Following the recent buzz surrounding Lionel Messi, thanks to the Marca American award handed to him on Friday, the dust was finally settling, and life seemed to return to normal. However, it turned out Messi had other plans as he wasn’t quite finished making headlines just yet.
Inter Miami hosted New England Revolution in what was their final game of the single MLS season, with Messi starting on the bench. The visitors soon capitalized on his absence, netting two first-half goals through Luca Langoni and Dylan Borrero in the 2nd and 34th minutes respectively, sending their fans into a frenzy. However, Luis Suárez soon stepped in to spoil the party, pulling one back to the distaste of the away crowd. Just two minutes later, the Uruguayan struck again, leveling the score right before halftime.
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The second half began quietly, with neither side making significant progress for the first 10 minutes. It wasn’t until the 57th minute that Lionel Messi was brought on to finish the job, as it was evident that Inter Miami hadn’t fully found their rhythm without him in the starting lineup.
As if to reaffirm why no one else was a more rightful recipient of the Marca award, Messi’s presence immediately elevated Inter Miami’s performance, quite significantly. He played a crucial role in setting up the winning goal moments after coming on and went on to deliver a masterclass, scoring a hat-trick and providing two assists. By the final whistle, Miami cruised to an emphatic 6-2 victory, securing the Supporters’ Shield and booking their spot in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
With this performance and as it stands, Lionel Messi’s tally for Inter Miami now stands at 33 goals and 18 assists across 35 official matches. His contributions have earned the club two trophies and set a new record for the most points in MLS history.
For context, Inter Miami sat dead last, ranking 29th out of 29 teams in the MLS when Messi joined them just a year and a half ago; they were rock bottom. Less than two years later and Miami is ending the season a super high, being crowned league leaders. If this isn’t the very definition of impact, I don’t know what is!
