Miami 3-1 LA Galaxy (Aug 16, 2025) Game Analysis
Lionel Messi had an emphatic impact when he returned from injury, marking a brilliant individual strike and then providing sensational help to Luis Suárez to propel Inter Miami to a 3-1 victory on the galaxy visiting the visit of the visit on Saturday.
After missing two weeks due to a muscle injury to his right leg, Messi returned as a half-time substitute for the Chase Stadium. With the 1-1 equality score in the last 10 minutes, it was Messi who intensified to keep Miami firmly in the running to keep the shield of supporters.
In the 84th minute, Messi controlled the ball inside half of the front opposition, in the fashion of brands, he dribbled around a defender, and from the edge of the penalty surface, he pulled a blow in the lower corner of the net with his left foot to give Miami an advance of 2-1.
Five minutes later, Messi played the creator, controlling a pass from his Argentinian teammate Rodrigo de Paul and by passing him with his heel in Suárez, who scored Miami’s third goal.
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The winning contributions occurred despite the fact that Messi seized his hamstrings several times and the head coach of Miami, Javier Mascherano, later confirming that he was not in great shape.
“He is an extraordinary player,” said Mascherano at a press conference. “I also saw that it was clearly not 100% at ease. Now the reality is that over the minutes, it started to relax a little more. We will have to see how it ended in terms of fatigue. The injury was very, very small and good that the three training sessions we had were good.
“I repeat how important it was that he finished the match. I saw him better over the minutes, but what we have to see is tomorrow what he feels, and take him day after day.”
Messi became the first player with 30 goal contributions (19 goals, 11 assists) in MLS this season while he is trying to exceed his 38 at the top of the league last year. His 19th goal put him forward in the race for the golden boot.
The 38 -year -old man marked in his last four appearances leaving the bench with Inter Miami.
In the 59th minute, Joseph Paintsil equaled the galaxy score, which are the title champions of the MLS Cup but which are the last in the classification of the West Conference.
Jordi Alba placed the local team at home in the 43rd minute. Sergio Busquets helped the goal, dividing the defense with a pass in Alba. The three goals were scored by the former Miami contingent.
Without Messi, who suffered his last injury in a duel league with Necaxa on August 2, Miami lost 4-1 against Orlando City last week, which makes the victory on Saturday all the more important.
“Vital, vital because I think we were all aware – I repeat what I said last Sunday – you can clearly lose, but that’s not the image and the form we wanted,” said Mascherano about victory.
“If we really want to compete until the end, if we want to achieve important things, we know that the more we get closer to the end of the season, the most vital details become.”
The information from Lizzy Becherano d’Espn, ESPN Research and the Associated Press was used in this report.
