Lionel Messi made an emphatic impact during his return from injury, scoring a brilliant individual strike and then providing a sensational assist for Luis Suárez to propel Inter Miami to a 3-1 win over the visiting LA Galaxy on Saturday.
After missing two weeks because of a muscle injury in his right leg, Messi returned as a halftime substitute at Chase Stadium. With the score tied 1-1 going into the final 10 minutes, it was Messi who stepped up to keep Miami firmly in the running to retain the Supporters’ Shield.
In the 84th minute, Messi controlled the ball inside the opposition’s half before, in trademark fashion, he dribbled around a defender, and from the edge of the penalty area, he fired a shot at the bottom corner of the net with his left foot to give Miami a 2-1 lead.
Five minutes later, Messi played creator, controlling a pass from Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul and flicking it with his heel to Suárez, who scored Miami’s third goal.
The game-winning contributions came despite Messi grabbing his hamstring on multiple occasions and Miami head coach Javier Mascherano later confirming that he was not at full fitness.
“He’s an extraordinary player,” Mascherano told a news conference. “I also saw that he clearly wasn’t 100% comfortable. Now the reality is that as the minutes went by, he started to loosen up a little more. We’ll have to see how it ended in terms of fatigue. The injury had been something very, very small, and good that the three training sessions we had were good.
“I repeat how important it was that he finished the game. I was seeing him better as the minutes went by, but what we have to see is tomorrow how he feels, and take it day by day.”
Messi became the first player with 30 goal contributions (19 goals, 11 assists) in MLS this season as he looks to surpass his league-leading 38 from last year. His 19th goal put him one ahead in the race for the golden boot.
The 38-year-old has scored in his past four appearances when coming off the bench with Inter Miami.
In the 59th minute, Joseph Paintsil tied the score for the Galaxy, who are the defending MLS Cup champions but are last in the Western Conference standings.
Jordi Alba put the home side ahead in the 43rd minute. Sergio Busquets assisted on the goal, splitting the defense with a pass to Alba. All three goals were scored by Miami’s ex-Barcelona contingent.
Without Messi, who suffered his latest injury in a Leagues Cup duel with Necaxa on Aug. 2, Miami lost 4-1 to Orlando City last week, making Saturday’s win all the more important.
“Vital, vital because I think we were all aware of — I repeat what I said last Sunday — you can clearly lose, but it’s not the image and form we wanted,” Mascherano said of the victory.
“If we really want to compete until the end, if we want to achieve important things, we know that the closer we get to the end of the season, the more vital details become.”
Information from ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano, ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
