SoFla Guide Editors
Lionel Messi came home from his Argentina farewell, played all 90 minutes and scored twice as Inter Miami CF rolled over D.C. United 4-0 on Saturday at Nu Stadium in Miami, ESPN reported via the Associated Press. The win ended a five-match winless run and handed new head coach Cristian “Kily” González his first league victory, per ESPN. Two days later, Messi and Luis Suárez were both named to the MLS Team of the Matchday, the club announced on its official site.
So yes. He is back, and he looks just fine.
Suárez lit the fuse, Messi finished the job
The scoring started almost before fans had settled into their seats. Suárez struck in the 3rd minute and added a second in the 39th, according to ESPN (AP), sending Inter Miami into the break with a 2-0 lead and a stadium that already sounded like it knew what was coming.
What came was Messi. Two minutes into the second half, in the 47th minute, he scored from a Suárez assist, ESPN reported. In the 60th, he collected a pass from Rodrigo De Paul, dribbled past two defenders and finished, per the same AP report. Four goals, two apiece for the old friends, and Germán Berterame chipped in two assists of his own, according to ESPN.
Those two goals pushed Messi’s 2026 MLS regular-season tally to a league-leading 23, ESPN reported. The club’s official site lists him at 23 goals and 13 assists in 25 appearances, sitting atop the Golden Boot race. Suárez, per the club, is at 15 goals and nine assists in 24 appearances. Not bad for a pair the rest of the league keeps hoping will slow down.
ABC News, carrying the AP wire, confirmed the 4-0 final on October 10.
From an emotional goodbye to a very loud hello
Saturday was Messi’s first club match since his farewell with Argentina, which closed a 21-year international career, ESPN reported. That send-off came earlier in the week in Buenos Aires, where Argentina beat Benin 3-0 in a friendly and Messi scored a penalty and provided two assists, according to MLSsoccer.com.
He kept the goodbye simple. “There’s nothing more to do than say thanks, like I did in my farewell letter,” Messi said, via MLSsoccer.com.
Then he flew back to Miami and played every minute against D.C. United, per ESPN (AP). Whatever the travel schedule and emotional load looked like, the scoreboard did not show it.
Why this one mattered for Inter Miami
The result was about more than style points. Before Saturday, Inter Miami had gone five straight MLS matches without a win, a stretch of four draws and one loss, according to ESPN. Their last victory had been a 7-1 rout of CF Montréal on August 29. In between, the club changed coaches: González took over on September 16, and the D.C. United match was his first league win in charge, per ESPN.
The three points also carried the team up the table.
For South Florida fans, that is the whole picture in one afternoon. The new coach has a win. The two best players on the roster are scoring in bunches. And the guy whose contract runs through December 31, 2026, is 39 years old and still turning defenders around at Nu Stadium.
Team of the Matchday honors, again
On Monday, MLS published its Team of the Matchday presented by Audi for Matchday 29, and both Messi and Suárez made the cut, the club said on its official site. According to the club, it was Messi’s 11th selection of the 2026 regular season and Suárez’s fifth.
The full lineup, set up in a 3-4-3, also featured players from Orlando City, Nashville SC, San Jose, Sporting KC, Chicago Fire, St. Louis CITY SC and Charlotte FC, according to MLSsoccer.com. Inter Miami was the only club with two names on the list, which feels about right after a four-goal weekend.
Eleven Team of the Matchday nods in a single season is the kind of number that stops being surprising and starts being expected. That is the problem with Messi: he keeps resetting what normal looks like.
What’s next
The streak is over and the coach has his first win. Messi leads the league in goals with 23 and holds the Golden Boot lead, according to the club. Suárez is not far behind in production.
For a team that spent September searching for a win, Saturday looked like a reset. The question for the rest of Matchday 30 and beyond is whether this version of Inter Miami, the one that scored four and conceded none, is the one that shows up every week. If the first game back is any sign, the Herons are rolling again.
