticket prices to sell out an NFL stadium to watch a dog shit exhibition of the sport where Miami takes 0 second half shots and Messi does cardio. Sometimes. You just gotta laugh,'' @JohnnyBiscotti hit out.

“Columbus has had multiple scoring chances inside the #InterMiamiCF box, & if not for fabulous last minute saves by Miami defenders, the Crew would be leading in this match by multiple goals IMO… #Messi has been quiet..#MLS,'' @XGLAVOZ chimed in.

How Lionel Messi fared for Inter Miami against Columbus Crew

Lionel Messi was named as a starter in Inter Miami’s clash with Columbus Crew on Saturday. Before the match, he had scored in three of his previous four league games. The only exception being the one immediately prior — meaning he’s now been held off the scoresheet in back-to-back MLS matches.

Simply put, Messi had a fair outing for the Herons as he received a rating of 7.3, as per Sofascore. But overall, he wasn’t really impressive as his threat upfront was neutralized.

Despite the underwhelming performance, Messi remains Inter Miami’s joint top scorer in the MLS this season (3). The Herons will next face Vancouver in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final first leg on Thursday, April 24.