FThe three months we waited after Lionel Messi's nasty ankle injury in the Copa America final last summer were shared by all Inter Miami fans, as they knew they would be without Leo Messi for at least a while. His return finally took place on Saturday against Philadelphia Union, while we are still in the final days of the regular season, and his return was seamless, almost as if he had never left. Not that his teammates need him for this game, but if he wants to be in good shape for the playoffs, Leo needs more activity than he is doing right now. That is why he played against the Union from the start.
Watch every Inter Miami match with Apple TV Plus Season Pass
Messi scores early double against Philadelphia
After a Union goal in the second minute of play, it took until 23 minutes for Leo Messi to combine with Luis Suarez and cause a sensation again. A magnificent one-two between them that left Messi with enough space to shoot from an angle. Four minutes later, Leo got an assist from the left flank and scored the second goal of the night. The final goal came in the 94th minute on an assist from Messi that Suarez grazed with a shot from outside the box. It was Inter Miami's 3-1 victory that became the prelude to what is to come in the MLS playoffs.
To give you an idea of how dominant Inter Miami has been this season, they are leading the Eastern Conference with 62 points at the moment. Their closest competitor in that department is Cincinnati FC with 52 points. In the Western Conference, Los Angeles Galaxy are Inter Miami's closest competitor with 53 points, 9 points ahead of their closest rival. Messi has six games left to play to be in shape for the MLS Playoffs and try to win his first MLS Cup which will only add more pages to an already incredible career.
Source link: https://www.marca.com/en/football/mls/2024/09/15/66e64e21ca4741f2268b4571.html