Nets two more, Messi pulls ahead as MLS top scorer at 38, watch 🎥 | OneFootball

Lionel Messi made the most of being released from Argentina’s friendly against Venezuela played on Friday (10).

He scored twice in Inter Miami’s 4–0 win over Atlanta Utd this Saturday (11), in the MLS regular season.

And at 38, he took the outright lead in the scoring charts in front of his home crowd.

He reached 26 goals, surpassing the 24 of Denis Bouanga, who is absent from Los Angeles FC as he tries to take Gabon to the 2026 World Cup.

Only former Barça players were scoring

Messi opened the scoring in the 39th minute.

The sequence included a (beautiful) through ball from the No. 10 to Alba, who is playing his final games before retirement (52').

Luisito Suárez scored the third (61').

And he, Messi, scored his 26th goal of the current MLS season in the 87th minute — after a pass from Alba.

It was the first time in the history of the tournament’s regular season that a player scored more than one goal in nine games.

Already assured of a playoff spot, Inter Miami reached 62 points in the Eastern Conference.

They remain in third with only the match against Nashville SC next Saturday (18) to go.

Eliminated Atlanta stays on 27, second-to-last.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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