Inter Miami vs. New England: Messi scores twice in 4-1 win

Lionel Messi played the full 96 minutes for Inter Miami against the New England Revolution on Saturday night, which was welcome news to the record Gillette Stadium crowd of 65,612 that bought tickets to see the Argentine icon. Once again, he delivered with two goals and an assist as the men in pink trounced the Revs 4-1.

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Another Argentine briefly stole the show 37 seconds into the game. Revolution winger Tomas Chancalay scored to give the home team a 1-0 lead. Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender strayed far from his line and Chancalay took advantage, knocking it into the net.

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Then, as he has done so many times since joining Miami last summer, Messi dug his team out of a hole. He scored the equalizing goal with his trusty left foot in the 32nd minute off a Robert Taylor assist and got the game winner midway through the second half after receiving a perfect set up pass from Sergio Busquets.

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Messi has scored a league-best nine goals in seven games this season. He also has a league-high seven assists and became the first player in MLS history to have multiple goal contributions in five consecutive games.

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“We felt pretty good about our defending, we were limiting their effectiveness in creating clear chances, but that’s Messi…he finds two goals out of nowhere and it exposes you,” said New England coach Caleb Porter.

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Messi is Messi

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Miami midfielder Julian Gressel said: “Leo is Leo. He does the things he does, and has been doing it his whole career. This wasn’t just one spectacular performance. He’s certainly on a roll. He’s been having those every weekend. It’s good for us because it helps us win games. What gets me is how many people he touches with his play, the emotions he creates in people.”

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Each time Messi scored, a large segment of the crowd erupted, and captured the moment on cell phones. Some fans were shown on T.V. bowing down to the Miami No. 10.

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Asked how it feels to have what feels like a home crowd at every road game because of Messi’s followers, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said: “The people in all the stadiums come to see to Leo, that is for sure, but then they want their team to win. That atmosphere motivates us and we have been managing that well. But that also gives added incentive to the rivals, and we have to prepare for that.”

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Cremaschi, Suarez score

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Key Biscayne teenager Benjamin Cremaschi, who missed the first 12 games after sports hernia surgery, scored the third Miami goal in the 83rd minute after coming in as a late sub. He pounced on a rebound off a saved Messi shot after newly-signed Matias Rojas kept the ball in play along the goal line.

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“That goal was very important to help me mentally,” Cremaschi said of scoring after such a long layoff.

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Then Luis Suarez, also a second-half sub, joined the Miami scoring party with a fourth goal, slotting in a ball he received from Messi after a nifty back-heel pass from Cremaschi.

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“Suarez comes in, another world class player and finds a goal; so you got two goals from Messi and a third from Suarez, and that’s what those guys do,” Porter said.

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Inter Miami remains in first place in the MLS Eastern Conference with 21 points on six wins, two losses and three ties. Miami has scored a league-high 26 goals.

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“I think a key moment for our team was the win at Kansas (City) because we were coming off elimination by Monterrey in the Champions Cup and our team showed a lot of character with that win,” Martino said. “Now, we have won three games in a row, two on the road, and we are more solid each day. Meanwhile, we find ourselves where we are in the standings. Injured players are returning, and we hope to have a complete team by the later stages of the season.”

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Miami concedes early goal again

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Although the team heads home happy with its result, Miami has a habit of giving up early goals, and did it again, gifting a goal to last-place New England, the lowest-scoring team in MLS with six goals in nine games. Martino conceded that going behind early is an issue the team will continue to address, but so far, Messi and his teammates have been able to score enough to get the team out of trouble.

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Gressel added: “It’s something we have to stop. It’s a little bit frustrating to always fall behind. Today it worked. There will be times when maybe it won’t work. We can obviously score with the quality we have, but it’s certainly easier when it’s 0-0 instead of down 1-0.”

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Suarez began the game on the Miami bench, replaced by Leo Campana, who returned from a hamstring injury that ruled him out the past few games. Taylor also returned from injury and started in place of Diego Gomez, who suffered a high ankle sprain against Nashville and is expected to be out six weeks.

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The rest of Miami’s Starting XI included: Callender, Busquets, Tomas Aviles, Nico Freire, Julian Gressel, Franco Negri, David Ruiz and Chelo Weigandt.

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Suarez entered the game in the 63rd minute, replacing Campana. Cremaschi replaced Julian Gressel late in the second half and Taylor was replaced by Paraguayan midfielder Matias Rojas, who joined the team this week.

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Martino said the plan was to have Suarez play the final 30 minutes, and give Taylor and Campana approximately 60 minutes as they were returning from injury.

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The Revolution is off to its worst start in 29 years with a 1-7-1 record. Five Revs players were hit with a stomach bug late this week, including five starters. Three sat out, while Matt Polster and Mark-Anthony Kaye pushed through and played.

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Miami returns home for a May 4 game against the New York Red Bulls, a rematch of the game Miami lost 4-0 on the road on March 23.

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This story was originally published April 27, 2024, 6:58 PM.