Overview

• The 38-year-old entered at halftime in his first appearance since an Aug. 2 hamstring strain and played roughly 45 minutes.
• He restored Miami’s lead in the 84th minute and set up Luis Suárez five minutes later after Jordi Alba had opened the scoring.
• The goal made him the second-fastest player to reach 40 MLS goals, and he now leads this season’s scoring chart with 19.
• Inter Miami hosts Tigres UANL in the Leagues Cup quarterfinal on Aug. 20, with Messi’s involvement dependent on how he responds in the coming days.
• Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni named Messi to a preliminary squad for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador on Sept. 4 and 9.