From one tribute to the next: Messi returns from his farewell with Argentina with two-goals against DC United

Inter Miami routed DC United 4-0 at home on Saturday, with two-goal performances from Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi, who returned to his club four days after bidding farewell to the Argentine national team.  As the MLS returned from the FIFA break, Miami kicked off their return to action energized by the excitement of entering the home stretch of the season and having "La Pulga," once and for all, all to themselves.

At a packed Nu Stadium in Miami, Suárez opened the scoring three minutes in with a left-footed shot from the center of the box that found the top left corner. The 39-year-old forward extended the lead in the 39th minute, following a header from Mexican international Germán Berterame, who had also assisted on the first goal.

Messi took over in the second half. In the 47th minute, he capitalized on a pass from Suárez to finish smoothly past the left post of goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Just a few minutes later, the Argentine star dribbled past three defenders and fired a powerful shot to seal the rout.

Messi, a serious contender for MVP: 23 goals and 13 assists

The Albiceleste captain, who scored in his last match with the national team on Tuesday against Benin, has reached 23 goals this season and leads the race for the MLS Golden Boot. In addition, he has 13 assists, making him the league's top point-producer and he is aiming to win his third consecutive Most Valuable Player award.

Inter Miami's Argentine head coach, Cristian "Kily" González, started his compatriot David Ayala in midfield in place of the injured Yannick Bright, and kept Brazilian Casemiro at center back, achieving a level of defensive stability that has been rare this season.

"We've worked on game scenarios to resolve situations," said Kily González at a press conference. "Since we're a small squad, we have an obligation to try to dominate the opponent. We have to know how to manage the tempo, and I think at times I'm happy when we were direct and when we controlled the ball; we made some mistakes, but I'm very satisfied."

Inter Miami, in the race for spots in the CONCACAF Champions League

The win helps Miami stay in the race for qualifying spots in the Concacaf Champions League, one of the season's major goals.

In addition, it allowed the reigning MLS champion to improve its record to 13 wins, five losses and 10 draws, reaching 49 points, and temporarily climb from third to second place in the Eastern Conference, where Nashville FC leads with 60.

Miami is looking to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Los Angeles Galaxy did so in 2011 and 2012. However, they have a lot of work ahead of them, as this victory was only the Florida team's second in its last 11 league matches and its first home win since Aug. 29, when it defeated Montreal 7-1.

DC United struggled to control the ball and create chances for its main offensive threat, the Israeli Tai Baribo. Inter Miami will play at home again on Wednesday against New York City FC.

Griezmann scores in Orlando's comeback

Frenchman Antoine Griezmann scored the second goal in Orlando City's 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew at Inter&Co Stadium. The 35-year-old French forward has nine goals in 12 games of the MLS regular season.

Orlando now has 37 points and sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, holding the final spot for direct qualification to the playoffs.

Earlier, Chicago Fire defeated New York City FC 2-1 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Polish forward Robert Lewandowski started and played all 90 minutes in an epic comeback by the Fire, highlighted by a goal from Maren Haile in the 87th minute, despite playing a man down since the 43rd minute. Chicago now has 14 wins in 2026 and climbs to third place in the East.