Inter Miami returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over the LA Galaxy. Lionel Messi returned from injury in the very game, and he once again showed his importance to the team by scoring a crucial goal. The result came just days after Miami suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Orlando City, and the team needed a response.
Both Leo Messi and his Argentine teammate Rodrigo De Paul did not start the match. Both sat on the bench for the first half. Still, their introduction at halftime changed the course of the game. Before that, Jordi Alba had given Miami the lead in the 43rd minute when he finished calmly from a precise through ball by Sergio Busquets. The Galaxy, however, were not willing to back down. In the 59th minute, Joseph Paintsil dribbled past three defenders and struck from a difficult angle to level the score.
The game seemed tense, but as he has done many times this season, much like in his whole career, Messi came hard at the opposition with a clutch performance. He beat two defenders and fired a powerful left-footed shot past goalkeeper Novak Mivovic. It was his 19th goal of the MLS regular season and once again proved why he is seen as the heart of Miami’s attack.
With the Galaxy pushing for an equalizer late on, Miami struck again. In the 89th minute, Luis Suárez finished off a well-worked move. De Paul and Messi combined in the buildup before Suárez calmly placed the ball into the net for his sixth goal of the season. It was Lionel Messi’s clever back-heel pass that set it up for a goal, and Suárez’s accurate finishing did the rest.
The win lifted Inter Miami to 45 points, keeping them near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. More importantly, it gave the team a much-needed boost in confidence ahead of their Leagues Cup quarterfinal match against Mexican side Tigres UANL on Wednesday.