Lionel Messi made his first appearance in Orlando in an Inter Miami uniform Sunday night, and after a nightmare first half for the Argentine legend and his teammates, he put on a show to lead his team to a 4-2 victory and quiet the raucous crowd at Inter&Co Stadium.

Messi, who had missed three previous Inter Miami games in Orlando since joining the club, delivered two brilliant goals and an assist after halftime. He also proved how deeply he cares about the intra-state rivalry.

Following his 90th minute free kick, which whizzed past the left side of Orlando’s wall into the left corner of the net for Miami’s fourth goal, he turned to the Orlando City diehard supporters’ section called The Wall and celebrated in their faces after hearing anti-Miami chants all night. He kept smiling until the end of the game.

Despite dominating possession, the defending MLS champions trailed 2-0 at halftime following a 3-0 shutout in the MLS season opener at LAFC last weekend.

Through the first 135 minutes of this season, Miami had been outscored 5-0. Things were not looking good for the men in pink after the team was predicted to be even stronger with its off-season acquisitions.

Coach Javier Mascherano made one change at halftime, replacing left back Noah Allen with attacker Mateo Silvetti and the move paid dividends. Four minutes after entering the game, Silvetti, the 20-year-old Argentine, launched a long-distance diagonal shot that landed inside the left post to give Miami hope.

Then, it was time for some Messi magic. Somehow, in traffic, facing a sea of six purple-clad defenders trying to contain him, Messi unleashed a perfectly-placed shot with his trusty left foot. It hit the right side of the net and landed in the bottom right corner. Telasco Segovia had the assist on Miami’s first two goals.

Segovia then scored one of his own in the 85th minute to give Miami the lead. Berterame found Messi from the left side of the box and Messi fed Segovia for a low shot that landed in the right corner. All the Miami players, clearly relieved, piled on Segovia to celebrate.

Orlando City went down a man in the 88th minute when Colin Guske was handed a second yellow card for a foul on Messi, who two minutes later scored the fourth Miami goal on one of his trademark free kicks.

Mascherano said his second-half lineup change was a difficult one to make.

“I always say that when you have to make a change at halftime, that means you made a mistake in your game plan, and as a coach, I hate to have to take a player out and expose them,” Mascherano said. “But what makes it a good move is the players and how they respond. The second half our players played like a championship team and they deserve all the credit.”

Orlando City’s two designated players Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda scored in the opening half while Miami stars Messi, German Berterame and Rodrigo De Paul were held in check the first half and visibly frustrated by Orlando’s pack-the-back defense.

Pasalic struck first in the 18th minute after Ivan Angula stole the ball and delivered the cross through three defenders to Pasalic, who got it past Miami’s new goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who was the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. Ojeda doubled the lead six minutes later as Orlando broke through Miami’s leaky lines.

Messi had a chance to get Inter Miami on the scoreboard after receiving a perfect pass from De Paul, but Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made a huge save.

Asked what he told the Miami players at halftime, Mascherano said: “I told them to believe they could still win. We rallied many times last season to win games that seemed impossible. I just reminded them to believe.”

Joining Messi in the Miami Starting XI were: goalkeeper St. Clair, right back Facundo Mura, center back Maxi Falcon, center back Micael, left back Noah Allen, midfielder De Paul, midfielder Yannick Bright, winger Tadeo Allende, midfielder Telasco Segovia and forward Berterame.

It was the first game in Orlando for Inter Miami’s new $15 million forward Berterame, a native of Argentina who became a naturalized Mexican citizen and plays for the Mexican national team.

Luis Suarez, Miami’s 39-year-old Uruguayan striker, missed the game with a lower leg injury. He trained with his teammates Saturday morning but felt discomfort later in the day and stayed home.

The state rivals were both highly motivated after losing their season openers. Orlando was coming off a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls.

Miami traveled to Puerto Rico midweek for a rescheduled friendly match against Ecuadorean team Independiente de Valle, which Miami won 2-1. Most of Miami’s regular starters spent the first half on the bench and played in the second half. Messi scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick.

Orlando dominated the regular-season series between the teams last year. Miami lost 3-0 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (with Messi in the game) and then got routed 4-1 on the road (without Messi, who had a minor hamstring injury).

Mascherano said the keys to the game were dominating possession and playing compact defense.

“They were very, very difficult for us last season; it’s a very strong team with a really good manager,” he said on his pre-game sideline interview with Apple TV. “To win here, we have to play a perfect game. The atmosphere is big here, they put us under pressure. As a player I loved playing in this type of game, so for the players it will be important to go to the pitch with 100% of concentration and commitment.”

It was not perfect by any means. But Messi and his team went back to South Florida happy.

“Sometimes we overanalyze games, and the real difference is in the emotions,” Mascherano said. “It is about resilience, commitment and the will to win. I congratulate my players for showing that spirit and will to win even when we were down 2-0.”

Inter Miami is on the road again next Saturday against D.C. United.

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