Atlanta United 1-3 Inter Miami: Another Messi Brace

Lionel Messi scored twice once again to carry Inter Miami to a 3-1 win over Atlanta United.

Messi, who netted twice in Miami's 4-0 win over D.C. United last weekend, had failed to find the net in the midweek 2-0 victory over New York City FC. But the Argentine star struck twice more at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to secure a comfortable win for his side.

In the first half, Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos tipped away a Messi free-kick. Just before the interval, German Berterame converted Luis Suarez's cross to put Miami 1-0 up.

Miami captain Messi then settled the match with two goals in the space of just four minutes in the second half. The star first exchanged a neat one-two with Berterame before capping his run into the box with a clean finish. Then, latching on to a pass from Suarez, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner skipped past his marker with a classy move to make it three.

Messi looked set to have the chance of a hat-trick after a handball by Paulo Diaz, but a VAR review found that Suarez had committed a foul in the build-up. Matt Edwards hit the post for Atlanta, and the hosts' only goal came in stoppage time, when Fafa Picault converted the penalty he had won after being brought down in the box by Maximiliano Falcon.

Magnificent Messi Writes a New Page in MLS History

Messi has now provided a direct goal contribution (goal or assist) in 12 consecutive regular-season matches. The only longer single-season run in MLS history belongs to Josef Martinez, with 15 matches in 2019. Messi's performance saw him equal Sebastian Giovinco's 12-match streak from 2018.

Messi, who has reached 23 goals and 15 assists this season, also became the first player in MLS history to hit at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons.

Miami head coach Cristian "Kily" González was full of praise for Messi after the match: "I cannot believe what this man is doing at 39 years of age. What makes me happiest is that he enjoys himself. When he is happy he plays like this, he has fun... Every day I see him I have a smile on my face. He is a player who never stops surprising you. To me he is an alien. In every training session I watch, in every move he makes on the pitch, he astonishes me. God willing, he will keep enchanting us until the day he decides to retire."