Nashville strengthened its push for the Supporters’ Shield and extended its lead to 5 points over Inter Miami on a night Lionel Messi again failed to convert a penalty.

Andy Nájar, Hany Mukhtar (two) and Sam Surridge were on target in a 4-1 home win for Nashville, which regained control of the game after Inter Miami had pulled the score level just before halftime.

It was a significant win for Nashville, but Messi was central to the storyline as he made his first MLS start since the World Cup and since the death of his father, Jorge, at age 68.

Earlier this week, Messi acknowledged he was unsure whether he would continue playing “for much longer,” adding significance to his appearance in a game between the league’s top sides.

The day started with Nashville as No. 1 and Inter Miami as No. 2 in the Supporters’ Shield and Eastern Conference standings. Nashville was a slight favorite at kickoff, but Miami fielded a stellar starting lineup that included Sergio Reguilón, Casemiro, Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suárez and Messi.

It was a difficult night for Messi, and his poor recent record from the penalty spot continued while Nashville produced a superb team performance to record a memorable win.

It’s a party in Nashville 🥳@NashvilleSC beats Miami 4-1 to keep the top spot in the Supporters’ Shield standings. pic.twitter.com/Bw9arBRqL7

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 16, 2026

Nashville deservedly took the lead through Nájar’s 17th-minute header, with Elias Saad producing a superb delivery to the far post.

Against the run of play, Miami was given a route back into the game when Suárez was brought down inside the area by Jeisson Palacios.

Messi missed two penalties at the World Cup for Argentina but stepped forward to take the spot kick in the 23rd minute.

He saw his latest effort saved by Brian Schwake as the goalkeeper dived to his right. It was an unconvincing kick from Messi, who opted for a slight pause in his run-up before directing the ball toward goal, allowing the Nashville goalkeeper to make a save.

Reguilón’s follow-up found the net, but his goal was ruled out for encroachment into the box.

In first-half stoppage time, Miami did get itself level — and Messi was the architect.

The penalty miss appeared to motivate him, and he produced the assist by dropping into a pocket of space before picking out Telasco Segovia with a lovely forward pass. Segovia produced a superb spin before firing into the far corner.

Messi had a shot saved at the beginning of the second half, but Palacios then sparked a move from one side of the pitch to the other as Nashville restored its lead in the 49th minute and seized control of the game.

Saad produced a superb short pass to find Mukhtar in the area, and he finished perfectly, firing across goal.

Nashville then moved two goals clear in the 56th minute when Cristian Espinoza sent a pass across toward the near post and Surridge converted nonchalantly with a beautiful heel flick.

Messi was left complaining about a foul he believed should have been awarded at the other end of the pitch in the buildup to the goal. He was shown a yellow card for his continued protests.

Thank you very much 🤗 https://t.co/XQnlGRav8h pic.twitter.com/eMvq28Y3g1

— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) August 16, 2026

It was a difficult night for Miami, and its misery deepened when goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo made a mistake. He came racing out of goal, midway into his own half, in an attempt to clear the danger after a goal kick from Schwake was sent high into the Miami half.

The Miami goalkeeper misjudged the ball, and Mukhtar showed composure to slot home his second and Nashville’s fourth.

In the dying stages of the game, Messi hit each post in quick succession and then had a goal ruled out for offside before the full-time whistle sounded.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Gracen Halton isn’t one of those shy, sit-back-and-observe rookies. No, the defensive tackle feels it’s better to be seen and heard.

Halton’s outbursts, in fact, have become a staple of San Francisco 49ers training camp and usually go something like this: He fires off the snap, gains an edge on a guard or center and blows past into the backfield. Then comes the shout of success, the roar of victory, the barbaric “Yawp!” — whatever you want to call it — that riles up teammates … and, in one case, an opponent.

After Halton’s first win in one-on-one drills earlier this month, 49ers tackle Trent Williams strolled over to the defensive line’s section to offer a handshake and encouragement. Both are Oklahoma products who met three years ago when Williams was on the sideline for a Sooners game, though Halton doubts the veteran tackle remembers the encounter.

“I was one of the guys that said what’s up to him,” Halton said. “I was dang starstruck.”

Williams certainly knows his name now.

“Obviously, I’m a little biased,” he said when asked about Halton, one of the standouts in Thursday’s preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans. “But I think the world has seen what he has to offer — very explosive, short-area quickness, really powerful. Puts you in the mind of D.J. Jones a little bit.”

Jones, who plays for the Denver Broncos, spent his first five seasons in San Francisco and became a locker-room favorite. He and Halton have a similar profile: they’re bowling ball-shaped with tremendous spring at the snap. Halton, in fact, ran his 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in a tight-end-like 4.82 seconds — impressive for someone who weighs nearly 300 pounds.

He showed that explosion on back-to-back plays Thursday against the Titans, sacking quarterback Cam Ward on one snap (the play was wiped out because of a penalty) and then stopping tailback Tyjae Spears for a loss on the next.

Halton feels he’s making up for lost time.

He hyperextended his knee on the first day of training camp and missed the initial week of practice. He didn’t exactly ease his way back into the mix when he returned, making plays in both one-on-one and 11-on-11 situations and letting everyone know about it.

“That’s what I like to do,” he said. “I imagine myself as a lion going out to get the gazelle. So when I do those one-on-ones, my mindset is, I’m going off to hunt.”

Odds & ends

• Receivers Mike Evans (quadriceps strain) and Jacob Cowing (hip flexor) had their most extensive practices since getting injured early in training camp. Cowing had perhaps the offensive highlight of the day when he came down with a nicely thrown over-the-shoulder deep ball from quarterback Mac Jones during a move-the-ball period. Two plays later, Jones found a sliding Malik Turner for a touchdown that ended practice.

It looked as if Brock Purdy’s move-the-ball session also ended in a touchdown when he connected with tight end Luke Farrell in the corner of the end zone. However, the coaches ruled that Osa Odighizuwa had “sacked” Purdy on the play, so the offense had to run it again. The next snap, Purdy’s attempt to tight end Jake Tonges fell incomplete.

Purdy was 7 of 14 in team situations. Jones was 11 of 15 with an interception (by rookie Jalen Stroman) on a throw over the middle to Demarcus Robinson. Adrian Martinez was 6 of 7. Kurtis Rourke, who suffered a rib injury in Thursday’s preseason opener, watched practice in a hooded sweatshirt. The 49ers did not give an update on his injury.

• Odighizuwa was prominent Saturday, finishing with at least two would-be sacks and also flushing Purdy from the pocket on another play. That may have been because rookie Carver Willis lined up at left guard with the first-string offensive line for half the practice, his first snaps with that unit. He alternated series with Connor Colby at left guard. Robert Jones played right guard with the second team.

“It’s a three-man race,” Williams said when asked about the left guard competition. “So may the best man win.”

A fourth candidate, Brett Toth, has not practiced recently due to a concussion.

• Cornerback Jack Jones (hand) and safety Marques Sigle (oblique) took part in Saturday’s practice after both left Thursday’s game. Jones even forced and recovered a fumble.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw didn’t practice, although he was in uniform and doesn’t appear to be dealing with anything serious. As was the case Thursday, rookie Jaden Dugger lined up at Greenlaw’s usual spot at weakside linebacker. Dugger played weakside when the Titans used three wide receivers Thursday and flipped to strongside — what the 49ers now call the “fever” position — when Tennessee was in traditional personnel.

• Tuesday’s upcoming joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers, which seemed to be in jeopardy when the 49ers’ injury total reached 20 a week ago, now appears locked in. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said he’s looking for a “more composed practice” from his defense after the one against the Titans was filled with scuffles and stoppages. The 49ers and Chargers will scrimmage at the Chargers’ facility, then meet on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.

• Injured running backs Jordan James (rib), Kaelon Black (adductor) and Isaac Guerendo (pectoral) worked out next to one another on a side field as practice got underway. None are expected to take part in the practice and game against the Chargers, but the Aug. 27 preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders seems possible.

• Rookie tight end Khalil Dinkins tried out for the 49ers Saturday. Dinkins, a blocking specialist, initially signed with San Francisco as an undrafted free agent in the spring but missed most of organized team activities and was waived with a non-football injury before training camp.

• One more injury update: Kyle Shanahan is no longer wearing a brace on the hand he broke in a July 14 car crash in Palo Alto, Calif.

CHICAGO — If Deshaun Watson was ahead in the latest edition of the Cleveland Browns’ perpetual quarterback derby before Saturday’s preseason opener, then he’s probably still in the lead.

But Browns coach Todd Monken says the competition between Watson and Shedeur Sanders will continue, at least for another week. And it’s hard to imagine much changed Saturday in what was a predictably uneven first performance in a game setting for both quarterbacks.

The remade Browns offense had two scoring drives with Watson at the helm. After Sanders made two impressive throws to open the third quarter, the Browns failed on a fourth-down run inside the Chicago Bears’ 10-yard line.

Cleveland didn’t score after those two Watson-led drives, and the Bears ended up running away with a 34-10 victory. But nobody’s going to remember the score, and Monken’s postgame comments focused on the next steps for the Browns as a whole and for Watson’s ongoing comeback attempt.

“It was awesome,” Monken said about Watson. “It was so cool to watch him play. I get all of the frustration by fans, himself (with the past), but for him to come back and work like he did is an unbelievable credit to him. He was having fun today, and I thought he really functioned at a high level.”

Watson played in a game for the first time since October 2024, when he suffered a torn right Achilles tendon against the Cincinnati Bengals. He tore the same tendon again about 10 weeks later and did not play last season while rehabbing. Though the practice reps have been split and the order alternated on every practice day but one since the spring, Watson has been first in every practice-drill line and was first up during spring work and training camp.

“I felt good, felt excited just to be back on the field,” Watson said. “It was good to just go through pregame, get warmed up, take the field for the first time in I don’t even know how long it has been.”

Monken stuck to his stated plan and played Watson in the first half. In announcing Watson as Saturday’s starter, Monken said Sanders would start and play the first half in next week’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Both will work with the No. 1 offense in Thursday’s joint practice session with Buffalo.

That joint practice is the fourth session on the Browns’ calendar this week, and decision time looms with Monken saying he always targeted the second preseason game as the best point to pick a winner. The Browns close the preseason Aug. 27 versus the New England Patriots and open the regular season Sept. 13 in Jacksonville, Fla.

On Saturday, Watson was 11-of-15 passing for 126 yards, almost exclusively on short throws. An end-around run by rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion on the first play of the second quarter capped a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive in which more than half the yards came on a 43-yard screen pass to Dylan Sampson.

Watson’s most impressive work was probably converting a first-and-25 with three straight completions after a penalty on what became a field goal drive midway through the first quarter.

The Bears played five of their defensive starters, three on the defensive line. The Browns started their offensive regulars but removed four of their five starting offensive linemen after the second series, and Watson seemed hesitant against some of Chicago’s pressure after the first two drives. On a fourth-down play late in the first half, Bears defensive end Jamree Kromah beat rookie tackle Austin Barber and knocked the ball out of Watson’s hand.

Monken wanted Watson to get a two-minute drill situation, and the Browns got the ball with 1:52 left in the first half. But that series went nowhere thanks to more pressure and a drop, so there wasn’t much to evaluate. On Watson’s last 12 plays, the Browns totaled 24 yards.

“Certainly there were things from an operational standpoint (Watson) can do better,” Monken said. “But it was fun watching him play.”

Sanders got three series. He had the day’s most visually impressive throws, two to Gage Larvadain and a 35-yarder over the middle to Luke Floriea with three Chicago pass rushers closing quickly on the second-year quarterback. But Sanders’ last pass was thrown well over the head of intended target Malachi Corley and was intercepted by Beanie Bishop Jr. early in the fourth quarter.

“Right read, but the ball just slipped,” Sanders said.

Monken said he believed both Sanders’ interception and one thrown by third-stringer Dillon Gabriel later in the fourth quarter were not the result of bad decision-making and that he looked forward to watching the film as part of the evaluation of the entire offense.

“I was really pleased with our quarterback play,” Monken said. “It’s not going to feel like that (when) you turn it over three times, that’s never ideal. But to me, it felt like we are going to be able to throw the football.”

Concepcion and fellow rookie wideout Denzel Boston bring much-needed juice to what was one of the league’s worst receiver groups last season. Boston had one catch on two targets from Watson, while Concepcion had three catches plus the touchdown run.

Sanders finished 6-of-11 for 79 yards. Sanders completed three of his first four passes and cited a third-down checkdown in the red zone to Ahmani Marshall as his best throw of the day because it showed growth — from himself and the offense. Watson said he felt good about limiting negative plays and stringing together completions, but both quarterbacks followed their coach’s lead by not really talking about the state of the competition.

Probably, there’s only one week left. And Monken won’t be as enthusiastic about things next week if he doesn’t see growth in these upcoming practice sessions.

“Every opportunity I get, I’m just trying to go one step forward,” Watson said. “Just trying to improve every day.”