Lionel Messi put on a spectacular performance in his return from injury, scoring two goals in just four minutes and assisting in Inter Miami's 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union in the Major League Soccer tournament. His return is notable, especially since he had been sidelined since injuring his right ankle during the Copa America final on July 14.
After missing eight MLS matches for his club and this month's World Cup qualifiers for his country, Messi returned to action. He hadn't played for Inter Miami since June 1, but he showed no signs of rust when he was placed straight into the starting lineup. Philadelphia seized the advantage in the second minute on Mikael Uhre's left-footed shot from outside the area.
Messi grabbed the equalizer in the 26th minute, collecting a pass from Luis Suarez and beating defender Kai Wagner before unleashing a right-footed shot to cap a sequence launched by Jordi Alba on the left.
Ecstatic fans were still celebrating when he fired Inter ahead in the 30th, connecting again with Alba and firing a left-footed shot from the center of the area into the bottom right corner.
Major League Soccer posted the video of the goal and commented, ‘Like he never left’
Inter thought Suarez had made it 3-1 before halftime, but his goal was overturned on a VAR review.
But Suarez added a goal deep in second-half injury time with Messi -- who also picked up his first yellow card in MLS for lingering on a corner kick -- providing the assist.
The victory extended Inter Miami's lead at the top of the MLS standings to 62 points, 10 points clear of their closest Eastern Conference challengers FC Cincinnati with six games remaining in the regular season.
They have already booked their place in the MLS Cup playoffs.
