He's back. Messi made three productive actions in his first match for Inter Miami

It has been over three months since Lionel Messi last took the field for Inter Miami. In June, the Argentine went to the Copa América, where he sustained an ankle injury in the final and was unable to play. After a lengthy recovery process, he returned to action and contributed to three goals in his very first match back with Inter Miami.

Messi and Inter Miami hosted the Philadelphia Union. The Argentine started alongside his former Barcelona teammates: Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suárez.

The visitors took an early lead in the second minute due to a defensive miscue by Inter Miami. However, in the 26th minute, Suárez provided an assist to Messi, who expertly slotted the ball into the net. Just four minutes later, another former Barça player, Jordi Alba, set up Messi with a low cross, and the Argentine made no mistake in finishing the chance.

On the final minute of the first half, Messi assisted Suárez for what appeared to be a goal, but after a VAR review, the referee disallowed it due to Messi’s offside position. However, in the eighth minute of added time in the second half, there was no offside, and Suárez scored following a pass from Messi, sealing the final score.

MLS
Inter Miami – Philadelphia Union 3:1
Goals: Messi 26’, 30’, Suárez 90+8’ – Uhre 2’

Inter Miami continues to hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference, with a ten-point lead over Cincinnati. Suárez and Messi occupy the fourth and fifth positions in the top scorers' list, with the Uruguayan netting 17 goals and the Argentine 14. The current top scorer of the MLS has 19 goals this season.