Inter Miami, with the help of Lionel Messi, cruised past the New England Revolution with a commanding 4-1 win on Saturday night at Chase Stadium.
Jordi Alba and Tadeo Allende scored twice in the dominant display, ending with a postgame tribute honoring Sergio Busquets following his announcement to retire at the end of the season.
After a couple of quiet outings, Messi looked back to his best. The Argentine playmaker set up the opening goal in the 32nd minute with a clever turn and perfectly weighted through ball to Allende, who slotted home from the right side.
Messi added another assist before halftime, pouncing on a poor clearance from goalkeeper Matt Turner and weaving past a defender before teeing up Alba for an easy finish from close range.
Lionel Messi impresses teammate after latest showing
IMAGO / Imagn Images
After the match, Allende spoke about Messi’s performance in the win as he was one of the players who benefited from the veteran attacker’s brilliance in the win over New England.
“This is routine for him,” Allende said of Messi’s assists (h/t Miami Herald). “If he does not punish you all the time with goals, then he punishes you with assists.”
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Moreover, the Inter Miami standout spoke about his performance as he took advantage of Messi’s helpers.
“It was a really special night,” Allende added (h/t Miami Total Futbol). “Scoring twice felt great, and we played a very sharp, precise game overall. Of course, there are still things we need to improve, but this win was important for us — we needed it. It puts us in a better spot, and now we’re already focused on another tough match next weekend.”
Inter Miami will play its penultimate regular-season match on Oct. 11 at home against Atlanta United, which falls during FIFA’s international break. Messi is expected to miss the game as he’ll be on international duty with Argentina, who face Venezuela a day earlier at Hard Rock Stadium.
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