Lionel Messi grabbed five assists and Luis Suarez bagged a hat trick to propel Inter Miami to a dominant 6-2 triumph over New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium.
Miami were eager to get things started to avenge their 4-0 defeat back in March at Red Bull Arena when New York ran rampant as Drake Callender and Lionel Messi were unavailable for selection.
After a rather dull 28 minutes to start the contest, the visiting Red Bulls struck first in transition. Emil Forsberg sliced the Miami defense in half with an exquisite outside-of-the-foot pass into Wikelman Carmona’s path. Carmona’s effort was kept out by Callender at first, but Dante Vanzeir’s follow-up shot from around the penalty spot gave New York the lead.
In the first half, the Herons tiptoed around the New York penalty area and found themselves in good shooting positions but took too long to pull the trigger. That changed at the start of the second 45 when Matias Rojas was substituted on for David Ruiz.
The legendary Messi was barreling down the right-wing before he cut inside on his favored left foot to find Rojas, who danced past a couple of Red Bulls defenders and blasted a shot into the far-right corner past Carlos Coronel to score his first goal as a Miami player.
The hosts then turned the game on its head just a couple of minutes later after a turnover by Red Bulls. Rojas was involved yet again, as his pressing helped turn the ball over near the Red Bulls’ penalty area into Luis Suarez’s path. Suarez looked up to find his best friend Messi and played the Argentine through on goal, and Miami’s No. 10 scored his 10th goal of the 2024 MLS season to put Miami in front for the first time in the game.
Miami went on to find their third goal of the night with Messi linking up Rojas once more. Messi played the former Corinthians player through on goal with a clever pass that fooled everyone on the pitch other than Rojas, who chipped Coronel with ease to secure his brace.
Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s side just couldn’t be stopped as Messi grabbed his third assist of the night to make it 4-1 in favor of the Herons. The former Barcelona and PSG figure teed up an inviting cross that Suarez latched on to to increase the hosts’ advantage.
Suarez decided that he wanted to grab another goal as he and Messi raced forward at the tired Red Bull defense. Messi combined with Suarez for a quick-one-two and the Uruguayan made no mistake in front of goal.
The ex-Atletico Madrid player capped off his hat trick with a delicate finish from a tight angle to make it 6-1 for Miami. It was once again the Messi-Suarez connection that Red Bulls fans will probably have come to despise after watching the game. Messi combined with Suarez with a simple outside-of-the-foot pass to send the Liverpool icon through on goal to set a new record for assists in an MLS match with five helpers.
Emil Forsberg managed to pull one back in stoppage time for New York after Marcelo “Chelo” Weigandt stepped on John Tolkin’s left foot in his own penalty area. The former RB Leipzig player converted the penalty with ease but it was of course too little, too late as the game ended 6-2 in favor of the Herons.
The resounding victory saw Miami gain a foothold on the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Martino’s side have now collected 24 points from 12 matches played, while New York drop to fourth place in the division with 17 points from 11 matches played.
GK: Drake Callender - 6/10 - The lone goal conceded wasn’t his fault entirely as he did
manage to keep out Carmona’s effort and he can’t help that Freire decided to assist Aviles in
marking the same player leading up to the goal.
RB: Marcelo Weigandt - 5/10 - Struggled defensively in the first half but managed to turn
things around after the halftime break. Ended the night in poor fashion with a clumsy challenge
in stoppage time that resulted in a converted penalty for Red Bulls.
CB: Tomas Aviles - 7/10 - One of Miami’s best performers on the night as he kept them in the
contest with several last-ditch tackles and challenges.
CB: Nicolas Freire - 6/10 - Was pulled way out of position for New York’s opening goal.
LB: Franco Negri - 6/10 - A quiet night overall from the veteran full-back.
CM: Julian Gressel - 6/10 - Showed off his impressive passing range here and there but
nothing much to write home about.
CM: Sergio Busquets - 8/10 - Another timeless performance from the veteran midfielder
against the dynamic pairing of Frankie Amaya and Daniel Edelman.
CM: David Ruiz - 7/10 - Displayed great anticipation with a few well-timed challenges in the first
half. Unfortunate to be hooked for Rojas at the start of the second half.
RW: Lionel Messi - 10/10 - Perhaps his best showing in a Miami shirt even though he only
managed to find the back of the net once. His five assists set a new record for most in an MLS
match and he’ll no doubt be the MVP frontrunner after this week’s matches – if he already
wasn’t the frontrunner, that is.
ST: Luis Suarez - 9/10 - A clinical outing from the legendary forward as he bagged his first hat
trick as a Heron.
LW: Robert Taylor - 7/10 - Had a few nice moments here and there in the attack as he
continues to regain sharpness
SUB: Matias Rohas (46’ for Ruiz) - 9/10 - Came on and instantly changed the game with a
perfect strike from distance to level the score.
SUB: Benjamin Cremaschi (66’ for Taylor) - 7/10 - Played his part in setting up Suarez’s first
goal of the night.
SUB: Yannick Bright (66’ for Gressel) - 6/10 - The player neither helped nor hindered his
side.
SUB: Leo Campana (84’ for Suarez) - N/A
