MLS Golden Boot: Messi Grabs Share of Lead, Suarez in 3rd After Scoring Brace Against Orlando City

• Lionel Messi grabbed a share of the lead with Christian Benteke in the Golden Boot race
• The Argentine star climbed to first place following his brace vs. Orlando City SC
• Eight players are tied for third place in the Golden Boot race with two goals apiece

Lionel Messi is starting the season strong.

The Inter Miami star grabbed a share of the lead in the Golden Boot race after scoring a double against Orlando City SC.

Sports Brief looks at the league's top scorers as we head into Matchday 3.

MLS 2024 Top Scorers

1. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, 3 goals)

For the first time since moving to the United States to play for Inter Miami, Messi is in first place in the MLS Golden Boot race.

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He tied Christian Benteke at the top of the scoring charts following his brace against Orlando City SC on Saturday.

He scored twice in a five-minute span in the second half to give Inter Miami a 5-0 lead. His first goal of the night came via a tap-in after Luis Suarez's shot was deflected off the crossbar.

Messi scored his second goal thanks to Suarez again. The Uruguayan delivered a perfect pass to Messi, who was wide open inside the box. The 2022 World Cup made no mistake with his header to complete the rout for the Herons.

1. Christian Benteke (DC United, 3 goals)

The DC United star failed to add to his goal tally on Matchday 2 after picking up a groin injury in pre-game warmups for the match against Portland Timbers, per The Washington Post.

He is still tied for first place, though, thanks to his hat-trick against the New England Revolution on Matchday 1.

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3. Luis Suarez (Inter Miami, 2 goals)

Luis Suarez finally opened his account in the United States, scoring twice in the game against Orlando City SC.

He gave Inter Miami a 1-0 lead after just four minutes, diverting Julian Gressel's cross into the back of the net with a shot inside the right post.

He then doubled the Herons' lead in the 11th minute. He played a beautiful one-two with Gressel, before hitting his shot past Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese from 12 yards out.

Other players with 2 goals this season

Seven other players have scored two goals this season, like Suarez.

They are Real Salt Lake's Cristian Arango and Andres Gomez, Inter Miami's Robert Taylor, Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernández, Portland Timbers' Antony, LA Galaxy's Dejan Joveljic, and St. Louis CITY SC's Samuel Adeniran.

Premier League Golden Boot leaders

Sports Brief recently reported on the Premier League Golden Boot leaders.

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Haaland leads the race after Matchday 27 with 18 goals.

He is two goals ahead of second-placed Ollie Watkins.