Messi shines with two goals, assist as Inter Miami beats D.C. United 3-2
Lionel Messi proved he is still stellar at 38, scoring two goals and providing an assist on a soggy Saturday night as Inter Miami beat D.C. United 3-2 for a much-needed victory at Chase Stadium.
“Another normal night for Leo, which is totally abnormal for any other player,” said Miami coach Javier Mascherano, who has witnessed Messi’s magic for many years, dating back to their days as teammates at FC Barcelona and the Argentine national team.
With the two goals, Messi took over the MLS Golden Boot race with 22 goals in 22 games. Messi also has 12 assists and is on the verge of signing a multi-year contract extension. He also scored eight goals over the Concacaf Champions Cup, Club World Cup and Leagues Cup.
With its Argentine captain leading the way and suspended Luis Suarez looking on from a suite, Inter Miami, eager to make up ground in the MLS standings, battled in heavy rain against D.C., which has already been eliminated from the playoff race.
Miami dominated from the start, and then, in the 35th minute, Messi delivered a perfectly-paced through ball to a sprinting Tadeo Allende, who broke out of a scoring slump and put Miami on top 1-0. The crowd, drenched but delighted, erupted as Messi and Allende celebrated.
The weather improved in the second half, as did D.C. United, which equalized at the 53-minute mark, when Miami defenders were slow to react on the counter and Christian Benteke headed in a shot over center back Gonzalo Lujan.
Messi, determined to find the back of the net, had a shot bounce off the post and another stopped by the D.C. goalkeeper before finally scoring the go-ahead goal in the 66th minute. Jordi Alba threaded a pass through a tight space in the box and found his former Barcelona teammate Messi, who turned and made the clinical finish.
But he wasn’t done for the night. He saved his best for the 85th minute. Messi dribbled through a pair of D.C. defenders as he eyed the goal, and before they had time to recover, he had launched a curling rocket of a shot to the upper corner to make it 3-1.
“Messi’s ability not only to score, but to create plays for his team, to find situations and carry the team on his shoulders when we needed him most and were having difficulties, that is what we always say it is an advantage to have him and we were able to benefit from that,” Mascherano said.
In addition to his goals and assist, Messi displayed his leadership skills in the 72nd minute. Newly signed forward Mateo Silvetti, a 19-year-old Argentine from Messi’s hometown of Rosario, drew a penalty in the box. Typically, Messi would take the penalty kick, but the captain handed the ball to the teenager and let him take the PK. Silvetti’s shot hit the bar, but Mascherano said Messi’s gesture is what stood out to him about that play.
“Leo has done that many times during his career, giving chances like that to players who need the goals more than he does,” Mascherano said.
D.C. closed the gap to 3-2 in the seventh minute of added time on a goal from Jacob Murrell.
Mascherano made just one change from the starting lineup he used in the 3-1 mid-week victory over Seattle, going with Marcelo Weigandt at right back instead of Ian Fray. The rest of the starters were Oscar Ustari, Gonzalo Lujan, Maxi Falcon, Noah Allen, Rodrigo De Paul (sporting bleached blond hair), Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright, Allende, Messi and Alba.
Messi and Alba, who played higher up the field as a left winger against the Sounders, each had a goal and an assist in that game.
Though D.C. has already been eliminated from the playoffs, Mascherano insisted his team was not taking Saturday’s game lightly and he pointed out that D.C. had not lost in the past four games under the direction of new coach Rene Weiler.
D.C.’s starters were: Luis Barraza, Kye Rowles, Lucas Bartlett, David Schnegg, Conner Antley, Brandon Servania, Jackson Hopkins, Gabriel Pirani, Christian Benteke, Joao Peglow, and Aaron Herrera.
Inter Miami moved into fifth place in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining and three games in hand.
Eight points separate Miami (52) from Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union (60 points) and Miami has the benefit of three games in hand. Cincinnati is in second place with 55 points, Charlotte is third with 53 and NYCFC is fourth with 53.
“This was a very important win because this week we won the six points we had to win at home, we moved up a few spots in the standings...and our objective is to get one more win to clinch a playoff spot and then try to get to the highest spots to secure home field advantage,” Mascherano said.
Baltasar Rodriguez and Telasco Segovia returned to the game roster after missing the last game with minor injuries. Tomas Aviles was back after serving a red-card suspension against Seattle. Suarez was still out, suspended for the third and final game of his three-game ban for his involvement in the post-match brawl at the Leagues Cup final against Seattle.
Fafa Picault was still out with a thigh injury but is expected to travel to the games against New York City FC on Wednesday and Toronto FC on Saturday.
This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM.