Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each netted two goals, leading Inter Miami to a 4-2 victory in Major League Soccer against the visiting Montreal on Wednesday.
The Argentine superstar Messi initiated the scoring in the 27th minute and provided an assist for Suarez’s first goal in the 68th minute, establishing a 2-0 lead.
Uruguayan star Suarez added another goal in the 71st minute, but Montreal’s Dante Sealy responded in the 74th minute.
Messi scored once more in the 87th minute, while Victor Loturi managed to score for the Canadian club two minutes into stoppage time.
Miami ascended to sixth place in the Eastern Conference with seven wins and five draws from 15 matches, whereas the struggling Montreal team fell to a record of 1-10 with five draws.
Miami had experienced two losses and two draws in their last four matches.
“We had to take responsibility for the poor results. It’s a matter of correcting to regain confidence,” stated Suarez, who emphasized that the victory “means a lot … We must continue to build confidence in this type of game.”
Inter coach Javier Mascherano expressed concern regarding injuries to defenders Gonzalo Lujan, Tomas Aviles, and Jordi Alba.
“We needed to break the negative trend. I am pleased,” he remarked.
“Regrettably, (the victory) is overshadowed by the injuries to Gonzalo, Jordi, and Toto.
“In the cases of Gonzalo and Jordi, it was a muscular issue, and we will assess the extent of it tomorrow. As for ‘Toto’, he suffered an ankle injury from a stomp. He might have been able to continue; he wanted to keep playing.”
In other league action, overall leader Philadelphia triumphed 2-1 at Toronto, rallying late after Norway’s Ola Brynhildsen scored in the 75th minute.
Nathan Harriel equalized for the Union in the 86th minute, and Germany’s Kai Wagner netted the game-winning goal two minutes into stoppage time.
The Union improved their record to 10-3-3, accumulating a league-high 33 points, while none of the three teams directly behind them on the table managed to secure full points; second-place Cincinnati drew 3-3 with visiting Dallas, and third-place Nashville ended in a 2-2 draw at fourth-place Columbus.
