ATLANTA (AP) — Lionel Messi was not in the starting lineup for Inter Miami's game at Atlanta United on Wednesday night.
With the Herons playing their second of three games within a week, Messi was set to begin the match on the bench. Coach Gerardo Martino had said he didn't want to overwork his star player, who is coming back from an injury with the club in the midst of a busy stretch.
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Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) its hugged by his teammates after scoring his second goal during the first half of an MLS soccer match against the Philadelphia Union, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Lionel Messi not in the starting lineup for Inter Miami's game in Atlanta
Lionel Messi not in the starting lineup for Inter Miami's game in Atlanta
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) kicks the ball away from Philadelphia Union midfielder Leon Flach (31) during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Another key Miami player, Luis Suárez, also was listed in a substitute role for the game that was expected to draw a large crowd to Mercedes-Benz Stadium — largely to see Messi.
He didn't play a year ago when Inter Miami visited Atlanta, disappointing a crowd of 71,635. But he was in the stadium this time around, setting him up to make a possible appearance in the second half.
The 37-year-old Messi made a mesmerizing return to Miami's lineup this past Saturday after a lengthy absence, scoring two goals and assisting on the third in a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union.
Miami has the best record in Major League Soccer and is trying to lock up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Argentine star and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had not played with Inter Miami since June 1 because of national team commitments and a right ankle injury sustained in a 1-0 victory over Colombia in the Copa America final on July 14.
“A little bit tired because of the heat and humidity of Miami but I wanted to return so much after such a long time away,” Messi said in Spanish after the game. "I started training with the group and began to feel better.”
Messi scored twice in a four-minute span midway through the first half to negate an early goal by Philadelphia.
Suárez assisted on one of Messi's goals and and clinched the victory with a strike off a Messi assist during second-half stoppage time.
It was Suárez’s 17th goal of the season.
Messi came into Wednesday with 14 goals and 14 assists in league play, despite playing just 13 matches.
AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) its hugged by his teammates after scoring his second goal during the first half of an MLS soccer match against the Philadelphia Union, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Lionel Messi not in the starting lineup for Inter Miami's game in Atlanta
Lionel Messi not in the starting lineup for Inter Miami's game in Atlanta
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) kicks the ball away from Philadelphia Union midfielder Leon Flach (31) during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
MUNICH (AP) — Some 200,000 people demonstrated Saturday against Iran's government on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders in Germany, police said, answering a call from Iran ’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi for cranked up international pressure on Tehran.
Banging drums and chanting for regime change, the giant and boisterous rally in Munich was part of what Pahlavi described as a “global day of action" to support Iranians in the wake of deadly nationwide protests. He also called for demonstrations in Los Angeles and Toronto. The police estimate of 200,000 protesters in Munich was reported by German news agency dpa and was higher than organizers had expected.
“Change, change, regime change” the huge crowd chanted, waving green-white-and-red flags with lion and sun emblems. Iran used that flag before its 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Pahlavi dynasty.
At a news conference, Pahlavi warned of more deaths in Iran if “democracies stand by and watch" following Iran’s deadly crackdown on protesters last month.
“We gather at an hour of profound peril to ask: Will the world stand with the people of Iran?” he asked.
He added that the survival of Iran's government “sends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people and you stay in power.”
At the Munich rally, demonstrators sported “Make Iran Great Again" red caps, mimicking the MAGA caps worn by U.S. President Donald Trump 's supporters. Among those sporting the caps was U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who gave a speech to the crowd during which he held up a cap.
Many at the rally waved placards showing Pahlavi, some that called him a king. The son of Iran’s deposed shah has been in exile for nearly 50 years but is trying to position himself as a player in Iran’s future.
The crowd chanted “Pahlavi for Iran,” and “democracy for Iran" as drums and cymbals sounded.
“We have huge hopes and (are) looking forward that the regime is going to change hopefully,” said Daniyal Mohtashamian, a demonstrator who traveled from Zurich, in Switzerland, to speak for protesters inside Iran who faced repression.
“There is an internet blackout and their voices are not going outside of Iran,” he said.
About 500 protesters also rallied outside the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, with many holding up banners with slogans against Iran's government and in favor of Pahlavi.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,005 people were killed in last month's protests, including 214 government forces. It has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists inside Iran to verify deaths.
Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.
Iranian leaders are facing renewed pressure from Trump, who has threatened U.S. military action. Trump wants Iran to further scale back its nuclear program. He suggested Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen."
Iran was also the focus of protests in Munich on Friday, the opening day of an annual security conference in the city gathering European leaders and global security figures. Supporters of the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, demonstrated.
Associated Press journalists John Leicester in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.
United States Senator Lindsey Graham , SC, waves to supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi at a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
United States Senator Lindsey Graham , SC, speaks to supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi at a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
United States Senator Lindsey Graham , SC, speaks to supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi at a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi stand under a huge historic Iranian flag as they attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Iranian Shah, attends a press conference at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday Feb. 14, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, show posters of people, they said was killed during the protests in Iran, at a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, takes part at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, attend a protest during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
