Mar 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Inter Miami ahead Lionel Messi (10) will get behind Atlanta United defender Derrick Williams (3) to attain a objective in the course of the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Dale Zanine-Imagn Photographs Substitute Fafa Picault scored his first objective for Inter Miami within the 89th minute, Lionel Messi additionally scored his first of the common season and Inter Miami earned a dramatic 2-1 victory at Atlanta United on Sunday night.
Miami (3-1-0, 10 factors) triumphed regardless of six saves from Atlanta’s Brad Guzan, who performed an integral function in Atlanta’s playoff upset of Messi’s squad in a best-of-three Spherical One collection final fall.
Messi’s objective got here within the twentieth minute of simply his second regular-season look for Miami, which has already performed eight matches due to CONCACAF Champions Cup play. He had missed three video games as a result of muscle fatigue earlier than coming off the bench on Thursday night time in a 2-0 win at Cavalier FC of Jamaica.
Emmanuel Latte Lath scored his third objective within the eleventh minute to offer Atlanta (1-1-2, 4 factors) an early lead. However his teammates are nonetheless caught on one objective mixed as Atlanta’s winless run prolonged to a few matches after defeating Montreal of their season opener.
Each groups had plentiful possibilities for a second-half winner from open play, however the diminutive Picault offering an unlikely header in the end determined affairs.
Jordi Alba received the ball out vast from a late brief nook kick and served an outswinging ball to the again publish. Picault outmuscled Ajani Fortune and despatched a header bouncing again throughout objective, in some way wrong-footing Guzan and nestling contained in the far left publish. It was Picault’s first objective for his sixth MLS membership, having moved to Miami from Vancouver this offseason.
Atlanta’s Miguel Almiron began the assault, opening the scoring with a wonderful ball excessive to play Brooks Lennon down the best. Lennon then served a wonderful, early outswinging cross that Latte Lath met with a robust back-post header previous Rocco Rios Novo.
Latte Lath thought he has his second simply after the quarter-hour mark, nevertheless it was dominated offside. Miami pulled stage on its subsequent foray ahead.
Guzan sprawled off his line to disrupt an preliminary cross from the best. However Messi shocked Bartosz Slisz with some uncommon defensive strain to dispossess the midfielder as Atlanta tried to play out. From there, he weaved his well past the sliding Derrick Williams, then deftly chipped the charging Guzan.
–Subject Stage Media
