Lionel Messi started for Inter Miami CF after his return from the FIFA World Cup and scored two great goals to help his team overcome their 2-0 deficit for a 4-2 victory over Atlético de San Luis in the first match of the 2026 Leagues Cup.
The away team took the lead in the fourth minute of the match at Nu Stadium in Miami on Wednesday through David Rodriguez’s flick header past Rocco Ríos Novo following great build-up play from San Luis, but the advantage lasted only for a while.
Miami answered almost instantly with Messi’s spectacular volley as he controlled Noah Allen’s cross from the left channel while making full speed run in just the second match back since coming out of retirement due to Argentina’s performance in the final of the World Cup.
In Messi’s absence, Luis Suárez kept the ship afloat for Miami in the return to MLS action following the World Cup but the Uruguayan could not participate in the match against San Luis since he started the process of sitting out the first game in a ban of six games for spitting on an employee of Seattle Sounders FC following his side’s defeat in the 2025 Leagues Cup final.
Suarez Begins 6-Match Ban for Finals Incident
The six-game ban means that Suárez, who has seven goals in four consecutive matches, will miss this year’s tournament, per ESPN.
The goal made Messi the all-time leading scorer in Leagues Cup with 14 goals, one better than Denis Bouanga of LAFC ever since the expanded competition was launched in 2023. It also made Messi, who has featured 39 minutes in his first game in a 2-2 draw in MLS against Columbus, score his fifth multiple-goal game in 12 appearances in League Cups.
His strike partner Allen made three assists in a single game for the first time in his career.
Messi led Miami to the Leagues Cup trophy in 2023 right after he joined the team.
