Lionel Messi came into the game early in the second half, the score was tied and Inter Miami's chances of breaking a pair of Main League Soccer regular season records were very uncertain.
In that moment everything changed.
Messi scored three goals (his first MLS hat trick) and an assist in a span of about 30 minutes, Luis Suárez scored twice and Inter Miami beat New England 6-2 on Saturday night to set MLS records in terms of greater number of points and better percentage of victories. . Inter Miami finished with 74 points, one more than New England had in its record-breaking season in 2021.
The best player of all time. The best record in MLS history. A perfect combination.
“Tonight is yours,” Inter Miami principal owner Jorge Mas said after the game, as the team celebrated the Supporters' Protect, which it won earlier this month on the road in Columbus, in a ceremony for home fans. . “The best fans on the face of the Earth.”
The party was going to happen either way. Messi just made it even more special.
Going 22-4-8 in the league, Inter Miami finished the season with a .765 winning percentage, another MLS record. Four teams: DC United (24-8) and LA Galaxy (24-8) in 1998, LAFC (21-4-9) in 2019 and New England (22-5-7) in 2021, had finished a season of the MLS. with a winning percentage of .750, which was the best until Saturday night.
Now, first place belongs to Inter Miami from any point of view, both in terms of points and best record won, lost and tied. Inter Miami also became the eighth team in MLS history to finish a single season with just four losses, tying another record.
“Our players are the ones who have made this season a success,” said Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham. “Our captain has guided us. Our players have guided us through times when it was difficult. But now, tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we prepare for Friday, the playoffs.”
Suárez and Messi finished with 20 goals each, the first MLS teammates to reach that number in the same season. It was Messi's first hat trick for Inter Miami, the team the Argentine superstar joined midway through the 2023 season in a big win for MLS.
It wasn't enough
If all that were not enough, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said after the match that Inter Miami, as normally expected, would be at the Club World Cup next summer as representatives of the host country. The tournament begins on June 15, 2025 in Miami Gardens and Inter Miami will play the first match.
Messi finished the season with 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 games. Suárez reached 20 goals in his first season in MLS, his two goals on Saturday, three minutes apart, helped Inter Miami erase an initial 2-0 deficit.
Luca Langoni and Dylan Borrero scored the goals for New England. The rest of the game was all Miami.
Suárez's double tied the hosts at half-time and Benja Cremaschi scored the go-ahead goal in the 58th minute. Messi had an assist on Cremaschi's goal, one that came just seconds after the eight-time Ballon de Gold will enter the match.
There was some doubt about whether Messi would play, especially since Inter Miami had already secured Supporters' Protect and the top spot in the MLS Cup playoffs. The only thing at stake for Inter Miami on Saturday was the record.
And there was a scare in the 74th minute when Messi was fouled, screamed in pain and grabbed his right ankle while he was on the ground. He missed 15 of Inter Miami's MLS games in 2024, either due to commitments with the Argentine national team or the two-month absence he needed to recover from a serious ankle injury, an injury that occurred during Inter Miami's career. his country to the Copa América title in July.
It was just a scare.
Messi scored about two minutes apart in the second half, turning a 3-2 lead into a 5-2 rout and it was only a matter of time before the record belonged to Inter Miami. And the goal came in the 89th minute, when Suárez threw the ball to Messi for him to easily score and complete the hat trick.