Messi at the double as Inter Miami maul Montreal

Inter Miami returned to Major League Soccer in style following their recent, notable performance at the Club World Cup.

Despite a painful 4-0 loss to PSG in the Round of 16, Las Garzas bounced back in style—returning to domestic league action with a hard-fought road win against Montréal.

But Mascherano’s men were forced to come from behind after Montréal opened the scoring just two minutes into the game - sparked by an uncharacteristic mistake from Lionel Messi.

Montreal take the lead

The Argentinean attempted a routine back pass to defender Tomás Avilés but misjudged it, leaving Prince-Osei Owusu to pounce on the ball. The striker intercepted the pass and slotted past goalkeeper Óscar Ustari. A gift-wrapped goal, courtesy of Messi.

The atmosphere inside Stade Saputo turned electric but Mascherano’s team didn’t flinch. Instead, they kicked into high gear, launching wave after wave of attacks on the locals’ net.

Montréal’s goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois kept the visitors out, making a series of heroic saves to keep his team ahead but the lead didn’t last long.

Tadeo Allende finally found a way past Sirois, making it 1-1 on 33 minutes, courtesy of a brilliant assist from Messi.

As if on cue, the Argentine superstar showed up with the kind of brilliance only he can summon. With trademark poise, he cut through the home defense, picked his spot then fired past the keeper to put the visitors 1–2 up.

A dazzling left-footed finish which put the seal on the comeback—and it was just the beginning. The Argentine ace would go on to score twice, but not before recording a career milestone: his 385th professional assist.

Segovia joins the party

Telasco Segovia added a stunning third. Cutting inside from the right, the Venezuelan unleashed a curling effort right into the top corner —entering in off the crossbar.

Segovia’s wonder strike had barely stopped echoing through the stands when Messi produced another jaw-dropping moment. With a rapid change of pace, he slalomed past six Impact defenders then cooly slotted past the keeper—a golden exclamation to underline the visitors’ dominant performance.

Messi turns on the style for Suárez

Minutes later, with the crowd at Montreal’s Stade Saputo chanting his name, Messi turned from scorer to showman. He spent the final stretch feeding ball after ball to his longtime friend Luis Suárez, hoping the Uruguayan striker could add the fifth and complete the “manita”.

And he almost did. In the 88th minute, Suárez found the net, only for the goal to be ruled offside. Still, Messi’s playful chemistry with “El Pistolero” had fans smiling—and left defenders dizzy.

It ended 1–4 - more than just a win. It felt like the start of something bigger: the return of a squad that has never been away.

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