Inter Miami 3-1 Seattle Sounders: Lionel Messi joins exclusive club with goal in match-winning display

Lionel Messi joined an exclusive club with a goal in Tuesday's 3-1 home victory over Seattle Sounders.

Inter Miami went into the midweek fixture on the back of consecutive 3-0 defeats, including a heavy loss in the Leagues Cup final against Seattle earlier this month.

With that in mind, the Herons would have been delighted to avenge that loss in Tuesday's MLS clash at Chase Stadium.

Messi provided the assist for Inter Miami's 12th-minute opener, drawing two defenders towards him before laying the ball off for Jordi Alba to slot past Stefan Frei. 

The left-back repaid the favour in the closing stages of the first period, curling in a low cross for Messi to slide home at the far post. 

Jordi ➡️ Messi ? pic.twitter.com/4EuMzFxujr

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) September 17, 2025

Messi becomes fifth player to achieve goalscoring feat

Ian Fray headed in from Rodrigo De Paul's inswinging corner with seven minutes of a restart, before Seattle netted a consolation with just over 20 minutes to play.

Not only did Messi help Inter Miami seal all three points, but he also reached 20 MLS goals for the season in just 21 appearances. 

As a result, the Argentine has become just the fifth player in MLS history to score 20 goals in back-to-back seasons. 

Messi has followed in the footsteps of two of his former Barcelona teammates, David Villa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who achieved the feat with New York City FC and LA Galaxy respectively. 

Josef Martinez and Denis Bouanga are the other two players who have previously netted 20 times in two successive MLS campaigns. 

Tonight's #IconOfTheMatch is for our captain ?✨ @RoyalCaribbean pic.twitter.com/4PlG2zE7kt

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) September 17, 2025

What next for Messi and Inter Miami?

Javier Mascherano's side are now sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference after collecting 49 points from 27 matches. 

They are currently in a qualification spot for the first round of the playoffs, although they are just one point clear of New York City in eighth position.

Messi and Inter Miami will be looking to back up their win over Seattle when they welcome DC United to Chase Stadium on Saturday.