WATCH: Jordi Alba takes centre-stage in Lionel Messi’s absence as he scores a banger against Nashville

Despite Lionel Messi‘s absence from the squad, Inter Miami currently find themselves at the very top of the MLS. The Herons lead by two points in the Eastern Conference owing to a sublime victory over Nashville SC. Contrary to what many had predicted earlier, it appears that Miami have found a winning formula in the absence of the Argentine.

This wasn’t the case earlier, as Miami crumbled at the end of last season as Lionel Messi missed crucial games due to an injury. Despite Messi being the crowd favorite in the USA, the No.10’s former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba made headlines on Sunday as he fired Miami to three points. His unbelievable strike came in the 44th minute when Miami were already leading by a goal.

Alba’s moment came in the final minutes of the first half, as a Nashville defender headed out a ball from a corner. The Spaniard chested the ball onto his feet before letting fly with his left.

His strike made its way past an entire sea of players before eluding Joe Willis and landing in the back of the net. The crowd erupted in cheers as Alba grabbed only his third goal of the season.

Inter Miami clinch convincing win over Nashville SC to go top of MLS

Inter Miami are up and running despite the absence of Lionel Messi, who played his last game for the club almost a month ago. Miami have played a total of three games since his departure, winning all three! The game against Nashville on Sunday proved to be a difficult affair for the men in pink, even though David Beckham‘s side managed to establish a two-goal lead by the end of the first half.

After a blistering strike from Julian Gressel ricocheted off the crossbar, Miami opened their account from a perfectly placed header with five minutes to go to half-time. Ian Fray‘s leaping header over his marker caught the opposition off-guard. Only four minutes had passed before Miami scored the second, thereby establishing a strong grip on the game.

Jordi Alba’s brilliant volley from outside the box landed in the opposition net, much to the surprise of the home crowd. Tyler Boyd earned a penalty for the home side after he picked up a foul inside the opposition’s penalty area. The spot kick that followed was confidently put to bed by Nashville No.10 Hany Mukhtar. His low-driven shot found its way into the net despite Drake Callender diving the right way.

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