SoFla Guide Editors
Four minutes. That is all Lionel Messi needed on Saturday night to turn a tight road game into another Inter Miami highlight reel, scoring twice in the 56th and 60th minutes as the Herons beat Atlanta United 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to ESPN. It was Inter Miami’s third straight win, and it pushed Messi’s league-leading goal count to 25.
What happened in Atlanta
Inter Miami got on the board right before the break. ESPN reported that Germán Berterame scored in the 45th minute, with assists from Messi and Luis Suárez, to send the visitors into halftime up 1-0.
Then came the Messi show. Both of his second-half goals were solo efforts, per ESPN, the first in the 56th minute and the second in the 60th. Suárez picked up the assist on the second one, according to Inter Miami’s official match release distributed via OurSports Central.
Atlanta did not go quietly on the stat sheet. The club release noted that the home side outshot Inter Miami 21 to seven, which tells you a lot about how this one was played and just as much about how ruthless Miami was with the few looks it created. Fafà Picault converted a penalty in the 89th minute for Atlanta’s consolation goal, ESPN reported.
Messi’s numbers keep climbing
Twenty-five goals. That is Messi’s season tally after the brace, and ESPN reported it leaves him six clear of the next closest players, FC Dallas’s Petar Musa and Philadelphia’s Milan Iloski.
The assist on Berterame’s opener was just as notable. According to ESPN, it was Messi’s 15th of the season, tying him with LAFC’s Son Heung-min for the league lead. ESPN also reported that Messi is the first player in MLS history to record at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons.
He is doing all of this at 39, and not long after calling time on his Argentina career following the 2026 World Cup, where Argentina lost the final 1-0 to Spain.
Suárez quietly hit a milestone of his own. His assist on Messi’s second goal was his 12th in the league this season, and the club release said it made him the second player in Inter Miami history to reach 100 goal contributions.
Yahoo Sports has framed Messi’s run as “decimating MLS” and suggested he could reportedly win another Ballon d’Or. Keep that second part in perspective. Messi was named to France Football’s 30-player shortlist on September 8, voting closed September 28, and the winner will not be announced until the ceremony at the London Palladium on October 26. He already holds a record eight of the trophies, the most recent in 2023. Whether a ninth is coming, nobody outside the voting room knows yet.
What it means for South Florida
Inter Miami now sits at 15 wins, five losses and 10 draws for 55 points, second in the Eastern Conference, according to the club release. The three-game streak, which includes wins over D.C. United and New York City FC before Saturday’s trip to Atlanta, has come under head coach Cristian “Kily” González, who took the job in September.
The timing is what makes this stretch feel different. Inter Miami clinched an MLS Cup playoff berth on Wednesday, October 15, two days before kickoff in Atlanta, so this was a team playing with a ticket already punched and still showing up hungry. That is exactly what you want to see from a side heading into the postseason.
For Atlanta, the night changed nothing in the standings. The club release had Gerardo Martino’s team still on 30 points and still in 14th place, second from the bottom of the East.
What’s next
The playoff picture is set for Inter Miami, and the question now is how high the Herons can finish and how long Messi can keep this pace going. With 25 goals and 15 assists, he is leading or tied for the lead in both categories, and there is no sign he plans to slow down before the postseason arrives.
Circle October 26 on the calendar too. That is Ballon d’Or night in London, and South Florida will be watching.
