Lionel Messi proved once again why he’s one of the greatest soccer players of all time.
Messi made MLS history, becoming the first player to record five assists in a game, and record six goal contributions in a match, during Inter Miami’s 6-2 blowout win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
It was easily Messi’s best game since he won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar in 2022, helping Inter Miami score six unanswered goals in a matter of 36 minutes in the second half.
Messi scored in the 50th minute, Inter Miami’s latest addition Matias Rojas had a brace with goals scored in the 48th and 62nd minutes, and Luis Suárez finished with a hat trick scoring in the 68th, 75th and 81st minutes in the victory.
Rojas was the catalyst to help Messi and Inter Miami erase their 1-0 first half deficit, scoring a goal from Messi’s first assist to tie the match at 1. Then, Rojas instigated a turnover which found Suarez, who found Messi for his only goal of the match.
Messi then rattled off five more assists to give Inter Miami six unanswered goals in a matter of 36 minutes in the second half to cruise to victory.
Messi leads MLS with 10 goals and 12 assists in just eight regular-season games he’s played in 2024. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner nearly scored another goal in extra time.
Messi also became the third player in MLS history to have multiple goal contributions in his first eight games of a season. Cobi Jones (first nine games in 1998) and Clint Dempsey (first eight games in 2015) are the others.
Dante Vanzeir scored in the 30th minute to help the New York Red Bulls take a 1-0 lead, and Emil Forsberg scored a penalty in the 97th minute before the final whistle.
