Messi, Suarez score in Inter Miami's score chase

Messi, Suarez, Alba recreated their peak performance from their time at Barca and created eye-catching goals at DRV PNK Stadium on the evening of June 1.

In the 25th minute, Messi dribbled the ball in the middle and opened the line for Alba. The Spanish defender controlled the ball for a moment and then passed it across for Messi to run in and tap the ball with his left foot to the near corner, leaving goalkeeper Roman Burki unable to block it.

In the 34th minute, the duo had a similar combination. Alba crossed from the left for Messi to tap into the near corner. But this time, the St. Louis goalkeeper pushed the ball out of bounds.

In a similar move in the first half's injury time, Alba crossed to the far post for Suarez to tap into an empty net. Such combinations have been mastered by Messi, Suarez, and Alba since their peak playing days at Barca.

In the 85th minute, it was Alba's turn to enter the penalty area and finish past Burki in a one-on-one situation. Initially, the linesman raised his flag and denied Alba's goal for offside. Then, VAR stepped in and awarded the goal to the home team.

However, Inter Miami could not take all three points due to defensive errors. In particular, Suarez himself headed the ball into his own net while defending a corner kick in the 68th minute. The other two goals for the visitors belonged to the midfield duo Chris Durkin and Indiana Vassilev.

With this result, Inter Miami has 35 points after 18 matches. Messi and his teammates are at risk of losing the top spot in the MLS Eastern Conference to Cincinnati - a club with two fewer points but two fewer matches.

Inter Miami will face difficulties in the coming period, when Messi and Suarez return to the national team to prepare for Copa America - the tournament taking place from June 20 to July 14. Meanwhile, Alba and Busquets have retired from the Spanish national team and will continue to play with Inter Miami.

Starting lineup:

Inter Miami: Callender, Weigandt, Aviles, Kryvtsov (Sailor 46), Jordi Alba, Rojas (Gressel69), Busquets, Redondo (Cremaschi 30), Taylor (Campana 69), Suarez, Messi.

St. Louis: Burki, Totland, Parker, Nilsson, Markanich, Durkin, Lowen (Thorisson 82), Vassilev (Hiebert 82), Pompeu, Klauss (Adeniran 67), Rasmus Alm (Kijima 27).