Doug McIntyre
Soccer Journalist
After lacking Inter Miami’s final two video games with a leg muscle harm, Lionel Messi returned to MLS motion on Saturday night time, coming off the Herons’ substitutes’ bench at halftime and scoring the match-winning aim with six minutes to play and including an help in an eventual 3-1 victory over the LA Galaxy.
Along with his staff main the defending MLS Cup champions 1-0 on the interval on a Jordi Alba strike, Miami coach Javier Mascherano inserted Messi for Venezuelan winger Telasco Segovia.
It took the Argentine World Cup winner time to settle into the competition. Joseph Paintsil then equalized for the guests simply earlier than the hour mark.
However positive sufficient, the GOAT gave his legion of pink-clad worshipers pink-clad at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale the particular second they hoped to see when information broke about an hour earlier than kickoff that Messi was listed as an obtainable sub.
Messi delivered it in good particular person style. On the correct aspect of the sphere close to the Galaxy’ penalty field, Luis Suarez despatched a backwards go to Rodrigo De Paul, who squared the ball to Messi standing about 40 yards from the guests’ aim. The 38-year-old immediately exploded previous a defender then slalomed round a number of extra earlier than blasting an unstoppable left-footed shot into the underside nook of keeper Novak Micovic’s web.
It was Messi’s MLS-leading nineteenth aim of the common season, placing him one forward of Nashville SC striker Sam Surridge. (Nashville visits NYCFC on Sunday.)
Suarez added an insurance coverage tally for the hosts in second-half stoppage time without work a seeing-eye feed from his former Barcelona operating mate:
Saturday’s end result pulled Miami, which claimed the Supporters Defend in 2024, inside 5 factors of Japanese Convention pacesetter Philadelphia Union, who misplaced to the New York Purple Bulls on Saturday. Nonetheless, Messi & associates have performed three fewer video games.
Messi was injured early in an Aug. 2 Leagues Cup contest towards Mexican membership Necaxa. He missed the Herons’ closing group sport win over Pumas and a 4-1 Aug. 10 loss to Florida rival Orlando Metropolis.
Miami faces Liga MX energy Tigres on Wednesday within the Leagues Cup quarterfinals (protection begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports activities app).
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports activities who has lined United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Comply with him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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