Leagues Cup Scoring Leaders: Lionel Messi on Course for Another Title With 5 Goals for Inter Miami

Leagues Cup Scoring Leaders: Lionel Messi on Course for Another Title With 5 Goals for Inter Miami

Joel Reyes
updated at August 4, 2023 at 8:33 AM
In this article:
Lionel Messi logo
L.Messi
Inter Miami CF logoFArgentina logo
  • Lionel Messi has scored in each of his first three matches for Inter Miami
  • He holds the lead in the Leagues Cup scoring charts alongside German Berterame
  • Daniel Gazdag and Bongokuhle Hlongwane have each scored four goals

Lionel Messi is on fire.

The Argentine star can’t stop scoring for Inter Miami, finding the back of the net in each of his first three matches for the Herons.

Sports Brief looks at the leading scorers of the Leagues Cup as we head into the round of 16 of the competition.

Lionel Messi, German Berterame, Inter Miami, Monterrey, Leagues Cup
Lionel Messi and German Berterame. Images: Megan Briggs/ Julio Cesar AGUILAR.
Source: Getty Images

Lionel Messi (5 goals)

Messi’s MLS career is off to a scorching start. He has scored five goals in his first three matches for Inter Miami, per CBS Sports.

He opened his account in the Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul, scoring a last-gasp free kick on his debut to give Inter Miami a 2-1 win.

He continued his scoring ways in the 4-0 victory against Atlanta United, netting twice in the opening 22 minutes.

Messi scored another brace in Inter Miami’s 3-1 win over Orlando City, netting a pair of close-range volleys to stretch his goal tally to five.

German Berterame (5 goals)

Joining Messi at the top of the scoring charts is Berterame. He scored a double in Monterrey’s 3-0 win over Real Salt Lake.

He then helped Monterrey come back from two goals down against the Seattle Sounders, scoring a hat-trick in their impressive 4-2 win.

Daniel Gazdag (4 goals)

Gazdag opened his Leagues Cup account in Philadelphia’s 3-1 win over Tijuana, converting a penalty in the 21st minute.

He followed that performance with a stunning hat trick against Queretaro. He scored in the 30th, 39th, and 63rd minutes to stretch his goal tally to four.

Bongokuhle Hlongwane (4 goals)

Hlongwane opened his account in Minnesota’s 4-0 win over Puebla, scoring twice in their group opener.

The South African forward scored another brace in their next match, netting twice in their 3-2 loss to Chicago to stretch his goal tally to four.

Unselfish Messi steals show

Sports Brief recently reported on Messi handing a penalty to his Inter Miami teammate.

The Argentine star decided to let Josef Martinez score the spot kick in the second half.

Messi could have nabbed a hat-trick if he was the one who took the penalty as he had already scored a double against Orlando City.

Authors
Joel Reyes photo
Joel Reyes
Joel Reyes is a sports editor at Sportsbrief.com with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines. He has eight years of work experience in sports writing.
Tags
World