Lionel Messi needed only a single touch to bamboozle the New England Revolution, and boost Inter Miami to a record-breaking win on the final day of the MLS regular season.
A few days removed from a hat trick for Argentina 4,400 miles away, he stepped into a 2-2 game Saturday with clocks at Inter’s Chase Stadium showing 57:00.
As fans bowed to their GOAT, play resumed around 57:15, with Miami needing a goal to set the MLS record for points in a single season.
And at 57:31, with his first touch after entering as a substitute, Messi helped create it. He checked to the ball at the top of the box. He clipped it over the top of a frozen Revs defense, and into the path of Jordi Alba, who squared to Benjamin Cremaschi for the winner.
Oh, and he didn’t stop there. Almost exactly 20 minutes later, Messi combined with Luis Suarez, and scored to double Miami’s lead.
Soon thereafter, he snuck in his 19th goal of the 2024 MLS season — in only 19 games (16 starts) — to seal the deal.
And then, for good measure, he scored his 20th — and capped his second hat trick in five days.
The 6-2 victory lifted Inter to 74 points, one more than the Revs earned in 2021, the previous high-water mark.
And like much of Miami’s season, it was glorious — but also unnecessarily tricky and nervy.
For the 17th time in 34 games, Miami conceded first — this time in 72 seconds. The main culprit was center back Héctor Martínez, one of several defenders who’ve been shaky in 2024, and who’ve left head coach Tata Martino searching, still, for a solid defensive duo. His lineup changes virtually every game.
The Herons have run away with the Supporters’ Shield, the MLS regular season title, but not because they’ve been sound defensively. They have given up the first goal more often than they’ve scored it — a remarkable stat for a champion.
But they’ve almost always responded. They’ve now won nine (and drawn four) of the 17 games in which they conceded first.
On Saturday, in the 34th minute, they went two goals down. They conceded the type of goal so laughably bad that the official MLS X account chose not to post it. The ball squirmed through multiple Miami players, and ultimately through goalkeeper Drake Callender’s legs, across the line and into the net.
But Suarez scored twice just before halftime to level the score at 2-2.
Messi then entered after 57 minutes, and that’s when the game truly changed. Miami ran away with the win, and the points record. Next up: The playoffs, which begin next weekend.
MLS Eastern Conference playoff matchups and bracket
Elsewhere in the East, Montreal hung on to a playoff spot, but DC United flopped and coughed up the final spot to Atlanta United.
The matchups are as follows:
1. Inter Miami
8. Play-in winner (Atlanta or Montreal)
4. Orlando City
5. Charlotte FC
2. Columbus Crew
7. New York Red Bulls
3. FC Cincinnati
6. NYCFC
The play-in match between Atlanta and Montreal is Tuesday or Wednesday. The true first round begins Friday, Oct. 25.
Western Conference up next
The Western half of Decision Day kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, with the conference title still somewhat up for grabs.
The LA Galaxy must win or draw at Houston to clinch the West’s top playoff seed. If they lose, LAFC would steal the No. 1 spot with a multi-goal win over the pitiful San Jose Earthquakes.
Further down the table, the nine playoff teams are set, but seeding could change. And Vancouver could sneak out of the play-in round, into the top seven, with a win in Salt Lake.
