Video: With a late assist from Messi, Inter Miami defeated Atlas of Mexico 2-1 in the 2025 Leagues Cup.

In Matchday 1 of the 2025 Leagues Cup group stage, Inter Miami defeated Atlas of Mexico 2-1 at home. Lionel Messi started, played the full 90 minutes, and provided two assists. The Rosario native had an excellent performance .

Analyzing the match, it was a hard-fought affair. Several sides believe a draw would have been a fair result. But thanks to goals from Telasco Segovia and Marcelo Weigandt, Inter secured the victory . Chelo's goal came in the 95th minute.

Looking at the standings, Inter Miami has partially moved into first place in its group with three points . They're currently in the round of 16, although there are still two matches remaining.

After today's victory, Inter Miami's next match will be on Saturday, August 2. For Matchday 2 of the Leagues Cup group stage, Mascherano's team will face Fernando Gago's Necaxa at 8:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, Inter will play Pumas on Wednesday the 6th at 8:30 p.m. If Miami is ultimately eliminated, they will return to MLS action on Sunday the 10th against Orlando City as visitors .

This year, the Leagues Cup will feature a new format. There will be two total groups of 18 teams each : Group A for Mexico, and Group B for MLS. All three will compete in a total of three rounds, determined by a draw and always in inter-regional groups.

That is, all tournament matches will be between an MLS club and a Liga MX club. The top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. There's no margin for error . As an interesting aside, in the group stage, penalties will be awarded in the event of a tie. The winner will take two points and the loser one.