Lionel Messi returns from injury, scores twice to lift Inter Miami to Leagues Cup final

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Lionel Messi came back at the perfect time for Inter Miami.

Now, thanks to some late-game heroics, the club is headed back to the Leagues Cup final.

Messi came up with two goals on Wednesday night to lift Inter Miami to a 3-1 win over Orlando City SC in their Leagues Cup semifinals match at Chase Stadium. Inter Miami will now advance to take on either the LA Galaxy or the Seattle Sounders in the championship match.

Messi, after Orlando took a 1-0 lead around halftime, leveled the game up on a soft penalty kick in the 76th minute.

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.

Telasco Segovia caught a quick pass from Luis Suárez in stoppage time to add another goal for Miami for good measure, which then sealed the two-goal win.

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.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.