Lionel Messi scored twice and had an assist, and Inter Miami broke out of its slump with a 4-2 victory over Montreal on Wednesday night.
Messi scored in the 27th and 87th minutes and set up Luis Suarez's goal with some nice dribbling in the 68th. Suarez added another in the 71st.
The win gave Messi's Inter Miami team just its second victory in its past eight matches. Miami last won on May 3 , going 0-2-2 since then and dropping to sixth in the Eastern Conference.
It has been a surprising plunge for a team that went 22-4-8 during the regular season in 2024 to set MLS records for points 74 and winning percentage .765 and captured the Supporters Shield - so puzzling that Messi spoke recently of the group's need to stick together despite the difficulties.
His pep talk seemed to work.