Lionel Messi's Major League Soccer-record streak of multi-goal games ended at five on Wednesday as his Inter Miami squad was blanked 3-0 at Cincinnati.
The 38-year-old Argentine star forward had scored a brace, two goals, in five consecutive matches for Miami, giving him 16 goals on the season as Inter managed four wins and a draw in the run.
Not since 2012 when he played for Barcelona had Messi netted a brace or more in five consecutive matches.
But Cincinnati kept Miami to only two shots on goal in the contest.
"Clearly today we were outplayed from the beginning of the match," Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said through a translator.
"It was very difficult for us to win the individual duels. Maybe one of the reasons is that physically we come with a very big hustle and bustle and in the long run we end up paying.
"Leo suffered a knock at the end but it ended well."
US 20-year-old midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela opened the scoring for Cincinnati in the 16th minute.
Brazilian striker Evander followed with a goal in the 50th minute and struck again in the 70th to provide all the scoring the hosts needed.
"We didn't play the game we wanted. They put us under pressure all the time, we weren't fresh or lucid and they beat us very well," Mascherano said.
Miami fell to 11-4 with five drawn for 38 points, fifth in the Eastern Conference and eight points adrift of first-place Philadelphia, the overall MLS leader which beat Montreal to stay one point ahead of Cincinnati in the overall MLS standings.
Inter Miami has three games in hand on both clubs but would need to win them all to overtake their rivals for the overall league lead.
"The opponent outplayed us from start to finish," Mascherano said. "The result and the way they beat us obviously worries us. Now we have to rest and think about the next game."
That will come on Saturday when Miami will visit the New York Red Bulls, who got two goals each from Cameroon's Eric Choupo-Moting and Sweden's Emil Forsberg in a 5-3 home win over New England on Wednesday.
DE PAUL TO JOIN MIAMI
A source close to negotiations told AFP on Wednesday that Inter Miami has agreed on terms with Argentine international Rodrigo De Paul, a midfielder for Atletico Madrid.
The deal is for the next four seasons with De Paul to play the remainder of 2025 in Miami on loan from Atletico Madrid with a subsequent purchase option for Inter worth more than $12 million.
De Paul could play for Miami for the first time on 30 July against Mexican side Atlas in Inter's debut match in the Leagues Cup, a tournament between MLS and Mexican League clubs.
He will leave Europe after four seasons in Madrid to join countryman Messi 11 months before the World Cup to be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
Messi has not said if he will play in the World Cup.
De Paul and Messi were teammates on Argentina's 2022 World Cup champions and reuniting them could help entice Messi to sign a new contract with Inter, whose deal with the superstar expires at the end of this year.
The club wants Messi to stay for the 2026 season, in which Inter will open a new stadium in Miami.
DePaul, 31, joins a Miami core that includes Messi, Uruguayan Luis Suarez and Spaniards Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
Charlotte was named host city for the 2026 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday. This year's all-star matchup will be in Austin, Texas, next Wednesday with the MLS All-Stars facing the Mexican League All-Stars.