Hot start for Inter Miami puts Herons on course for a series of MLS records

Inter Miami sits at the top of the Easter Conference with 24 points; the Herons have a record of 9-2-3 W-L-D in MLS with Messi on the field (Credit: Via @InterMiamiCF on X/Twitter)

SEATTLE - Less than three months into the Major League Soccer season, Inter Miami has shown signs that their project is ready to make history this year. With 12 games played, the Herons have collected 24 points, three more than any other team in the league so far.

They have done so by scoring goals, lots of goals. With 32 scored so far, Lionel Messi and company are averaging an astonishing rate of 2.6 per game. This puts the team on track to at least tie the all-time MLS record for most goals in a single season, which currently belongs to the 1998 LA Galaxy. They finished that season with 85 goals in 32 games, also a clip of 2.6 per game.

To no one's surprise, Messi has been the leader of the pack. The Argentine is also on track to break some of MLS's most coveted individual records. One that has stood for a very long time is the one for most assists, which belongs to Colombia's Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama, who recorded 26 during the 2000 MLS season.

With just eight MLS games played in 2024, Messi sits at 12 assists already, and his six-goal contribution game against the New York Red Bulls over this past weekend set another MLS record for most assists in a single game (5).

Making history… AGAIN: 5️⃣ assists 1️⃣ goal tonight for the 🐐 pic.twitter.com/vjqheLTPu6

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) May 5, 2024

Three of those assists were for his long-time striking partner Luis Suárez, who is tied with the Argentine as the players with the most goals scored this MLS season (10).

With the Copa América lurking closer, Messi is set to miss at least five regular season games in the Summer due to his commitments to the Argentine national team. Messi's current 10 goals in eight games pace is currently above the one that led Carlos Vela to set the MLS single-season record for goals (34) in 2019. If the Argentine wants to take a shot that thar record too, he would need to continue with his pace of 1.25 goals per game until the end of the season.

Se conocen de memoria 🤩 Una vez más la combinación Suárez -Messi para darnos la ventaja 💥 pic.twitter.com/2OaQ3Gdn8l

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) May 5, 2024

Suárez assisted Messi's goal vs New York Red Bulls; the Uruguayan has now assisted Messi 54 times, the most by any teammate in the Argentine's career

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored in each of his last seven MLS games and, if he continues like that, he could set another league record that belongs to fellow Latino and former teammate Josef Martínez.

The Venezuelan scored in 15 consecutive MLS appearances during the 2019 season, with Messi already halfway there. The Argentine would need to score in his next four games to tie Vela's 11-game streak in second place before overtaking Martínez' record. Out of Inter Miami's next four opponents, only the Vancouver Whitecaps sit among the best defenses in the league, having allowed just 10 goals so far this season.

Thanks to his five-assist, one goal game against the Red Bulls, Messi earned a spot in the MLS' Team of the Week.

Messi, Suarez & Rojas were unstoppable this weekend! Thanks to Leo's brilliant assists, Suárez's hat-trick & Rojas’ brace, they're now part of the @MLS Team of the Week! 🏆

🔗 Details: https://t.co/cDS5bzKzYx pic.twitter.com/s9VEkMf9dl

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) May 6, 2024

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