Lionel Messi scored his first goal since the passing of his father, Jorge, on Wednesday night, pointing to the sky after a trademark left-footed strike that briefly put Inter Miami ahead in a 2-2 Major League Soccer draw against the Philadelphia Union. The goal came in the 26th minute at Subaru Park, when Ian Fray’s square pass found the 39-year-old eight-time Ballon d’Or winner to the right of the penalty area. Messi drove toward the center and curled the ball into the opposite corner, leaving the Union goalkeeper rooted. His celebration was raw: a skip, a fist pump, and a pointed finger upward, before teammates smothered him in a huddled embrace.
The strike was Messi’s first since Jorge Messi died on August 8 in Rosario, Argentina, at the age of 68. Days later, a visibly shaken footballer’s message on social media questioned how much longer he could continue without his father. Yet on a hot and humid Pennsylvania evening, Messi delivered both an assist and a goal to briefly drag Miami out of trouble. His first contribution came in the 21st minute, when he sliced open the Union defense with a precise pass to Luis Suárez, whose headed across the goalmouth was tapped in by Daniel Pinter for a close-range equaliser. Those two touches flipped the script after Indiana Vassilev had struck for Philadelphia in the 11th minute, but Neil Pierre restored parity in the 58th minute, leaving the scoreline locked at 2-2.
Messi’s larger emotional landscape weighs heavily on the pitch. The Argentine captain led his country to this year’s World Cup final, where they fell to Spain, and his ongoing commitment to the national team remains uncertain. His contract with Inter Miami runs through 2028, but with the loss of his father still raw, Messi has not accepted how long he will continue at the top level. On this night, the eight consecutive MVP’s effort did not slip; his goal was his 13th of the season, just one behind the MLS Golden Boot leader Petar Musa of Dallas.
The result ends a three-game losing streak for the defending MLS Cup champions, but it also underscores their ongoing slide — a four-match winless streak that has now seen them drop points from winnable positions. Messi,” the league’s back-to-back MVP, remains the one Sunday bright spot, and his ability to create chances out of nothing again proved his unstinting quality. Yet Miami’s defensive frailties were again exposed, with two early goals conceded from open play, leaving a side that started the season as heavy favorites searching for answers in the back. With the Leagues Cup and the playoffs moving into view, manager and players alike know that even a peerless Messi cannot single-handedly carry a vulnerable back line.
For the Union, the draw extends a sorely needed point in a tight Eastern Conference fold. It was the side’s first 50% outcome of the week, and the resilience they showed to battle back twice speaks to their growing confidence. For Messi, this performance underscores a deeper narrative: his return to scoring matters less than his mental state, and his tribute to Jorge will leave a lasting image. As Miami turn toward a busy run of fixtures, the broader football world watches to see how long one of its greatest survivors remains on the pitch and what final chapters he will write.
