The record. The rain. The 30-minute wait. The Argentine turned an ordinary Wednesday against a mid-table Liga MX side into another Messi set piece.

Messi scored in the 11th and 44th minutes as Inter Miami came from behind to beat Atlético de San Luis 4-2 at Nu Stadium on 5 August in the club’s opening 2026 Leagues Cup match.

His brace took him to 14 goals in 12 tournament appearances, one clear of Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga at the top of the competition’s all-time scoring chart.

Bouanga had only recently taken the record off Messi during LAFC’s run in the tournament. One start was enough for the Argentine to put it back in his own name.

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From the World Cup final to a wet night in Miami

It was Messi’s first competitive start since Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain on 19 July, and the goals were his first for Inter Miami since that defeat.

In front of a home crowd already used to what he does when he is allowed time in the final third, the opener was the one that had people at the stadium, and his own manager, reaching for superlatives.

Meeting a Noah Allen cross from the left with his weaker left foot, Messi caught the ball on the volley and drove it past the goalkeeper.

Interim head coach Guillermo Hoyos, who took over the Inter Miami first team after Javier Mascherano resigned in April, described the finish in painterly terms.

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“He struck the ball out of the air. Those of us who have played football know what it takes to find the time and space to connect, meeting a cross coming from left to right and hitting it cleanly on the volley with his left foot,” Hoyos told reporters.

“If we were talking about painting, it would be Picasso.”

San Luis pull one back after the delay

David Rodríguez had put San Luis ahead in the 4th minute before Messi’s equalizer. Telasco Segovia added a second and defender Micael converted a Messi corner in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-1 at the break.

Play was halted in the 68th minute when lightning was detected around Nu Stadium, sending both teams inside for around 30 minutes under Leagues Cup weather protocol. Rafa Llorente pulled one back for San Luis after the restart before Miami saw the game out.

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Noah Allen, a 22-year-old homegrown left back, ended the night with three assists on the standout evening of his young Inter Miami career.

Mejía defends leaving Messi in space

San Luis head coach Diego Mejía chose not to double up on the number 10 and stood by the decision afterwards.

“If Messi plays on the counter, he’s the best; if you sit deep and give him too much time on the ball, he’s also the best,” Mejía told ESPN.

“So, my decision was for us to stick to our identity. We look at the bigger picture, of course, but we’re talking about the greatest player in history.”

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Luis Suárez did not play, and will not play for the rest of the group stage.

The Uruguayan is serving a six-match tournament ban for spitting at a Seattle Sounders staff member during the 2025 Leagues Cup final.

Inter Miami host CF Monterrey next on Saturday, kick-off at 8pm local time.

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