Lionel Messi was on target as Inter Miami beat Philadelphia Union 2-1 to go top of the Eastern Conference in MLS.

The Argentina icon was absent for his country's World Cup qualifiers with Uruguay and Brazil due to adductor and thigh injuries but was back with a vengeance for Javier Mascherano's men at Chase Stadium.

Inter were ahead by the 23rd minute with a slick move that saw Jordi Alba pick out Benjamin Cremaschi, whose low centre across the face of goal was turned home by Robert Taylor.

The goalscorer was replaced by Messi in the 55th minute and the Argentine superstar took just two minutes to make an impact.

Former Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez slipped the ball to the superstar forward in the penalty area and he glided past a couple of challenges before coolly rolling a right-foot shot into the bottom-left corner.

Daniel Gazdag scored for the away side with 10 minutes remaining to set up a nervy finale but it proved a mere consolation for the Union.

Inter are unbeaten through five MLS outings and are now sat atop the standings in the East with 13 points to their name.

Data Debrief: Ageless Messi continues to shine

It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Messi continues to be a talisman for Inter.

Even at the ripe age of 37 he continues to terrify defences and he has contributed three goals and two assists in his past four MLS matches.

His old Barca pal Suarez continues to make an impact too and the Uruguay legend has assisted five goals in MLS this season.

With that duo firing, Inter have now scored in 28 straight MLS games, scoring 60 in that run.