Lionel Messi had two goals and two assists to lead Inter Miami CF to a bounce-back 5-1 win over the host New York Red Bulls on Saturday night in Harrison, New Jersey.
Messi and Inter Miami (12-4-5, 41 points) erased a 1-0 first-half deficit with a flurry of goals before the break — two of them coming off the foot of Telasco Segovia — that staked the Herons to a 3-1 lead ahead of the break.
Miami won its sixth MLS match in its past seven after having a five-game winning streak snapped at Cincinnati on Wednesday. It was also the sixth time in the past seven games in which Messi has scored two goals.
“The reality is we had five games in the last two weeks, four of which were away. It is a complicated stage, especially because of the travel and the lack of rest between games,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the match. “The game against Cincinnati was a reflection of the exhaustion the team carries, but now we have a long week. We will use it to give rest to those who are more tired, and with the expectation to recover a couple players that are injured and add them to the roster.”
The Red Bulls (9-9-6, 33 points) failed to string together consecutive wins at home and lost to Inter Miami for the second time this season. Mascherano’s team is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, six points behind Philadelphia, but have three games in hand due to its participation in the Club World Cup this summer.
New York scored its lone goal in the 15th minute when Emil Forsberg lifted a corner kick in front of Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo’s line of sight. Alexander Hack knocked it home for the score despite having defender Federico Redondo draped all over him.
Rios Novo made his second start this season for Oscar Ustari, who sat out with an injury.
Jordi Alba, who exited the game in the 84th minute with what appeared to be a leg cramp, scored his first goal of the season in MLS league play off a cross from Messi in the 24th minute to tie the score 1-1.
Inter Miami took the lead for good in the 27th when Luis Suarez, who assisted on the first goal, sent a ball ahead to Messi, who then directed it quickly to Alba, who crossed it back to Segovia for an easy shot into the back of the net.
In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, Redondo advanced the ball into the Red Bulls’ box but could not fire off a shot. Segovia, though, surged in and fired a shot off a rebound past Carlos Miguel Coronel for a third goal.
Messi followed with goals in the 60th and 75th minutes to seal the outcome, to the delight of the scores of Miami supporters in the stands despite it being a road game.
“No, it’s not a surprise [to see the madness that Messi causes] because I have been with him for eight years at Barca and 15 with Argentina,” Mascherano said. “Especially in places where he doesn’t go with continuity people go crazy. I have seen it in airports, hotels, he generates this everywhere. I don’t think it’s only because of his football talent, but because of his admiration as an athlete and the way he’s transcended football.
“Leo Messi, Michael Jordan, Rafa Nadal, these are people that have transcended the sport. We are very privileged the people that are close and can witness this.”
Messi increased his total goals in MLS games to 18 this season and has contributed on 27 scores. He has 40 goals in MLS since joining the league in the summer of 2023.
The Red Bulls mustered nine shots in the match, but they were outshot 8-1 in shots on target.
Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.
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