Lionel Messi not in the starting lineup for Inter Miami's game in Atlanta

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.

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)

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A roof collapse at a tutoring center under construction in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday killed at least 14 schoolchildren, police and rescue officials said.

Eight other children were injured and being treated at a hospital, senior police official Faisal Kamran said, adding that the owner of the tutoring center and another person have been arrested.

Kamran said rescuers were searching through the rubble after receiving reports that more children could be trapped beneath the debris. He said the tutoring center was housed in an aging building and that the roof of an unfinished second floor apparently collapsed because of poor construction quality.

Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials, and safety regulations are frequently ignored to reduce costs.

Witnesses said ambulances and rescue workers rushed to the scene after the roof collapsed. Residents also joined the search, using shovels and their bare hands to remove rubble in an effort to reach children trapped beneath the debris.

Hours later, as the bodies of the children were being handed over to their families, scenes of anguish unfolded outside hospitals and in the neighborhood on the outskirts of Lahore where the private tutoring center was located in a house. Parents wept over the loss of their children, while mothers and other female relatives cried and beat their chests in grief.

Most of the victims lived nearby, and funeral prayers were expected later Tuesday.

Grief was mixed with anger as residents demanded stern punishment for the owner of the tutoring center, blaming him for operating classes in what they described as an aging and unsafe building. Dozens of mourners were seen gathering outside the victims’ homes to offer condolences.

“We don’t know whose home to visit first to offer condolences for the loss of their children,” resident Zafar Iqbal said as he moved from one bereaved family’s home to another nearby street.

Lahore is the capital of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province, where many parents send their children to private tutoring centers in the afternoon and evening.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the collapse of the roof of an evening school building in Lahore. In separate statements, they offered condolences to the families of the victims, prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured, and said effective safety measures were needed to prevent similar tragedies.

Associated Press writer K.M. Chaudhry in Lahore contributed to this story.

Slippers of the children left behind at the site of an under-construction tutoring center which collapsed, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M Chaudary)

Women mourn over the death of their children killed after the roof of a tutoring center under-construction collapsed, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M Chaudary)

A man comforts a woman mourning over the death of her child, killed after the roof of a tutoring center under-construction collapsed, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M Chaudary)

Women mourn next to the bodies of their children killed after the roof of a tutoring center under-construction collapsed, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M Chaudary)

Women mourn next to the bodies of their children killed after the roof of a tutoring center under-construction collapsed, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M Chaudary)