Lionel Messi opens with two goals in second game with Inter Miami

As if Lionel Messi’s Friday debut with Inter Miami wasn’t show-stopping enough, the soccer star opened Tuesday’s match against Atlanta United FC with two goals in the first 22 minutes.  

After Atlanta hit the post nearly eight minutes in, Messi streaked down the field, freeing himself of defenders, settling a center pass and releasing a right-footed shot from the middle of the box that first hit the right post before he tapped the rebound in for a 1-0 lead.

The relentless play marked Messi’s second goal in as many games.

He didn’t stop there. 

Just over 21 minutes into the Leagues Cup contest, Messi dished the ball to Robert Taylor from the center of the box.

Messi, who also added a late assist, drove to the net as Taylor cut the ball back to the Argentine, who knocked it in for his second of the night. 

With a 2-0 advantage, the highly anticipated Messi theatrics had come to full fruition –– he’s making the MLS his own and the fans at DRV PNK stadium are loving it. 

The two tallies come after Messi’s game-winning free-kick on Friday against Cruz Azul that secured a 2-1 victory for Inter Miami in the forward’s first outing with the squad. 

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner came on as a 54th-minute sub and earned the fateful free kick 25 yards out to the left as a reportedly record-breaking 12.5 million viewers watched on U.S. television at home. 

On Tuesday, though, Messi didn’t have to wait to make his impact as he and former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets both started for Inter Miami for the first time. 

Messi and Busquets competed together for 13 years before Messi’s 2021 move to Paris Saint-Germain. 

Messi inked a 2 ½ year contract with Inter Miami in July, with an annual paycheck between $50 million and $60 million from the team on top of team equity and revenue sharing from MLS’s new Apple TV+ deal.