MIAMI (AP) — Lionel Messi scored two goals to give him a league-leading 23 this season, and Inter Miami beat D.C. United 4-0 on Saturday night.
Luis Suárez also scored twice and Germán Berterame had two assists for Inter Miami, which snapped a five-match winless skid. Miami had four draws and one loss before Saturday’s outburst.
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Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) scores his side's third goal during the second half of an MLS soccer match against D.C. United, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi drives past D.C. United defender Keisuke Kurokawa on his way to scoring his side's third goal during the second half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
D.C. United goalkeeper Sean Johnson (1) stops a scoring attempt from Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez, right, celebrates with forward Lionel Messi after scoring his side's second goal during the first half of an MLS soccer match against D.C. United, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Four days after playing his farewell match that ended a 21-year tenure with the Argentine national team, Messi played the entire 90 minutes.
The win was Miami’s first since a 7-1 rout of CF Montreal on Aug. 29. It was also the first league win for new coach Cristian “Kily” González, who took over Sept. 16.
D.C. United is winless in its last five matches.
Messi scored his first in the 47th minute after Suárez tallied twice in the first half to give Inter Miami a 2-0 lead at the break. Suárez centered a pass near the 6-yard box, where Messi retrieved it and tapped in a shot inside the right post.
Inter Miami padded its lead when Messi struck again in the 60th minute. He received Rodrigo De Paul’s pass, dribbled inside the large area and eluded two United defenders to beat goalkeeper Sean Johnson with a shot from 12 yards.
Inter Miami’s first scoring threat resulted in Suárez’s goal three minutes into the match. Suárez received Berterame’s header and beat Johnson with a shot that landed inside the left post.
Suárez made it 2-0 with his second goal in the 39th minute. Johnson deflected Messi’s point-blank shot to an open Berterame, who fed Suárez with another header that he retrieved inside the 6-yard box. Suárez then tapped in a shot for his brace.
Inter Miami hosts New York City FC on Wednesday night.
D.C. United faces the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) scores his side's third goal during the second half of an MLS soccer match against D.C. United, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi drives past D.C. United defender Keisuke Kurokawa on his way to scoring his side's third goal during the second half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
D.C. United goalkeeper Sean Johnson (1) stops a scoring attempt from Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez, right, celebrates with forward Lionel Messi after scoring his side's second goal during the first half of an MLS soccer match against D.C. United, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Isaias peeled off hotel and condominium rooftops and facades along the Florida Panhandle before charging north Saturday, dishing out torrential rains and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes across the Southeast.
At least four deaths were linked to the storm, including two people killed when trees fell onto homes in Florida and Alabama. Forecasters warned that flooding could stretch into the Appalachians.
Isaias came ashore as a Category 2 hurricane Friday near Destin, Florida, a Gulf Coast vacation spot filled with high-rises and tourist shops. The storm weakened overnight but remained dangerous.
Despite warnings of storm surges ahead of the storm, several major routes along the coast were open by daybreak Saturday and free of downed trees and power lines typically seen after major hurricanes.
Within the first hours after landfall, nearly 900,000 customers were without power, mostly in Florida and Alabama.
Hurricane-force winds in the Florida Panhandle blew the roof off a Pensacola hotel, and the city’s mayor said the airport “took some damage.” The storm flattened a boathouse in Destin and ripped away part of the facade of a high-rise in Panama City Beach.
A worker in a condominium parking lot swept piles of the building's insulation while others put back beach chairs that had been tossed about.
In Florida's Escambia County, Sheriff Chip Simmons said a woman was killed when a tree fell on her home and a man died of carbon monoxide fumes from a generator running in his garage. Four of the man's family members, ranging in age from 4 to 72, were treated but expected to survive, the sheriff said.
Nearby in Gulf Breeze, Jayme Mitich wiped tears away Saturday as she surveyed the damage to her apartment. Her living room was soaked and covered in insulation.
She and her 13-year-old daughter, Jeweliana Jackson, hid beneath a mattress before the storm tore off part of their roof. “The noise got so loud, and I just kept hearing things break and crash into everything,” Mitich said.
The rest of their apartment complex was littered with roof shingles and broken beams from a wooden fence. The winds uprooted trees and flipped a truck on its side.
“It’s going to be OK,” Mitich said. “No matter what, we’re going to make it.”
Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, roared farther into Alabama with tropical-force winds.
One person died when a tree fell on a house in Birmingham, said Cory Moon, the city's fire chief. A second storm-related death in Alabama was attributed to a motor vehicle crash involving a downed tree in Barbour County, said Josh Johnson of the state's emergency management agency.
Along Alabama's Gulf Coast, authorities in Mobile reported numerous downed trees and power lines.
Maranie Adams, who rode out the storm with her family and their chickens in Gulf Shores, Alabama, said the winds rocked their home, but it was nothing like Hurricane Sally, which left water under their elevated house.
“I feel very much more relieved today,” she said.
President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Georgia after earlier doing the same for Florida and Alabama, allowing for federal aid.
The U.S. Energy Department authorized emergency exchanges of crude oil from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve to address disruptions in supply because of the storm.
The Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet this year, and Isaias was the first hurricane to hit the eastern U.S. since 2024.
The National Weather Service advised that parts of Georgia and the Carolinas could see heavy rains capable of causing flash floods. The storm was expected to move into the Tennessee Valley and then the mid-Atlantic on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Simon strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane as it approached Mexico’s coast. Simon was expected to bring heavy rainfall beginning Sunday to parts of southwestern Mexico with life-threatening flooding and mudslides.
Tropical Storm Rachel was also expected to bring heavy winds and rain to northern Mexico and Southern California over the weekend.
Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Sophie Bates in Gulf Breeze, Thomas Strong in Washington, Julie Walker in New York, Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Downed trees are seen in lawns in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jeff Lundy cuts up a pine tree that fell on his father-in-law's house during Isaias on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
Islam Mahfuz salvages contents of their destroyed mini mart in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People salvage the contents of their destroyed mini mart in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A damaged airplane is seen at Peter Prince Field in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Baleigh Ziglar walks around downed trees in front of her mother's home in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Curt Brown picks up debris left by Isaias around his RV home on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
Damage is seen on a condominium high-rise from Hurricane Isaias in Panama City Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Curt Brown picks up debris left by Isaias around his RV home on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
Jonathan Poston, of Lewis Funeral Home, cleans up storm debris left by Isaias on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
Florida Power & Light worker Yosvany Quintero clears downed tree limbs caused by the effects of Isaias on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in East Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
People retrieve belongings from a collapsed boat house in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Destin, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Damage to a warehouse owned by A.J.'s Restaurant is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Destin, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People retrieve belongings from a collapsed boat house in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Destin, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A gas station sign that was knocked down lies near the roadway in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Destin, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Kenny Smith looks at an apartment roof that was torn off by the effects of Isaias and landed in front of his apartment on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in East Milton, Fla. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
People retrieve belongings from a collapsed boat house in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Destin, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This GOES-19 GeoColor satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and taken at 1:06 p.m. EDT, Friday, Oct. 9 2026, shows Hurricane Isaias approaching the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Florida . (NOAA via AP)
Residents pick up sandbags for storm preparation at the James Seals Jr. Parks & Recreation Center ahead of Hurricane Isaias' expected landfall along the Gulf Coast, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
People sit outside an evacuation shelter as Hurricane Isaias approaches Pensacola, Fla., Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jason Coffey boards up a convenience store at a gas station as Hurricane Isaias approaches Pensacola Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jim McKenzie looks out over an empty beach as the effects of Isaias keep beachgoers away on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, on Mon Louis Island, Ala.(AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
An American flag flaps in the wind generated by the effects of Isaias on an empty beach on Friday, Oct. 9, loom overhead on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in Mon Louis Island, Ala. (AP Photo/Octavio Jones)
