Inter Miami striker Lionel Messi scored twice in the second half of a comeback win over Orlando City on Sunday in Orlando, Fla. Photo by Paolo Aguilar/EPA
Lionel Messi scored his first two goals of the season, with an 18-yard equalizer and curling free kick, to help Inter Miami CF rally past Orlando City SC.
Messi found the net in the 57th and 85th minutes of the 4-2 triumph Sunday in Orlando, Fla. The Herons trailed 2-0 entering the first half of their first win of the 2026 MLS campaign.
“In the second half, our players played like a championship team and they deserve all the credit,” Herons coach Javier Mascherano told reporters.
Venezuelan midfielder Telasco Segovia logged a goal and two assists in the victory. The defending MLS champions outshot the Lions 16-12. They held a 58% to 42% edge in possession and 632-416 advantage in passes.
Marco Pasalic gave the Lions an initial lead when he beat Herons goalie Dayne St. Clair in the 18th minute. Fellow Lions winger Ivan Angulo started that play by intercepting a pass near midfield. The Colombian midfielder dribbled up the left flank and crossed to Pasalic when he reached the box. Pasalic brought the ball down and used his left foot to launch a bouncing shot between St. Clair and the right post.
The Lions doubled their advantage about five minutes later when Argentine striker Martin Ojeda beat St. Clair with a cunning one-touch strike from about 10 yards out. Right back Griffin Dorsey dribbled in from the right side at the start of that play. He then connected with Ojeda on an entry pass and sprinted into the box.
Ojeda sent another pass in for Dorsey, who tapped back to the striker for his outside-of-the-foot finish.
Fellow Argentine striker Mateo Silvetti cut the Herons deficit in half less than three minutes into the second half. Segovia sent an initial pass to Silvetti about 30 yards from the net. Silvetti rolled the ball forward with the bottom of his right boot and used the same foot to smack a bending shot past Lions goalie Maxime Crepeau and into the left side of the net.
Classic Messi
First goal of 2026 is a beauty! pic.twitter.com/5LcTqqjesM— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 2, 2026
Messi equalized with his first goal of the 2026 MLS campaign about eight minutes later. Segovia dribbled across the top of the box during that sequence. He then faked a shot and left the ball for Messi, who knifed his left foot into the ball for a rip halfway up the far-post netting.
Segovia beat Crepeau for the go-ahead strike on a one-touch effort from about 15 yards out in the 85th minute.
The Lions were forced to play one man down in the final minutes due to a second yellow card picked up by midfielder Colin Guske. Messi went on to net the Herons’ final score with his dazzling free kick just moments after Guske’s departure.
The Argentine striker booted the shot from about 30 yards out, bending the attempt around a wall of purple jerseys and into a tight window between Crepeau and the left post.
The Herons (1-1-0) will take on DC United (1-1-0) at 4:30 p.m. EST Saturday in Washington, D.C. The Lions (0-2-0) will battle New York City FC (1-0-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Most successful Latin American soccer players of all time
Pelé, BrazilBrazilian footballer Pelé attends a book signing for “Pelé: The Autobiography” at Waterstone’s on Oxford Street in London on May 21, 2006. He won a record three World Cups with Brazil (1958, 1962 and 1970) and scored more than 1,000 career goals, becoming one of the most influential athletes of the 20th century. Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo
