Early goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi propelled Inter Miami to a 3–1 win over Nashville SC on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sending the Herons through to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Miami won the two-leg, total-goal series 5–3. The teams played to a 2–2 draw at Nashville last week, with Inter Miami also getting goals from Messi and Suarez.
With Miami ahead 2–0 in the second leg, Messi exited in the 50th minute. Messi sat out the Herons’ 3–2 home loss to CF Montreal on Saturday, with coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino saying that the team would need to find a proper way to rest the 36-year-old star amid a busy schedule.
Inter Miami expanded the edge to 3–0 on a 63rd-minute goal from Robert Taylor off a cross from Suarez.
Nashville got a consolation goal from Sam Surridge in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.
Miami advances to oppose either Monterrey or FC Cincinnati in the quarterfinals. Monterrey holds a 1–0 lead in their series heading into the second leg on Thursday at Guadalupe, Mexico.
