Lionel Messi is at his best amid chaos.In the 52nd minute against CF Montreal on Saturday in Miami, Messi found himself in a bind. As the Inter Miami forward gallivanted on the ball toward the net, it was poked away from him but deflected back to Messi in a crowd right inside the box.In two deft moves, the 39-year-old cut past two defenders while ducking under the arm of another, leaving all three grabbing at air as he buried a right-footed shot.It was the second score of a four-goal night for Messi. He also added an assist in Miami’s 7-1 demolition of Montreal, which ended a five-game winless streak amid a period of turnover and uncertainty in the defending champions’ coaching ranks.“They were in a bad way coming into tonight,” Apple TV play-by-play announcer Steve Cangialosi said on the broadcast. “Not anymore.”
Dancing through the defense 🤯
Messi scores his second of the game and is now tied for most goals this season with 16 😳
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 30, 2026On Thursday, Cristian “Kily” González was hired as the club’s sixth manager since its founding in January 2020. The Argentine is set to replace his countryman Javier Mascherano, who stepped down after approximately 15 months on the job. However, González couldn’t be on the sidelines due to not having secured an American work permit yet.Interim coach Guillermo Hoyos, who has been in charge since Mascherano left in April, had to serve a one-match suspension due to repeated violations of the league’s late kickoff policy. That left Inter Miami assistant coaches to man the touchline against Montreal, while Hoyos was forced to watch from a seat in a box at the top of Nu Stadium.
