On the morning of March 3 (Vietnam time), Messi and Inter Miami hosted Orlando City in the second round of the US Major League Soccer (MLS). It took the home team only 11 minutes to take a 2-0 lead thanks to a brace from Luis Suarez. Before the end of the first half, Robert Taylor scored to give Inter Miami a 3-goal lead.
The second half of the match witnessed Messi's brilliant performance. In the 57th and 62nd minutes, the Argentine superstar scored a double, sealing a 5-0 victory for the home team at Lockhart Stadium. Notably, Messi's two goals were scored with his chest and head. This was the first time in his career that El Pulga scored a double without scoring any goals with his feet.
Beating Orlando City 5-0 is also the biggest victory in Inter Miami's history. Founded in early 2018, Inter Miami has won 4 times by 4 goals against opponents in more than 6 years of existence. Those were 5-1 wins against Cincinnati (MLS) in October 2021, 4-0 wins against Toronto FC (MLS) in September 2021, 4-0 wins against Charlotte FC (Leagues Cup) in August 2023 and 4-0 wins against Atlanta United (Leagues Cup) in July 2023.
The win over Orlando City helped Inter Miami continue to lead the MLS Eastern Conference standings this season with 7 points, 3 points more than the second-place team but having played 1 more game.
Messi has scored three goals in MLS this season to join DC United's Christian Benteke at the top of the scoring charts.
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