Lionel Messi returned from a right-leg muscular injury and scored twice to lead Inter Miami to a 3-1 comeback win over Orlando City in the Leagues Cup semifinal. He converted a 77th-minute penalty and added an 88th-minute goal after combining with Jordi Alba. Messi had made a brief return against LA Galaxy on Aug. 17 and experienced discomfort, playing the first half with fear before feeling freer later. Orlando had beaten Miami 4-1 on Aug. 11 when Messi was absent. Miami will face Seattle Sounders in the final; Seattle beat LA Galaxy 2-0 in the other semifinal.
"I wanted to be here," Messi said after the game. "When I came back against [LA] Galaxy [on August 17] I felt some discomfort, I didn't feel comfortable, but I wanted to play the game. "It was really important to be here because it's a difficult opponent, they'd beaten us in the two games we played against them this year. In the first half I was playing with a bit of fear, but after that I felt a bit [more] free."
The Argentina star has been struggling with a muscular injury in his right leg this month, and made a brief return against the Galaxy, before coming back into the team on Wednesday. Miami will now play Seattle Sounders in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday, after they defeated LA Galaxy 2-0 in the other semifinal. It will be Miami's second appearance in the final in two years, after they won the tournament in 2023, while in 2024 they were eliminated in the round of 16.
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