Soccer
If the other 28 teams in MLS weren’t watching Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire, we have no choice but to inform them that Lionel Andrés Messi is back at it again for Inter Miami CF.
The Argentine legend returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Feb. 25 and looked up for it and then some, scoring the equalizer off a turnover he created as the Herons rallied from an early deficit to beat Atlanta United 2-1 in front of a raucous crowd of 42,843 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Leo’s is a goal that only he can do,” Herons coach Javier Mascherano said in Spanish postgame. “He is the best player in history. You can’t say anything else. A player who has the capacity to make the most beautiful goals that you’re going to see.”
The victory extends Miami’s unbeaten start to eight matches across league and Concacaf Champions Cup play, and seems to signal Messi’s return to form after sitting out three games for what was vaguely termed ‘load management.’
ATLUTD were the stronger side out of the gates and deservingly surged in front after 11 minutes via MLS-record signing Emmanuel Latte Lath’s third goal of the season. But the visitors adapted and rallied, Messi setting the tone by stripping Bartosz Slisz at the top of Atlanta’s penalty box and coolly chipping Brad Guzan mere minutes later for his fourth goal of 2025 across all competitions.
If this was an acid test for Atlanta’s lavishly-funded offseason overhaul, Messi & Friends confirmed to head coach Ronny Deila and his group that the project is not yet fully baked.
“It was an even game, when you see expected goals and touches inside the 16 opportunities, but their chances were more clean-cut chances,” lamented Deila. “Also, of course, you talk about one of the best players in the world, maybe the best, still – he’s unbelievable.
“The first goal, we lose the ball in a very bad situation, the best player in the world, and you have a problem.”
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 16, 2025
That game-changing moment was a startling flash of bite from a player so often described over the years as disinterested in his defensive duties. Messi would finish the match with five miles of distance covered and 7/11 duels won in addition to his 70 touches of the ball. Was there something extra in his tank to attain a measure of revenge for the Five Stripes’ historic upset of Miami in last year’s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs?
Mascherano pumped the brakes on that, but perhaps not altogether convincingly.
“Well, not a revenge, not a rematch, not a grudge match,” said the first-year boss, calling this year a “completely different” context for a younger, perhaps hungrier IMCF. “In soccer, you get new opportunities. So what happened, happened, and you can’t go back.
“This is a long tournament, and we are not anywhere near the end. I am one of these people that, just because we began, I don’t believe that we’re done,” noted Mascherano in regards to his team’s strong start, adding their upcoming bye weekend during the FIFA international window is well-timed to allow some of his group time for rest and recovery. “We have to be on our guard, and we can’t be relaxing. And of course, we have to enjoy the moment, but it is just the moment.”
Indeed, the conversation might be different had Atlanta made slightly fewer errors on the night.
No one would be surprised at the sight of Messi punching back. What may prove almost as vital in the long run were the timing and source of Miami’s second goal: Fafà Picault, who came off the bench to head home a last-minute winner after missing a few weeks to a hamstring injury.
The sequence transpired so quickly that even the MLS Season Pass broadcast nearly missed it. Jordi Alba was given too much space along the left touchline after Miami played a short corner kick, allowing the Spaniard to curl a looping cross to the far post. Picault, all 5-feet-8 of him, nodded an uncontested header that slipped past Guzan – who seemed to pull his hands away at the last second, perhaps thinking his teammate Derrick Williams would clear the ball away – and into the net.
“The bad part, I think, is how we can concede that last goal. That is too easy because they [Miami] have three, four guys in the box and I think they are satisfied with that draw and then they get something out of nothing. That’s hard to swallow,” said Deila.
“We play against a team that hasn’t lost this year and had the most points in the league, so I don’t see that it’s a frightening difference between us. That’s the good thing. But in the end, we gave them too many easy chances.”
Atlanta’s frustration mirrored Miami’s elation. It’s not the first time an IMCF adversary has ruefully let the Rosanegra slip off the hook via their own self-inflicted wounds, and most likely, it won’t be the last.
“The desire,” Picault told MLS Season Pass sideline reporter Andrew Wiebe when asked what makes this Miami squad special.
“We have a lot of heart. I think you have big-name players, but they’re here for the grind, and you can see that in small plays and over games like this. And then you have a young group that’s motivated and everybody wants to show themselves. And I think more than anything, we’re very united. We all have the same goal and that’s to win, and I think that’s important.”
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