Messi made his first appearance for Inter Miami in over three months, and in just 19 games—10 fewer than anyone else—he became the fastest player in league history to record 15 goals and 15 assists. On Saturday, he contributed to all three of Miami’s goals as his team defeated the Philadelphia Union 3-1.
These efforts followed Miami’s disastrous start to the match, as Mikael Uhre rifled the ball past goalkeeper Drake Callender’s outstretched fingertips and into the net in the first minute of play.
Messi grabbed a pass from Luis Suárez inside the box and tapped the ball into the net to tie the score with Miami down 1-0. The Argentine scored his second goal four minutes later, deceiving the Philadelphia defense and prodding the ball into the net from nearly the same position.
Lionel Messi celebrates with defender Jordi Alba and midfielder Federico Redondo after scoring against the Philadelphia Union.
Only a last gasp save from Callender prevented Philadelphia from equalizing in the 85th minute but shortly afterwards, Miami secured the win as Messi turned provider, feeding Suárez who found the corner of the net with a neat finish. That goal was Suárez’s 17th of the campaign, setting a new club record for the most goals scored in a single MLS regular season.
Messi afterwards acknowledged that he was a “little tired.” Messi had not played since July 14 when he was hurt while representing Argentina in the Copa América final.
“The heat and humidity in Miami don’t help much either, but I really wanted to come back, I had been off the field for a long time,” he said afterwards per TNT Sports which, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
“We decided that I would start because little by little I was training with the group and feeling good, and I am very happy – very happy.”
