Lionel Messi entered the game early in the second half, the score was tied and Inter Miami’s chances of breaking a pair of Major League Soccer regular season records were very uncertain.
In that moment everything changed.
Messi scored three goals – his first MLS hat trick – and an assist in a span of about 30 minutes, Luis Suárez scored twice and Inter Miami beat New England 6-2 on Saturday night to set MLS records with the highest number of points and the best winning percentage. . Inter Miami finished with 74 points, one more than New England had in its record-breaking season in 2021.
The best player of all time. The best record in the MLS. A perfect combination.
“Tonight is yours,” Inter Miami principal owner Jorge Mas said after the game, as the team celebrated the Supporters’ Shield, which it won earlier this month on the road in Columbus, in a ceremony for home fans. . ‘The best fans on the face of the Earth.’
Lionel Messi scored a stunning hat-trick in 11 minutes for Inter Miami on Saturday night.
The party was going to happen either way. Messi just made it even more special.
Going 22-4-8 in the league, Inter Miami finished the season with a .765 winning percentage, another MLS record.
Four teams: DC United (24-8) and LA Galaxy (24-8) in 1998, LAFC (21-4-9) in 2019 and New England (22-5-7) in 2021, had finished a season of the MLS. with a winning percentage of .750, which was the best until Saturday night.
Now, first place belongs to Inter Miami from any point of view, both in terms of points and best record won, lost and tied.
Inter Miami also became the eighth team in MLS history to finish a regular season with just four losses, tying another record.
“Our players are the ones who have made this season successful,” said Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham. ‘Our captain has guided us. Our players have led us in moments when it was difficult.
‘But now, tonight we celebrate. “Tomorrow we prepare for Friday, the playoffs.”
Messi scored three goals (his first MLS hat trick) and an assist in a span of about 30 minutes.
David Beckham paid tribute to the team that set the MLS regular season points record
Beckham also turned his attention squarely to this season’s MLS playoffs, which begin next week.
Suárez and Messi finished with 20 goals each, the first MLS teammates to reach that number in the same season. It was Messi’s first hat trick for Inter Miami, the team the Argentine superstar joined midway through the 2023 season in a big win for MLS.
As if all this were not enough, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said after the match that Inter Miami would, as expected, participate in next summer’s Club World Cup as representatives of the host country. The tournament begins on June 15, 2025 in Miami Gardens and Inter Miami will play the first match.
Messi finished the regular season with 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 games. Suárez reached 20 goals in his first season in MLS, his two goals on Saturday, three minutes apart, helped Inter Miami erase an initial 2-0 deficit.