Lionel Messi wasted no time making an impact upon his return from injury. The Inter Miami star, who had been sidelined for two weeks with an adductor strain, came off the bench in the 55th minute of Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Union and scored his second goal of the MLS season just two minutes later.
His goal, which came effortlessly, proved to be the deciding factor in Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory over the Union. Robert Taylor had given Miami the lead in the 23rd minute, and although Daniel Gazdag pulled one back for Philadelphia in the 80th minute, they were unable to find an equalizer.
Messi, who had been out of action since sustaining a left adductor strain in a previous match against Atlanta United, missed two international games for Argentina before making his comeback. Speaking about Messi’s return, Miami head coach Javier Mascherano, who also played alongside Messi at Barcelona and for Argentina, stated in an interview with USA Today:
“He knows his body very well, and the reality is that he has been training progressively more and more, and has joined in to do some training sessions with the group. And today he will do the entire training session,” Mascherano said.
Now 37 years old, Messi is embarking on his third MLS season and has already notched up 23 goals in 28 matches for Inter Miami. With this victory, Inter Miami climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference standings and are set to face LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday in Los Angeles.