The Herons got a fantastic assist from Messi in the sixth minute of added time to open up the competition on the right foot

The Leagues Cup is a tournament where Inter Miami and Lionel Messi have found success in the past. Inter Miami won the 2023 Leagues Cup, the first edition, which used a tournament format filled with Liga MX and MLS teams.

Lionel Messi had two assists, including one in the final seconds of the match, to help lift Inter Miami over Atlas 2-1 in their Leagues Cup opener on Wednesday night. It was Messi's first game since he and teammate Jordi Alba were suspended one match by Major League Soccer for skipping its All-Star game.

Leagues Cup announced on Friday that it will suspend a member of Inter Miami's delegation from all technical areas of the tournament for "inappropriate conduct" following last Wedn

Lionel Messi's bodyguard, Yassine Cheuko, has been banned from all technical areas for the rest of the Leagues Cup after storming the field to confront Atlas players postgame.

SportsLine's Brandt Sutton reveals his picks for Club Necaxa vs. Inter Miami at Chase Stadium on Saturday featuring Lionel Messi

After a postgame confrontation in which Cheuko ran onto the field to push some Atlas players away from the Inter Miami star, the League Cup disciplinary committee announced it was banning him from all technical areas for the rest of the tournament, which runs through Aug. 31, and fining Inter Miami an undisclosed amount of money.

Lionel Messi said he struggled to find rhythm in the first half against Atlas on Wednesday night at Chase Stadium before setting up two second-half goals -- including a late winner -- in a 2-1 victory to kick off Inter Miami CF's Leagues Cup campaign.