NEW DELHI: Lionel Messi returned from an ankle injury on Saturday, scoring two goals and assisting in
Inter Miami
's 3-1 win against the
Philadelphia Union
in
Major League Soccer
.
Messi had missed eight
MLS
games and Argentina's World Cup qualifiers due to his injury. Despite the long break since his last game on June 1, he quickly adjusted to the starting lineup.
The injury occurred during the
Copa America
final on July 14, where Messi helped Argentina secure a victory over Colombia.
Messi, who had been training for the past three weeks, displayed no signs of the injury or lack of match fitness during the game.
Coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino expressed his satisfaction with Messi's performance, stating in Spanish, "What he did was more typical than other things that happened tonight." Martino was pleased that Messi was able to complete the entire 90 minutes without any issues, adding, "He felt fine."
Philadelphia took an early lead with Mikael Uhre's goal in the second minute. He scored with a left-footed strike from outside the box.
Lionel Messi scored twice in a short span to level and then take the lead for Inter Miami. At the 26-minute mark, Messi received a pass from
Luis Suarez
, maneuvered past
Kai Wagner
, and scored with a powerful right-footed shot. The play began with Jordi Alba on the left side of the pitch.
Just four minutes later, Messi scored again. This time, he connected with Alba and struck a precise left-footed shot from inside the penalty area, sending the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
Suarez nearly extended the lead to 3-1 before halftime, but his goal was disallowed after a VAR review.
During second-half stoppage time, Suarez finally scored with Messi providing the assist. During the match, Messi received his first yellow card in MLS for lingering on a corner kick.
The victory strengthened Inter Miami's position at the top of the MLS standings with 62 points. They now hold a 10-point lead over their nearest Eastern Conference rivals,
FC Cincinnati
, with six regular-season games remaining. The team has already secured its place in the
MLS Cup playoffs
.
English (US) ·