Messi Reawakens Inter Miami Hope, Scores Two Goals Against Orlando City

Lionel Messi continued to score more cluster goals while adapting to a new team.

Messi scored for the third consecutive game and scored the second most goals in a row for Inter Miami in a 3-1 win over Orlando City on Wednesday night.

“What I said at the beginning is, with him, the hardest things become easier,” said Inter Miami coach Tata Martino.

“But we are talking about a player who scores 40 goals a season at the highest level in the league.”

The League Cup round of 16 match was postponed 95 minutes due to thunderstorms.

Messi scored in the seventh minute of the match and then added a second in the 72nd minute.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored five goals in three games since his Major League Soccer debut on July 21.

As he exited the Orlando City defensive line, Messi intercepted a Robert Taylor pass in the chest, dribbled a few yards near the edge of the six-yard ring and delivered a shot that hit off the crossbar.

The goal gave Inter Miami a 1-0 lead before Orlando equalized after 11 minutes.

Messi scored again when he received Joseph Martinez’s middle pass and fired a right-footed shot at the left post, to give Inter Miami a 3-1 lead.

“It’s not unreasonable to think that he scored five goals in three games,” said Martino. “Sometimes I feel like we’ve done a lot to achieve greater qualities. It’s like talking about the best player in the world.

And Martino was quick to point out that Messi’s second goal on Wednesday came from Messi’s right foot rather than his famous left foot from different angles in different situations.

“He’s been doing the same thing for 17-18 years,” said Martino. He said he came here to compete and win. He does what he says.

This win put Inter Miami into the Round of 16 against Dallas FC.Inter Miami were also scared early in the second half when Orlando’s Mauricio Pereira collided with Messi. Messi lay on the field, floundering for a few minutes.

Messi received his first yellow card against Inter Miami after a huge mistake in the 21st minute. Messi’s former Barcelona teammate, Jordi Alba, made his Inter Miami debut when he came on in the 64th minute.

The match was scheduled to start at 8 pm, but did not start on time due to a storm. Messi and his Inter Miami teammates showed up at DRV PNK Stadium to warm up 45 minutes before kick-off.

Heavy rain started after about 20 minutes. After the home team cleared the puddles around the midfield area, Messi and his teammates returned for their second pre-match warm-up.

Messi hasn’t faced bad weather in his first two League Cup matches since joining the MLS club. He scored the winning goal against Cruz Azul and scored two more goals in the win over Atlanta United.