Messi shines with two goals, assist as Inter Miami beats Montreal 4-1 in return to MLS
The night started off miserably for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami as the Argentine captain made a rare mistake that proved costly, leading to an early lead by CF Montreal.
But he more than redeemed himself with two brilliant goals and an assist as Miami won 4-1 on the road Saturday in the team’s return to MLS action after its exit from the Club World Cup.
If there was any question about how seriously Inter Miami is taking its return to the MLS season, it was answered with the starting lineup coach Javier Mascherano put on the field.
Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and five other starters from the Club World Cup Round-of-16 game against Paris Saint-Germain were in the Starting XI against Montreal.
Anybody who thought Messi would rest after the intense international tournament does not know Messi.
“We have to understand that Leo is happy playing soccer and whenever he is fit to play, he will play, because he is happiest on the field,” Mascherano said after the victory.
“Clearly, we have a plus, an extra advantage, when he plays, and we want to use that advantage as much as possible and in as many games as possible. He’s clearly a different player and we’re lucky to have him, to have him playing for us. And today he made the difference again.”
The game started off poorly for Miami. In the second minute, Messi sent a back pass directly into the path of Montreal forward Prince Owusu, who scored an easy goal on a left-footed shot from the center of the box to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
Alba had a golden chance to score the equalizer in the 15th minute, but his left-footed shot bounced off the right post. Tadeo Allende had a good shot from the right side at the 20-minute mark, but it was saved by Jonathan Sirois. Thirteen minutes later, Allende got an assist from Messi and found the back of the net to tie it up 1-1. Sergio Busquets got the play started with a through ball to Messi.
Then, Messi made up for the early error with a spectacular go-ahead goal, weaving his way through four defenders and then curling a perfect low shot to the far low corner. The huge smile on his face showed how much the goal meant to him as he was engulfed by his jubilant teammates.
Inter Miami headed into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
Telasco Segovia made it 3-1 at the 60-minute mark on a blast from the left side with an assist from Allende.
And Miami wasn’t done. Messi delivered more magic two minutes later, collecting the ball on the counter attack and dribbling past four defenders, leaving them twisting and turning as he kept the ball on his trusty left foot and then unleashed a shot that hit the top center of the goal.
“Messi! Messi!” chanted the crowd at Stade Saputo, once again demonstrating that Inter Miami is never really a visiting team when the Argentine icon is in the game.
“We played a great game, it’s never easy to re-insert yourself into a competition after the month we had in the Club World Cup and I think our players did it to perfection,” Mascherano said. “They put their heads in MLS and we found ourselves in a complicated game after the early adversity and the team worked hard to turn things around. It was a great night, we go back to Miami with three points, which was very necessary.”
Inter Miami has seven games over 25 days in July, including four of the next five on the road, so Mascherano said he plans to do some roster rotation in the coming weeks. But on Saturday, he went with his heavy hitters.
“Clearly, we have a lot of games coming up, plus all the ones we have already played, so we will need everyone to participate,” he said. “We’ll see how we can manage some roster changes without feeling it too much because I don’t like to change six or seven players from one match to the other.”
Although facing CF Montreal, the last place team in the Eastern Conference, might seem like a letdown after facing European champion PSG in front of a crowd of 65,000, Mascherano and his players entered the game highly motivated to build off their tournament success.
They said if they could get through matches against Al Ahly, Porto and Palmeiras undefeated, they can win domestic league games and contend for the MLS Cup.
Inter Miami had ground to make up, as it slipped from third place to seventh during its Club World Cup break and has played four fewer matches than all the teams ahead of them in the standings.
Miami moved up to sixth with Saturday’s win and now sits 10 points behind first-place Cincinnati and nine behind second-place Nashville. The top seven qualify for the playoffs, which begin in late October. The eighth and ninth place teams enter a playoff for the final spot.
Due to its tournament commitments, Miami has played only 17 MLS matches, while most of its rivals have played 21. Messi and his teammates had not played a league match since their 5-1 win over the Columbus Crew in late May. The next stretch of the schedule is jam-packed as the team tries to catch up.
Following the Montreal game, Inter Miami plays at New England on July 9, at home against Nashville on July 12, on the road at Cincinnati July 16, on the road at New York Red Bulls on July 19, and then at home against Cincinnati on July 26.
“Our motivation now is to compete in our league, and to achieve something this club has been aiming for year after year,” Mascherano said. “We want to get as far as we can, qualify for the playoffs, be in position to have home field advantage, and from there we’ll see what happens at the end of October.”
Inter Miami’s Starting XI on Saturday: Oscar Ustari, Marcelo Weigandt, Tomas Aviles, Maxi Falcon, Jordi Alba, Tadeo Allende, Benja Cremaschi, Sergio Busquets, Telasco Segovia, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez.
David Martinez, Fede Redondo and Baltasar Rodriguez came off the bench in the 72nd minute, replacing Aviles, Segovia and Cremaschi. Fafa Picault went in at the 83-minute mark for Allende and Ryan Sailor went in late for Falcon.
Montreal’s starting lineup included Jonathan Sirois, Brandan Craig, Fernando Alvarez, Luca Petrasso, Dawid Bugaj, Caden Clark, Victor Loturi, Samuel Piette, Prince Owusu, Tom Pearce, Sante Sealy.
Note: Inter Miami players wore black armbands in memory of Liverpool’s Portuguese star Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who were killed in a car crash on Thursday. “It was a terrible tragedy, made a huge impact on the football world, and this small gesture was the least we could do out of respect for them and their families,” Mascherano said.
This story was originally published July 5, 2025 at 7:37 PM.