
Lionel Messi free kick goal helps rescue Inter Miami against Philadelphia Union
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi kicks a free kick for a goal during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Philadelphia Union (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.
Lionel Messi scored on a free kick in the 87th minute to spark a late rally for Inter Miami in their 3-3 draw with Philadelphia Union.
With Inter Miami trailing 3-1, the Argentina veteran drilled a shot from just outside the box which flew into the upper left-hand corner of the goal.
Messi then put the finishing touches on the Herons' comeback by assisting on Telasco Segovia's 95th-minute goal.
👽 GOLAÇO LIONEL MESSI
pic.twitter.com/hNgPsQ8mZ8
— MLS Brasil (@MLS__Brasil) May 25, 2025
The result helped Inter Miami avoid a fourth defeat of the MLS season.
The Union struck early through Quinn Sullivan and took a 2-0 lead just before half-time when Tai Baribo claimed his first goal of the evening.
Tadeo Allende kept Inter Miami alive with a goal at the 60-minute mark, but Philadelphia restored their advantage when Baribo nabbed his second 13 minutes later.

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The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Messi shows glimpses of his genius on Fifa's stage of fakery in Club World Cup opener
Well, this was at least a first. Gianni was right on that front. On a clammy, boisterous, vaguely hallucinogenic night at the Hard Rock Stadium, the opening act of Fifa's billion dollar death star, the newly bulked and tanned Club World Cup, did produce something genuinely new. This was surely the first major sporting event where the opening ceremony was infinitely more entertaining, and indeed comprehensible as a basic human activity, than the sporting spectacle that followed. By the end the best team in Africa, Al Ahly, had drawn 0-0 with a largely incoherent Inter Miami, a team that looked in the first half like people who had a dim idea what this sport is meant to look like, but who were also struggling through a terrible wall-eyed hangover to remember which way is forward. The second half was better, mainly because some element of the Lionel Messi identity began to assert itself, a muscle memory of genius, like watching the aged Frank Sinatra still tootling out That's Life on stage in Vegas, still drawing huge gales of applause for basically nodding a lot and pointing at the crowd. This was the only significant emotion here: a deep sadness at seeing this spectacle play out, the post Messi-Messi, wheeled on to this stage of fakery, an instrument of sporting beauty weaponised in his dotage to promote a power grab. And watching this you really got the scale of Fifa's act of deception, its betrayal of sport, the cynicism of its methods. Because everybody loves Messi, because there is a hard-wired emotional response, because you basically cannot resist. We will bolt the aged Messi to the front of our project, will play with your feelings, will in effect produce a kind of targeted sporting crystal meth. Actually that sounds a bit too exciting. 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That thing that gives you pleasure and feels like freedom and joy? We will inject it into your eyes like a forced stimulant, a kind of footballing pornography. Al Ahly should have scored at least twice in the opening 20 minutes. They missed a penalty. The YouTube overlord IShowSpeed appeared in the half-time break and prodded a ball toward the goal a few times trailed by a man with a camera coiled into a furious crouch, as though preserving the last recorded sighting of the snow leopard. Messi woke up in the second half. Miami were better. They might have won, or at least scored. But a goalless draw felt right. The people in the stadium were the only winners here, in a city that just loves its nights. Otherwise Saturday in America was a day for a divisive, autocratic president to stage his own hugely overblown and narcissistic Grand Parade. 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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
No goal, but Messi's influence on show in Club World Cup opener
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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Messi falls just short in Club World Cup curtain-raiser stalemate
MIAMI, June 14 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi showed flashes of his brilliance as his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly in the revamped Club World Cup opener. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta while Al-Ahly will take on Palmeiras in New York.