Messi tore it up in Inter Miami's thrashing of New York Red Bulls in the MLS: top assist and two great goals, one with a dribble without touching it.
Lionel Messi is already a routine of the extraordinary at Inter Miami . This time his victim was the New York Red Bulls in a 5-1 away thrashing, which helped his team get back on track after the midweek setback suffered against Cincinnati. He now has six wins in his last seven matches, putting him at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The Argentine number 10 displayed his full repertoire in New Jersey: a majestic assist, another brilliant pass, and two superb goals to bring his tally to 18 in 18 matches in this tournament, where he is the leading scorer. All this at 38 years of age and without coming out for a single minute.
It is already a fact that the Argentine crack is in Yankee land But the good news for Javier Mascherano in his dream of becoming a champion of the difficult American tournament is that behind his biggest star, the second guitars are beginning to be fine-tuned. One of them is Jordi Alba , the other is Telasco Segovia, and it's worth adding Sergio Busquets and Federico Redondo , although some are still lacking, such as Luis Suárez or the lack of a reliable goalkeeper. The one pulling the strings is the Rosario native.
But of course, football is played with 11 players, and Inter Miami started the match paying dearly for their lack of hierarchy in goal. Oscar Ustari's injury forced Rocco Ríos Novo , born in Los Angeles but raised in Argentina and with a background in the Lanús youth system, to take that position. Against the Red Bulls, he didn't have the wings when he stepped up to take a corner kick and missed his shot, gifting the home side a goal, which they took an almost undeserved lead.
Messi got angry and turned the game around. Photo: Vincent Carchietta.
The adverse scenario changed quickly , and it was all thanks to Messi . The number 10 began receiving, building, and pivoting, and in one of those supposedly harmless plays, he invented a diagonal pass from right to left, between four opponents, to leave Alba face to face with the opposing goalkeeper, Paraguayan Carlos Coronel . His former Spanish teammate finished in a match worthy of such an assist. A great goal and a draw, the comeback would become a rout .
It was Messi who broke the New Yorkers' lines again, this time in the air, with a chipped ball, and again to Jordi, who sent in the cross, and Telasco only had to tap it in. Inter's third goal was the ugliest of all and the only one in which Leo wasn't involved: the Venezuelan scored again after a play fought by Redondo.
Messi has 18 goals in 18 games, making him the MLS's all-time leading scorer. Photo: Vincent Carchietta - Imagn Images.
In the second half, the Flea's goals, or rather, the great goals, arrived. The first included an exquisite through ball from Busquets, which Leo ran into and, facing Coronel, feinted and dribbled past him without touching it, before driving in without a goalkeeper.
From that subtle finish to one full of power : Leo chested down a cross and volleyed it straight into the net with his left foot. The tally continues match after match: 874 goals and 386 assists in 1,114 matches for the career of the genius who keeps his sacred fire alive one year before the World Cup. It was a rout that made MLS dreams come true, where Inter Miami remains six points off the top with three games in hand: with this version of Messi, anything is possible .
Clarin
