Coming off one of the toughest weeks of his life and career, and despite having missed three consecutive penalties, Lionel Messi pushed through and found the back of the net once again. Scoring for Inter Miami against Philadelphia Union, the Argentine ace is back to his scoring ways and right in the race for the MLS golden boot.
Although Messi hinted at retirement from Inter Miami and Argentina in a heartfelt post dedicated to his late father, it’s hard to imagine soccer and MLS without him when he continues to put on stellar performances night in and night out. Against the Union, it’s been no different.
Inter Miami struggled to start the game, but all it took was for them to find Messi with some space. On one of his first touches, Messi delivered a brilliant lobbed cross for Luis Suarez, who headed the ball into the goal box for Daniel Pinter to push the ball into the back of the net and bring the score level.
Messi was still saving an ace up his sleeve. After receiving the ball inside the box, everyone at Subaru Park knew what was coming, but nobody could stop it. Messi, in typical fashion, cut inside to beat Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake with a precise, open-footed shot.
MAGIC from Messi as @InterMiamiCF take the lead over the Union! 🪄 pic.twitter.com/lJ5tpDMUIA
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 20, 2026
Messi’s celebration
Much speculation surrounded Messi’s first goal after the difficult stretch he had experienced. However, there was no special celebration planned. That is not to say it was not emotional in its own right.
As his teammates hugged him and offered words of encouragement and congratulations, Messi was mostly focused on giving out instructions, likely to avoid getting caught up in the moment and realizing just how special his latest goal had been.
Messi adds one more to his tally in Miami
Albeit facing plenty of adversity on and off the pitch, Messi continues to score and help the Herons time and again. With his goal against Philadelphia, Messi is now up to 13 goals in the 2026 MLS season.
Moreover, he continues to inch closer to the 100-goal mark for Inter Miami, with the Argentine now at 93 goals for the club in South Florida. As for his pursuit of 1,000 career goals, Messi has now reached 918 across Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami and Argentina.
