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Updated on: Sept 25, 2025 10:28 am IST
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The twin strikes saw Lionel Messi surge ahead of LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Nashville’s Sam Surridge in the MLS Golden Boot race with 24 goals.
Lionel Messi put on a sensational and record-setting performance on Thursday as Inter Miami beat New York City FC to book their place in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Argentine assisted Baltasar Rodríguez before halftime, and then found the back of the net twice as Miami secured a 4-0 win at Citi Field. Luis Suarez, making a return from a three-match suspension, scored the other goal from the penalty spot.
Messi helped Inter draw first blood in the contest, receiving a Sergio Busquets pass, turning toward goal, and setting up Rodrigo’s low finish past Matt Freese inside the right post.
The World Cup-winning captain’s first goal came in the 74th minute of the contest when his former Barcelona teammate laid down an exceptional throughball for him to chip it over a charging Freese. His second goal came 12 minutes later, when he finished low on the dribble on an attack set up by Marcelo Weigandt’s pass and Suarez’s decoy run.
The twin goals saw Messi surge ahead of LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Nashville’s Sam Surridge in the MLS Golden Boot race with 24 goals. He also leads the league with 37 goal contributions – 24 goals and 13 assists – becoming the first player in history to record at least 35 or more of them in consecutive seasons. Overall, he is tied for the third spot in all-time MLS goal contributions in a season with Josef Martinez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and trails Carlos Vela (49) with five games remaining in the regular season.
“For me, he tries to show everyone the team spirit,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said of Messi.
The win, meanwhile, saw, Inter Miami (16-6-7, 55 points) move above New York (16-10-5, 53 points) and Charlotte FC into third spot in the Eastern Conference. They stand behind Philadelphia (60 points) and FC Cincinnati in the points table.
“I’m happy with the victory, and with how we played. It was a good night for us, and above all, it shows us the way forward,” Mascherano said after the victory.
Miami still have five games remaining in the regular season and hence are still in contention for the MLS Supporters’ Shield for the second straight season.
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