Lionel Messi returns from injury, scores twice to lift Inter Miami to Leagues Cup final Ryan YoungAugust 28, 2025 at 4:13 AM Lionel Messi scored twice late to lift Inter Miami past Orlando City on Wednesday night.
- - Lionel Messi returns from injury, scores twice to lift Inter Miami to Leagues Cup final
Ryan YoungAugust 28, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Lionel Messi scored twice late to lift Inter Miami past Orlando City on Wednesday night. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi made it back onto the field at the perfect time.
The Argentinian star, with some late-match heroics, lifted Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup final with a massive win over Orlando City on Wednesday night after missing a good chunk of the month with a leg injury. Messi scored twice in the final 15 minutes of the match to help power Miami to a 3-1 win over Orlando in their leg of the tournament's semifinals at Chase Stadium in south Florida.
The franchise will now take on either the LA Galaxy or the Seattle Sounders in the championship match on Sunday.
Messi, after Orlando took a 1-0 lead right before halftime with a goal from Marco Pasalic, leveled the game up on a soft penalty kick in the 77th minute.
Messi buries the PK. Orlando are down to 10 men. We're level in the @LeaguesCup semis. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/635fCqqu31
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 28, 2025
Then just 11 minutes later, Messi did it again. He caught a perfect pass from Jordi Alba, dribbled once and fired across to the opposite corner for the winner. Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallesse could only watch as the ball went behind him and into the net.
MESSI MIGHT'VE JUST WON IT. WOWOWOWOW. pic.twitter.com/r3ZUYugpz5
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 28, 2025
Then with the win all-but sealed, Telasco Segovia added another for good measure in stoppage time. That secured Miami's two-goal win.
GAME OVER. MIAMI ARE HEADED TO THE LEAGUES CUP FINAL. pic.twitter.com/ALf1ieA4Gd
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 28, 2025
Messi has been sidelined for much of August while dealing with a muscle injury in his right leg. He returned from the injury briefly and scored once in their matchup with the LA Galaxy on Aug. 16, but he appeared to aggravate it again in that match. Alba missed the second half of that win with a knee injury in their semifinal match with Liga MX's Tigres UANL, too, though both he and Messi were able to take the field on Wednesday night. Clearly, they are both back to full strength.
Miami is now headed back to the Leagues Cup final for the second time in two years. The franchise beat Nashville SC to win the championship in 2023 in the early days of the Messi era. Columbus Crew beat LAFC last year.
Source: "AOL AOL Sports"
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