Four days have passed since Argentina‘s match with Bolivia, where Messi‘s rampage, in addition to a hat-trick, also brought two assists until Saturday evening.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner only started from the bench in the match. And the match did not go well for Miami at all, with goals from Langoni and Borerra quickly taking the lead for the visitors.
However, Inter managed to equalize before halftime, at the end of the first half, star Uruguayan Luis Suárez scored twice in three minutes. To beat the record for the number of points, which coincidentally was set three years ago by New England, which dominated the regular season with 73 points, the team owned by David Beckham absolutely needed to win.
However, things were clearly rubbing off without Messi, so he stepped into the game in the 58th minute. And within the same minute, he immediately scored Canada’s first point when he assisted on Miami’s third goal with the first touch of the game. Thanks to 19-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi, Inter took the lead for the first time in the duel.
Messi didn’t fully unleash his rampage until the 78th minute. After a pass from Suárez, he drove the ball in front of the goal and beautifully managed a powerful shot from a distance to the back post. Three minutes later, the star Argentine scored again, and in the 89th minute he completed his second hat trick in one week.
After the game, Miami coach Gerardo Martino admitted that he expected another Messi show. “We took advantage of Argentina’s match with Bolivia, where Messi seemed more relaxed, he was more in rhythm. And I think the first ball he touched was that pass for the third goal. Even then, I had the feeling that we have him in ideal form today,” said the Inter coach after the match.
Miami had a great night celebrating a great victory and breaking the scoring record. With 74 points, they dominated the table of the Eastern Conference and are now looking forward to the start of the playoffs, where thanks to their position in the top six of the table, they only start in the round of 16. In it, Messi’s team will encounter the better team from the CF Montreal – Atlanta United duel.
