Messi scores twice in Inter Miami 4-0 win over Atlanta, takes Golden Boot lead
It was Fan Appreciation Night at Chase Stadium Saturday and Inter Miami fans got their money’s worth: Lionel Messi in the starting lineup, scoring a pair of goals, and assisting Jordi Alba on another in a 4-0 win over Atlanta United.
Messi spent all week training with Argentina’s national team, presumably to prepare for the friendly against Venezuela Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium. Fans assumed he would not be available for Saturday’s league game. But as the week wore on, there were hints that Messi might not play for Argentina and instead play with Inter Miami in an important game with playoff implications.
Sure enough, Messi watched in street clothes from a stadium suite as Argentina beat Venezuela 1-0, and he was back in his pink No. 10 uniform on Saturday, delighting the crowd, which included Argentina national team members Gio Lo Celso, Nicolas Otamendi, Leandro Paredes, and Rodrigo De Paul, the Inter Miami midfielder, who sat out the match.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano explained after the game how the decision was made for Messi to play on Saturday: “Friday before the game, [Argentina coach Lionel] Scaloni told me he was not planning to use Leo, was going to leave him off the roster, I spoke to Leo, and he wanted to play with us. Even though he trained with the national team all week, he is a unique player, very special, and we saw what he did for us [against Atlanta].”
Mascherano later thanked Scaloni and the Argentine soccer federation for letting Messi leave camp to play for his club. Messi made a difference from the opening whistle, creating chances time and again.
“Things are much easier for us with Leo,” the coach said, smiling.
After failing to find the back of the net with his first five shots, he finally broke through in the 39th minute with a sublime left-footed curler from the right side of the box to the top left corner. Baltasar Rodriguez had stolen the ball from an Atlanta defender and crossed the ball to Messi.
With that goal, Messi moved into first place in the Golden Boot race, one goal ahead of Denis Bouanga of Los Angeles FC, who is away on national team duty with Gabon. If they wind up tied at the end of the season, Messi has the edge with 18 assists to Bouanga’s eight.
Messi’s 18th assist came on Saturday night when he continued his legendary connection with Alba, sending a long ball directly into the path of the Spaniard, who chipped it over Atlanta goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert to give Miami a 2-0 lead in the 52nd minute.
Alba announced last week that he will retire at the end of this season and was celebrated with a post-game tribute on the field, making the goal even more special. He celebrated the goal by sprinting to hug his wife and children, who were watching from a field-level suite. He then was engulfed by his teammates and shared a long embrace with Messi. It was Alba’s sixth goal of the season.
Luis Suarez made it 3-0 with a right-footed blast to the top right corner at the 61-minute mark. And then Messi, not satisfied with just one goal on the night, scored his 26th goal of the season in the 87th minute with an assist from (who else?) Alba. He now leads Bouanga by two goals in the Golden Boot race.
Messi also made MLS history, as he became the first player in league history to produce nine multi-goal games in a single regular season.
Inter Miami remains in third place in the Eastern Conference standings with one game to go, tied on points with second-place Cincinnati.
“This was an important win for us as a team, and for Leo, I imagine him scoring after not scoring in the past few games was important for him,” Mascherano said. “His life won’t change much either way, but we know how competitive he is, so if [the Golden Boot] is within reach, he will do all he can to win it. All around it was a good night for us and for him.”
Saturday’s game had added significance because it was the final regular season home game at Chase Stadium. Inter Miami’s new stadium, Miami Freedom Park, is under construction and scheduled to open for the 2026 season. The regular season finale will be played next Saturday at Nashville.
Joining Messi in the starting lineup Saturday were: goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo, right back Marcelo Weigandt, center backs Tomas Aviles and Gonzalo Lujan, left back Jordi Alba, midfielder Tadeo Allende, midfielder Yannick Bright, midfielder Sergio Busquets, midfielder Baltasar Rodriguez and forward Luis Suarez.
Miami’s bench included Oscar Ustari, Will Yarbrough, Tyler Hall, Ryan Sailor, Santi Morales, Fafa Picault, and Samuel Basabe and Ricardo Montenegro, who were brought up from the MLS Next Inter Miami II team.
Picault went in for Bright in the 56th minute because Bright told coaches at halftime that he felt some discomfort in his upper leg. Mascherano said they had planned to have Picault come in for a different player, but they brought him in earlier when they saw Bright was uncomfortable.
Sailor replaced Aviles in the 78th minute and Morales went in Rodriguez in the 89th minute.
Center back Maxi Falcon was suspended for the game due to yellow card accumulation. Also missing for Miami due to national team duty were Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina), Noah Allen (Greece U21), Telasco Segovia (Venezuela), and Ian Fray (Jamaica).
Atlanta entered the game with just five wins in 32 games and was in 14th place in the Eastern conference. Atlanta has lost 15 of 16 road games this season.
Miguel Almiron (Paraguay) is among the Atlanta players missing for national team duty. Others are Luke Brennan (U20 World Cup), Ronald Hernadez (Venezuela), Enea Mihaj (Albania), Alexei Miranchuk (Russia), and Bartosz Slisa (Poland).
The Atlanta Starting XI included Jayden Hibbert, Stian Gregersen, Juan Berrocal, former Inter Miami forward Leo Afonso, Dominik Chong Qui, Steven Alzate, Tristan Muyumba, Pedro Amador, Latte Lath, Cooper Sanchez, and Jamal Thiare.
This story was originally published October 11, 2025 at 7:19 PM.