Lionel Messi delivered another historic performance on Saturday night as Inter Miami CF bounced back from last week’s disappointing defeat with an impressive 4-2 victory over Toronto FC in the Major League Soccer.
The Argentine superstar scored once and provided two assists to inspire Miami to a dominant four-goal lead before Toronto grabbed two late consolation goals.
Messi’s performance also saw him make MLS history, becoming the fastest player ever to reach 100 goal contributions in the league. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner achieved the milestone with 59 goals and 41 assists in just 64 regular-season appearances, breaking the previous record held by former Toronto star Sebastian Giovinco.
Speaking after the match, Messi admitted the victory was important following Inter Miami’s recent struggles.
“It was a difficult match, especially in the first half, but we needed this win after our recent results,” Messi said.
Miami came into the game looking to recover from their dramatic 4-3 home loss to Orlando City SC, where they had surrendered a three-goal advantage.
Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul opened the scoring in the 44th minute with a well-taken free kick after Messi surprisingly allowed his fellow Argentine to take the set piece.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Messi and De Paul combined to set up Luis Suárez for his second goal of the campaign.
Spanish defender Sergio Reguilón then marked his third appearance for the club with his first Inter Miami goal in the 73rd minute after receiving an assist from Messi.
Just two minutes later, De Paul returned the favour by setting up Messi for Miami’s fourth goal of the night and the Argentine forward’s ninth league goal of the season.
Toronto managed to reduce the deficit late in the match through rookie striker Emilio Aristizábal, who scored twice in the closing minutes to give the home fans something to cheer about.
The result strengthened Inter Miami’s impressive away form, extending their road winning streak to six matches.
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