Lionel Messi establish multiple MLS records Saturday as Inter Miami dismantled the New York Red Bulls 6-2.
Messi’s five assists and one goal propelled him ahead of former LAFC striker Carlos Vela’s rate during his record-breaking 2019. It also set new high marks for assists and goal contributions in an MLS match.
It was a masterful second half from Miami, forever overshadowing the fact that the Red Bulls went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Before explaining how Miami scored six goals in 45 minutes, thanks in large part to Messi, it’s important to understand the opponent. The season in New York was It’s off to a good start entering Saturday night having lost just once in their first 10 games. Emil Forsberg quickly acclimatized to his new primary role in midfield, homegrown players Daniel Edelman and John Tolkin continued to impress and last year’s signing Dante Vanzeir was a chance-creating machine. On Saturday, the tables were turned when Forsberg scored Vanzeir’s second goal of the season.
They have also enjoyed success despite a notable deviation from their football group’s guiding principles. The Red Bulls have appointed former Hertha BSC manager Sandro Schwarz as head coach this offseason. Apparently, this appointment also came with the approval of abandoning Red Bull’s dogmatic DNA, allowing his team to defend itself differently from previous years.
Playing with a similarly positioned defensive line – the average opponent has been flagged offside 26 yards from goal in 2023 and 2024 – the Red Bulls have traded some of that energy expended when pressing high for intentionality additional in possession. They are more selective in their passes instead of forcing them down the field, going from a 71.6% success rate in 2023 to 80.7% this year.
This emphasis on retention extends to their back line, which is much less likely to drive it into the center of the field than in seasons past.
It’s important to point out that this year’s New York Red Bulls are a good team that has done good things for most of the season. It’s also worth pointing out that this is a good team that is still working to incorporate a new coach’s scheme into its second-nature decision-making.
That said, here’s how Miami forced them into one of the worst 45-minute windows an MLS team has ever had.
1. The opener
Miami generally starts sequences 45.6 meters from Drake Callender’s net – average for an MLS team since 2019. They also like to string together long series of passes. 14.3% of Miami’s streaks this season involve nine or more passes. That’s the second highest in the league (behind the LA Galaxy), and also higher than any team has recorded in a full season since the start of 2019. On Saturday, they increased that rate to 17.6% of their sequences against New York.
The deadliest example came just after halftime. A misplayed ball by Frankie Amaya led Miami to clear an opponent for a throw-in. Fourteen passes later, they were back tied.
Miami is taking its time to chart its course on the field. Putting pressure on their defensive half declutters the part of the pitch that serves as Messi’s playing field. Given the relatively limited mobility involved, relying on dribbling progression up the court would be a daunting task. Instead, slinging passes are the solution – and that effectively requires a lot of open space, hence the recirculations.
Eventually, four Red Bulls commit to pushing, and there’s plenty of room to cook at home. Sergio Busquets, do you remember him? He’s gone strangely anonymous as we chat about Miami – he flicks the ball into space to his right before neatly flicking a 45-yard pass to Messi, midfielder Matías Rojas rushing forward to add a other option.
Messi serves as an unconventional hold-up in these cases: obviously much smaller than the usual battering ram, but his technical abilities in tight spaces and his preternatural reading of a live match can be even more effective. Additionally, it is generally recognized as the focal point of the defense’s every game planning. He is the fire, they are the butterflies. It often catches fire.
2. When playing from the back goes wrong
Luis Suarez is down. I repeat: Luis Suarez is down.
Here Suarez cannot win an aerial duel, the ball falling to Andres Reyes, who hits it wide of Kyle Duncan. The right-back attempts a back-and-forth with Wikelman Carmona.
(Note: Here we will refer to an Argentinian, a Colombian, a Paraguayan and a Uruguayan – and many players from the United States. It could also have mentioned a Brazilian and an Ecuadorian from the Miami bench. Fight the fever of the Copa América while you can.)
From there, Rojas converges while Carmona looks upfield. For him, all progress is a risk, and he seems to retain possession of it – one of those breaks with the principles of the past. Indecision leaves him facing his own goal as Rojas rounds him to knock the ball off his shin to where Suarez is, having just gotten up. Suarez helps the ball reach Messi, and you’ve seen what happens next hundreds of times over the years.
Somehow the goal comes because Suarez plays the possum rather than despite the fall. New York let their guard down around the Uruguayan, and some clever two-man pressing manipulated the Red Bulls enough to bring Suarez back into the game. The decision-making is suspect, but this goal from Suarez to Messi is actually the product of industry support from two players.
3. Matthias Rojas could get used to it
In Brazil, Matías Rojas’ greatest strengths were advancing the ball with his passing, shooting at relative volume, exceeding his expected goals with his goal production, and being proactive in challenging opponents in possession. The Paraguayan joined Miami under budget last month after freeing himself from contractual constraints with Corinthians thanks to disputes related to unpaid image rights.
Rojas would be the best or second best player on at least eight other MLS teams. Among Miami’s ex-Barcelona players, he is more of a grizzled actor than a leading man.
From his second appearance in MLS, Rojas (entered at half-time) is already forging a partnership in preparation with Messi. The duo sneak into Red Bull’s midfield, with several opponents now fully committing to any opportunity to win the ball back and regain their footing before it gets ugly. Unfortunately, this also leaves them just out of position when a lunge doesn’t pay off.
The two move from midfield to the box in seven seconds, eliminating five opponents in the central channel with absolute precision. We have the feeling that Rojas will really enjoy playing with Messi.
4. Suarez’s turn
Since its regular season debut in August, Miami is 8-2-1 when Messi is in the starting lineup. All three teams that managed to score forced Miami to shoot beyond 18 yards on at least 35 percent of their attempts. Miami is 2-2-1 when shooting often from outside the box and 6-0-0 when taking at least two-thirds from inside the box. It’s a small sample size, but the theory makes sense in concept: it’s harder to convert from long range and avoid players between the ball and goal.
Granted, having Miami shoot deep still isn’t a winning lottery ticket for your career. The only team to beat Miami when Messi started was Charlotte FC, who silenced Miami 1-0 on Oct. 21 to secure a spot in the MLS Cup playoff play-offs. The coach behind that performance, Christian Lattanzio, was fired two weeks later and remains unemployed.
Last weekend, the Red Bulls were not among the five teams that forced more than a third of Miami’s shots to come from distance.
In the past, Messi would take a ball like Suarez’s in Frame III, rush towards the box with his left foot and make a goalkeeper look foolish. Whether it’s protecting his hamstring or setting records for fun, he’s looking to play the role of distributor as New York scrambles to get back into shape. The midfield is gassed, leaving the Red Bulls backline to fend for itself.
It’s difficult to explain why two central defenders would simultaneously decide not to at least get into Suarez’s space as Messi prepares to pass to the edge of the box. Maybe Sean Nealis (the closest central defender, at the top of the gif) wanted to be ready in case Messi got around his teammates and dribbled towards the goal. Whatever the intention, it probably didn’t go as planned, as Suarez is in the right place to swing a leg and score.
5. Suarez’s turn again
Miami has been much better at pressing from the front in 2024, forcing opponents into turnovers in their defensive third to create short-range offensive moments. In a dozen games, 21.7% of Miami’s possession sequences began in the offensive third. This approach addresses Suarez and Messi’s lack of mobility at this stage of their careers.
On Saturday, Miami started its possessions in the final third for only 9.9% of its sequences. This is the lowest rate since Messi’s arrival, the previous one being 13.8% against the Red Bulls last August. This limited the potential for quick fast breaks and required a veteran team to put up more yards. In theory, that would help.
In practice, this task is made easier when the veteran team is on a hot streak and the younger team is frustrated and tired.
Edelman, the 21-year-old Red Bulls midfielder, is beaten with a classic Messi feint, and his request for help goes unanswered. Messi and Suarez are gone, and the Red Bulls look more like a herd of deer staring into hot pink headlights.
Both men picked apart the defense with good footwork, smart passing and a natural confidence in a teammate’s decision-making along with your own. Even if Suarez is no longer the runner he used to be, he is still brilliant in the final third.
6. Complete the 12-minute hat trick
It’s more or less the same thing, actually. Suarez and Messi are trying their luck in the ‘Field of Dreams,’ and everyone around them might as well be a ghost.
That doesn’t take away from some brilliant individual tricks in the sequence, from Messi’s assist to Suarez’s control to round goalkeeper Carlos Coronel and finish from a quick closing angle.
Coronel recorded -2.73 goals avoided when comparing six goals conceded to the expected goals on target he faced. How bad is it? Since the start of 2019, there have been 4,711 times a goalkeeper has played the full 90 minutes of an MLS match. Only four of those thousands had a worse rate in a competition, with each ultimately conceding six or seven goals.
There wasn’t a single obvious mistake that Miami exploited, and the Red Bulls’ midfield and forward lines largely played well. The reality remains that Miami is only as good when Messi and Suarez start. The duo has mocked more illustrious competitions and opponents throughout their careers.
Rest assured, New York: they’ve done this to clubs and national teams around the world. It probably wasn’t personal.
(Top photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)