FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — This time, Lionel Messi was in the Inter Miami starting lineup against the New York Red Bulls and he made a massive difference.
With Miami trailing 1-0 at halftime on Saturday night, the Argentine captain delivered a goal and five assists (yes, five!) and led the team to an emphatic 6-2 victory. Newly signed Paraguayan midfielder Matias Rojas, a second-half sub, scored two goals. Luis Suarez got a hat trick over the span of 12 minutes. All of Miami’s goals were scored after halftime.
Six weeks ago, Inter Miami was trounced, 4-0, on the road to the Red Bulls for their worst loss of the season.
When the teams met at Red Bulls Arena on March 23, the weather was horrid, Messi was out with a hamstring injury. Saturday was a completely different climate and result.
Messi has scored 10 goals and recorded 12 assists over eight games so far this season, an MLS record. His six goal contributions on Saturday set a record for the most in a single game in MLS history. Messi’s five assists were also the most by a player in a game in MLS history.
Miami has not lost another league game since that defeat to New York and is riding a four-game win streak during which it has outscored opponents 16-6.
Messi is a big reason for the turnaround and for the team’s surge to the top of the Supporters Shield race with 24 points. On Tuesday was named MLS Player of the Month for April, and he continues to shine in May.
He was coming off a two-goal, one-assist performance in a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution in front of a historic crowd of 65,600 at Gillette Stadium.
Miami is unbeaten over the past four league games and leads MLS with 32 goals. Third-place New York was unbeaten over six, led by Emil Forsberg and Morgan, who has seven goals and one assist in 10 games.
“We have recovered from a difficult, painful stretch,” Martino said before the game Saturday. “We aspired to be the Columbus of (Wednesday) night (the Crew beat Monterrey to advance to the Champions Cup final). We were unable to do that, but we regrouped with a road win at Kansas City and have had three wins now, including two on the road. That gives us strength. We are in a good stretch and want to keep it going.”
The men in pink were determined to start strong on Saturday and avenge the loss to the Red Bulls.
“It’s time for us to show them how good we really are,” Taylor said. “When we went there, we were not ourselves at all. Now it’s redemption for us.”
The rest of the Miami lineup Saturday was Drake Callender, Tomas Aviles, Nico Freire, Franco Negri, Sergio Busquets, Julian Gressel, David Ruiz, Marcelo Weigandt, Luis Suarez, and Robert Taylor. Callender, Freire, Negri, Ruiz, and Weigandt did not play in the game at New York.
Former Inter Miami player Lewis Morgan led the Red Bulls with a hat trick in their first meeting. He was held scoreless on Saturday.
“It was a poor game, we have analyzed it a lot, independent of the absences, and it was our worst match of the past year,” said Inter Miami coach Tata Martino of the first matchup. “We expect an equally intense game Saturday, they have all their players also available. It will be a good test for us.”
They aced the test. And then some.
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