Messi doesn't stop scoring and keeps closing the gap in the race to 1,000 goals with Cristiano Ronaldo
Inter Miami crushes D.C. United 4-0 with braces from Leo and Luis Suárez
Only four days after his emotional farewell to the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi put on another football masterclass with Inter Miami by scoring a brace , just like Luis Suárez, in the emphatic 4-0 victory over DC United at NU Stadium.
Messi reached 23 goals so far in the MLS and is increasingly the league's top scorer. Suárez also played a leading role by scoring the two goals that put the match firmly in their favor in the first half.
After his massive farewell from the Argentina national team, last October 6 in Buenos Aires in the friendly against Benin, Messi managed to play in every Inter Miami match and traveled to Argentina only for last Tuesday's historic game, in which he scored a goal and provided two assists.
If international duty is also taken into account, Messi has scored in five consecutive matches. He got the first just after the start of the second half by finishing inside the box from a Suárez assist. It was on the hour mark when Messi capped his great night with a marvel. He produced a spectacular slalom past three defenders to get into the box and beat the goalkeeper with a cross-shot that unleashed the euphoria of the crowd at NU Stadium.
He exchanged a hug with his teammates, including a Luis Suárez who scored his two goals in the first half by taking advantage of two assists from Germán Berterame. Inter Miami is second in the East with 49 points, behind a Nashville that started the matchday with 60 points.
How is the race to 1,000 goals between Messi and CR7 going?
The race to reach 1,000 official goals still has Cristiano Ronaldo in the lead, although Lionel Messi continues to make steady progress . The Portuguese star has 9 80 goals after scoring for Al Nassr against Al Diriyah last Friday, so he is just 20 goals away from reaching a historic milestone in professional football.
Messi, for his part, narrowed the gap again with his brace against D.C. United on October 10. The two goals took the Argentine's tally to 934 , spread across Barcelona (672), PSG (32), Inter Miami (104) and Argentina (126). In this way, he still needs 66 goals to reach 1,000.
The difference between the two legends is now 46 goals, a gap that makes Cristiano the big favorite to be the first to reach 1,000. However, Messi is keeping his pursuit alive and his form in 2026 has been remarkable: he has scored 38 goals in 41 matches so far this year.
Thus, the particular battle currently stands at 980 vs 934 in Cristiano's favor , with both continuing to add to goalscoring figures that seemed unreachable for any footballer.
