When Inter Miami welcomed the Philadelphia Union to Chase Stadium on Saturday, the Herons also saw a familiar face return to the line-up in Lionel Messi. After an ankle injury in the Copa America final, Messi had been absent from the competition for 105 days, but with a brace in the first half it looked like he didn’t miss a second.
The Herons only fell behind after two minutes, but as the attack began to take control, Luis Suarez assisted Messi for the equalizer in the 26th minute. It was a great team goal from Miami, the build-up came from deep and there was nothing the Union could do to stop it.
His second goal was another great dummy run from Suarez as he got on the end of Jordi Alba’s cross to give the Herons a lead going into half-time. It’s a pretty impressive feat that Miami is already on a four-game winning streak without Messi, and now that he’s back, the team is hitting another offensive gear.
Defensively, Tomas Aviles has his own jitters to work out as he is suspended for Miami’s next game due to yellow cards, but when a deficit can be reversed in the blink of an eye, there is room for error. The Herons still lead the race for the Supporters’ Shield and the MLS points record of 73 could also be within reach if they continue to put the ball in the back of the net like this.