Lionel Messi had a big night at the New England Revolution’s stadium in Foxborough. Photo: Mark Stockwell / AP / NTB
Of NTB | 28.04.2024 09:42:20
Sport: Messi was in top form and recorded two goals and an assist on the way to a 4-1 victory away from home. After all, it made for a memorable evening for the record audience of 65,612although most of the spectators would probably have wished for a different result.
It started as a dream for bottom team New England on their own turf. Tomas Chancalay made it 1-0 in the first minute of the game. But from there on it was mostly about a big, little wizard from Argentina.
– I feel that in the first half, after the goal, we had pretty good control over them. They didn’t get many chances and they didn’t find time or space to operate in. Then Messi did what he did, Revolution coach Caleb Porter said after the match.
A similar score made it 2-1 after 67 minutes. This time it was Sergio Busquets who opened up the New England defense with a scintillating pass, and Messi finished confidently again.
The Inter Miami captain was in front again after 82 minutes. His shot was stopped by goalkeeper Henrich Ravas, but Benjamin Cremaschi put in the rebound. And Messi finished the night by serving Luis Suárez, who made it 4-1 in the corner with a great finish.
The victory means that the Florida team tops MLS with 21 points from eleven games. This is in stark contrast to the situation when Messi joined the club last summer. At the time, Inter Miami was at the bottom of the table.
Last in the Eastern Conference now lies the New England Revolution with four points. Amahl Pellegrino and his San Jose Earthquakes in the south have the same conclusion. They played 1-1 away to Nashville on Saturday night.
The game was probably half an hour old when Messi equalized for the away team. He was nicely played through by the former Brann hero Robert Taylor, and alone with the goalkeeper he was clinical.
– People come to every arena to see “Leo”, that’s true. But they also want their team to win. We are motivated by the atmosphere that always meets us, but so do the opponents. We handled it well, said Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino.
(© NTB)