Lionel Messi scored twice and provided an assist as Inter Miami cruised to a 4-0 victory over Atlanta United, just a day after being rested by Argentina for their friendly against Venezuela.
The 38-year-old was called up for Argentina’s two friendlies — Friday’s match against Venezuela at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and Tuesday’s fixture with Puerto Rico, moved from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale.
With MLS continuing through the international break, it was unclear whether Messi would feature for Miami on Saturday in their penultimate regular-season game.
Having trained with Argentina during the week but watched Friday’s 1-0 win from the stands, Messi returned to action for Inter after coach Javier Mascherano requested permission from national boss Lionel Scaloni.
Mascherano confirmed he spoke with Scaloni before the match: “He said Leo wouldn’t play, so I talked to him to see if he could feature for us. It was his decision, and he was ready. Even without training with us last week, he showed his quality today.”
Messi opened the scoring with a trademark curling finish in the 39th minute and doubled his tally late on with an 87th-minute strike, moving to the top of the MLS scoring charts with 26 goals.
He also set up Jordi Alba’s goal, while Luis Suárez added another as Miami recorded a dominant win.
Inter Miami, already assured of a playoff place, remain third in the Eastern Conference — level on points with second-placed FC Cincinnati.
