MONTREAL 鈥� Lionel Messi put on a show Saturday.
The Argentine superstar 鈥� widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time 鈥� delivered two stellar goals and added an assist to lead Inter Miami past CF Montreal 4-1 in MLS play at a raucous Stade Saputo.
Messi scored in the first half with a curling shot into the bottom-left corner. Then he dribbled down the midfield, sliced through several blue jerseys and finished into the top-right corner for a highlight-reel goal in the second half, bringing fans to their feet.
Tadeo Allende and Telasco Segovia also scored for Miami (9-3-5), which returned to MLS action after playing in the FIFA Club World Cup. Miami dropped out of the tournament in the round of 16 last Sunday with a 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi, an eight-time Ballon d鈥橭r winner, was named to Miami鈥檚 starting 11 alongside fellow former FC Barcelona stars Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Prince Owusu replied with his fourth goal in four games for Montreal (3-13-5). Marco Donadel鈥檚 side sits last in the Eastern Conference and has just one home win in 10 outings, a 1-0 victory over New York City FC last Saturday.
The sellout crowd featured plenty of Argentine blue and Inter Miami pink 鈥� one fan even wore a Messi tracksuit and goat mask.
Fans chanted "Messi! Messi! Messi!" throughout the match. And when Messi took a corner kick early on, spectators left their seats and piled into the lower parts of the stands to get a closer look.
Hordes of fans also swarmed a downtown Montreal hotel to catch a glimpse of the global icon after he landed in Montreal on Friday night. Many more lined the streets with signs outside Stade Saputo hours before kickoff to watch Messi step off the team bus.
It was Messi鈥檚 fourth match on Canadian soil, and second in Montreal.
The 38-year-old played his first professional game in Canada on May 11, 2024, when he was held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 Miami win over Montreal.
Saturday鈥檚 match looked a little different.
Trailing 1-0, Miami equalized in the 33rd minute when Allende scored with a long-range shot after receiving the ball from Messi.
Miami鈥檚 superstar gave the crowd more to cheer for in the 40th by dribbling into the box, cutting to his left foot and curling a shot to give the visiting side a 2-1 lead.
Messi even factored into Owusu鈥檚 opening goal, putting the ball on a platter for Montreal鈥檚 striker with a costly giveaway in the game鈥檚 second minute. Owusu only needed one touch to blast a shot past Miami 鈥榢eeper 脫scar Ustari from the edge of the box.
Segovia gave Miami a 3-1 lead in the 62nd minute with a superb shot off the crossbar and in.
Two minutes later, Messi danced through the Montreal defence with the ball on a string and buried his second of the night 鈥� and 12th of the season.
Messi appeared to score a hat-trick goal in second-half stoppage time, but the play was ruled offside.
Miami outshot Montreal 15-13 (9-8 on target) and held 58 per cent of possession.
UP NEXT
Montreal: Hosts the Canadian Premier League's Forge FC in the second leg of the Canadian Championship quarterfinal Wednesday.
Miami: Visits the New England Revolution on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
