Chicago Fire 0-0 Inter Miami: Messi strikes woodwork twice as spoils shared

Lionel Messi hit the crossbar with two free-kicks as Inter Miami were held to a goalless draw by the Chicago Fire in MLS on Sunday.

Four days on from his CONCACAF Champions League heroics against Los Angeles FC and with reports suggesting he will extend his contract by another year, Messi went agonisingly close to a winner on two occasions.

The slightest of deflections off the Chicago wall carried his 64th-minute effort onto the bar, while he also struck the woodwork when attempting to deceive Chris Brady from another set-piece in the 86th minute.

Just a minute after that second attempt, Luis Suarez thought he had won it when he beat Brady with a side-footed volley, only for the offside flag to be raised.

But Chicago also had their chances, with Philip Zinckernagel hitting the post from an acute angle in the first half.

The clearest opening of the game fell to Maren Haile-Selassie one minute from time, only for the Fire substitute to prod wide of an open goal after Oscar Ustari could only parry Jonathan Bamba’s strike.

The draw – and wins for Charlotte FC and FC Cincinnati elsewhere over the weekend – sees Miami drop to fourth in the Eastern Conference, though a win in their game in hand would take them top, above the Columbus Crew.

Chicago are eighth with 12 points from their first eight matches under Gregg Berhalter.

.@ColumbusCrew lead the Eastern Conference race. pic.twitter.com/l9LfYDYu9O

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 14, 2025

Data debrief: Messi run halted

Going into Sunday’s game, Messi had gone three straight regular-season matches with a goal and five straight with a goal involvement.

He had five shots at Soldier Field, a tally only matched by Chicago’s Brian Gutierrez, while nobody had more touches in the penalty area than Messi’s four.

But on this occasion, the woodwork frustrated him as Miami’s four-game winning streak on the road in MLS came to an end.

Chicago have now avoided defeat in five of their last six home matches, though four of those have been draws (one win, one loss).