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Lionel Messi made a triumphant return from injury, scoring twice and assisting once to lead Inter Miami to a 3-1 win against Philadelphia Union. The World Cup-winning captain, sidelined since injuring his ankle during Argentina’s Copa America final victory in July, had missed this month’s World Cup qualifiers and eight MLS matches.
Philadelphia Union stunned Miami with a goal from Mikael Uhre just 58 seconds into the game. However, Messi equalized in the 26th minute after receiving a pass from former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez, evading a defender, and firing into the net. Four minutes later, Messi struck again, this time assisted by Jordi Alba, another ex-Barça colleague. He later set up Suarez in stoppage time to seal the victory.
Messi, now with 14 goals in 13 games this season, played the full 90 minutes in his first start in three months. After the match, he admitted to feeling “a little tired” but expressed his happiness to be back on the field: “Little by little I was training with the group, feeling good, and that’s why we decided that I would start, and I’m very happy.”
In other MLS action, LA Galaxy pulled off a 4-2 comeback win over LAFC, having been two goals down in their Western Conference showdown.
