Lionel Messi scored twice and assisted once on his first start for Inter Miami in a 4-0 win over Atlanta United.
The Argentina star, 36, scored two inside the opening 22 minutes before setting up team-mate Robert Taylor in the second half.
“He can do everything on the ball. He can keep it in tight spaces, and he makes the right decision 100% of the time,” said Taylor.
“Most of the time he’ll find one of his team-mates. He brings so much quality to the team, so much. I mean, he’s the best player in the world.
“This is what he does – he scores two goals, he scored last game, gets another assist. It’s a dream come true to play with him.”
Messi, who is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, only trained with his team-mates for the first time last week after moving to the Major League Soccer side following the end of his contract at Paris St-Germain.
The 2022 World Cup-winner scored 32 goals in 75 games during a two-year spell with the French champions and turned down lucrative offers from other countries to play in the US.