The Argentine star forward scored his 901st career goal as Inter Miami defeated New York City FC at Yankee Stadium.
Published March 23, 2026
Michael dos Santos Silva’s go-ahead goal in the 74th minute gave Inter Miami a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over hosts New York City FC on Sunday.
Dos Santos headed a beautiful ball from fellow defender Noah Allen past NYCFC keeper Matt Freeze to give Inter Miami (3-1-1, 10 points) their first Major League Soccer (MLS) win since March 7.
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Lionel Messi scores his 901st career goal and Gonzalo Luján scores his first MLS goal for Inter Miami as the team bounced back from Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup defeat to Nashville after a two-game draw with an away goals tiebreaker.
NYCFC (3-1-1, 10 points) suffered its first loss of the season, ending its winning streak at three despite goals from Nicolás Fernández Mercau and Agustín Ojeda.
Maxi Morales provided a nice assist to Ojeda in the 59th minute, giving NYCFC a brief 2-1 lead.
Morales worked his way through traffic in the middle of the field and sent a nice ball to Ojeda, who, uncontested, reversed the ball past Inter Miami goalkeeper Dane St. Clair.
But two minutes later, Inter Miami won a free kick and Messi fired home. His shot was deflected by NYCFC’s Hannes Wolff, who waved off Freeze (5 saves) to tie the game at 2 points.
Messi came close with several chances and almost scored multiple goals. He hit the post in the 31st minute and hit the crossbar in the 42nd minute. There was a chance to pad Miami’s lead late, but it went wide.
German Bertelame appeared to extend Miami’s lead in the 79th minute, but what would have been his first goal for his new club was ruled out for offside.
After Luján scored in the 4th minute, NYCFC tied the game with a great free kick goal from Fernández Mercau. Melkau’s high shot bounced off the crossbar and kept St. Clair in place in the 17th minute.
NYCFC used Morales as a decoy, letting him get closer as if to force him to take a shot, and Fernández Mercau ran up and took the shot.
St. Clair (3 saves) made a big save in the second half of stoppage time to preserve Inter Miami’s victory.
