Lionel Messi Shines with 11-Minute Hat-Trick as Inter Miami Dismantles New England with 6-2 Victory
Once again, Lionel Messi has ablaze the internet with his stunning 11-minute hat-trick, which helped Inter Miami defeat the New England Revolution 6-2.
In addition to being Messi’s second hat-trick of the week, this incredible effort allowed Miami to end the regular season with 74 points, one more than the previous record established by New England in 2021.
Inter Miami defeated the New England Revolution 6-2, shattering the regular season points record in Major League Soccer. Lionel Messi scored his second hat-trick of the week, and Luis Suarez scored twice. With their victory in the regular season finale, Miami surpassed the previous record of 74 points, which was set by New England in 2021. Messi, who led the late barrage of goals after coming off the bench in the 58th minute, now has 20 goals in 19 MLS games, while Suarez, his former Barcelona teammate, has 20 goals from 27 games.
With Inter having already won the Supporters’ Shield for the best record in the regular season and solidifying their position as the clear favorites in the MLS Cup playoffs, which begin next week, the task of surpassing the record provided some spice to the season’s last game.
Before Gerardo Martino’s team tied the score at halftime, Suarez scored twice to cut Miami’s deficit to 2-0.
The home crowd was calling for Messi to be brought on from the bench after goals from Argentine Luca Langoni and Colombian Dylan Borrero in the 34th minute, but it was Uruguayan Suarez who started the comeback.
The former Barcelona and Liverpool striker equalized with a solid left-foot finish following strong work by David Martinez.
Subsequently, Suarez achieved a superb solo finish, creating space for himself, transferring to his right foot, and driving home.
Messi came off the bench in the 58th minute to help put the team ahead, finding Jordi Alba who set up Benjamin Cremaschi for a tap-in. Messi had scored a hat-trick for Argentina against Bolivia on Tuesday.
Bobby Wood’s goal gave New England hope that they had tied the score, but a VAR review showed that the play was a handball.
Messi then made it 4-2. He did so by wonderfully smashing into the far bottom corner after receiving a back-heeled pass from Suarez.
The Argentine was on target once more as he effortlessly finished a brilliant feed from Jordi Alba. In the 89th minute, he sealed his hat-trick by meeting a volleyed cross from Suarez with a first-time finish.
Messi scored three goals in a span of eleven minutes, and he is finally back to his best following an injury that kept him out of action for two months following the Copa America.
“After the major injury we had to be very careful with his recovery and reintegration into the team and both the national team and ourselves here were very careful with that issue,” Martino added.
“I have the feeling that we have him in an ideal situation to face the most important part of the year,” said the Argentine.
Miami broke the point record, and although Martino acknowledged that the team needs to improve on some of its mistakes, they are going into the playoffs on a high note.
“This gives the team even more confidence. We didn’t set out to score these 74 points at the beginning of the season, but we made an effort to do so when the opportunity presented itself,” he stated.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino joined club co-owners David Beckham and Jorge Mas at the post-game celebration of the Supporters Shield triumph. Infantino declared that the Shield had secured the squad a spot in the 2025 Club World Cup.
In other MLS regular season action, Montreal defeated New York City 2-0 to guarantee their spot in the playoffs.
With the win, the Canadian team moved up to eighth place in the Eastern Conference and will now play Atlanta United, which is ranked ninth, in the wildcard round on Tuesday in hopes of facing Miami in the first round.
Atlanta’s 2-1 victory over Orlando City secured the East’s final slot.
