It was yet another record-breaking night on Saturday for Lionel Messi as he scored two goals and assisted another for Inter Miami in their 4-1 win over the New England Revolution.
In front of 65,612 fans – a new record for a Revolution match at Gillette Stadium – and playing his second match on artificial turf since joining MLS last year, Messi played his fifth consecutive league match with two goals or more, which is MLS news. save. And with his two goals, he established himself as the top scorer in the championship with nine goals in seven matches this season. He also now has seven assists, giving him a share of the league lead in that category as well. His total of 16 goal contributions is the maximum for a player in the first seven matches to start a season in MLS, beating Thierry Henry (2012) and Carlos Vela (2019), who each made 13 during the same period.
New England entered the game with much of their team suffering from a virus that affected the starting lineup, but they still managed to take a surprising 1-0 lead in the first minute of the game . Messi, however, responded by scoring his first of the evening in the 32nd minute.
Inevitable.
Messi scores his 8th goal of the season! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/iE0DNiKpGZ
– Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 28, 2024
Messi then scored his second goal in the 68th minute on a perfect pass from a familiar source: Sergio Busquets.
Busquets -> Messi
Very good. pic.twitter.com/Q4yl0Qi1OO
– Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 28, 2024
In the 86th minute, with the home side down by two goals, Messi waved to the crowd during a stoppage in play, eliciting a huge roar of gratitude. Then, in the 89th minute, Messi fed Luis Suarez, who came off the bench to provide the exclamation point.
LUIS. SUAREZ. WOW. pic.twitter.com/coe7h5b5ll
– Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 28, 2024
With this victory, Miami maintains first place in the Eastern Conference and the best record in MLS.
(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)