Lionel Messi is now one goal away from reaching the milestone of 900 career goals after scoring in typical style for Inter Miami against DC United on Saturday night.
Messi’s goal helped Inter Miami to a 2-1 win in Baltimore and it was the kind of finish that evoked memories of some of his most famous goals from the 898 that came before.
Put through by a defence-splitting pass from Mateo Silvetti on the left wing, Messi got in behind the nearest DC United defender and latched onto the pass, before dinking the ball over the keeper from what was still a wide angle.
Messi finished with his first touch, aiming across goal and picking out the bottom corner with ease. It’s just what he does.
Watch the goal closer and it’s almost the perfect blend of classic Messi and the modern-day version that’s quite entitled to conserve energy and create danger in short bursts.
When the ball first goes to Silvetti, the 38-year-old is dawdling in an offside position, closer to the opposite flank than where the ball is. But those instincts kicked in straight away as Silvetti turned goalward.
Messi broke into a jog and slithered between centre-backs Kye Rowles and Lucas Bartlett before making a 90-degree turn to evade the latter and latch onto the through ball (which he himself may have been proud of).
Silvetti. Messi. 2-0.
Pure class from Miami in Baltimore. 😍 pic.twitter.com/9IpJdGyPUi
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 7, 2026
And then, the finish. You could probably lose hours of your life watching compilations of Messi’s chipped goals over the years. It’s a type of finish he’s synonymous with, always one step ahead of his opponents and with the technique to trick them.
But some of those legendary goals came at the end of dribbles – like the one against Bayern Munich in the 2015 Champions League semi-finals – or at least after controlling the ball first.
In contrast, this goal had echoes of one he scored 12 years ago against Rayo Vallecano, when he ran onto a pass on the left-hand side and chipped the ball into the bottom far corner.
These days, Messi’s movement isn’t as fast, but those instincts are still as sharp. Goal number 899 was from slightly closer range, but it still had all the aspects of a trademark Messi finish.
Now, the question is what type of goal he’ll pick for number 900…
By Samuel Bannister
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