Lionel Messi scored two goals and drew a record New England Revolution crowd to lead Inter Miami CF to a 4-1 win on Saturday night.
Messi did not disappoint the 65,612 spectators who filled the Gillette Stadium. He scored on a left-footed kick from deep in the penalty area for his ninth goal of the season, breaking a one-goal tie in the 68th minute.
In fact, he made a bit of history too. Miami posted on X that he was the first player in MLS history to score 16 goals in his first seven games of a season.
‘Obviously he’s done this all his life. We expect it from him,” said teammate Benjamin Cremaschi, who scored the third goal after Messi’s shot was stopped. “He makes it look so easy. We’re just happy to have him by our side. If he gets the opportunity, he will take it.”
The attendance beat the previous record of 61,316, when the Revolution lost to the LA Galaxy in the 2002 MLS final.
In the first half, he found himself a few meters inside the penalty area and scored after a left-foot kick, making it 1–1 in the 32nd minute.
“I thought we locked them up pretty well in the first half after (our) goal,” New England coach Caleb Porter said. “They didn’t get a lot of opportunities, they didn’t get a lot of time and space to operate. Then Messi did what he does: he found a crack.”
When the 36-year-old 2022 World Cup winner scored, loud cheers echoed around the stands in a match that pitted Eastern Conference top-place Miami against last-place Revolution.
Cremaschi and Luis Suárez both scored late for Miami. Messi was credited with an assist on Suarez’s goal.
The Revolution had made it 1-0 in the opening minute when Tomas Chancalay beat a defender and fired a shot at goalkeeper Drake Callender, who was attacking.
Even with the local professional winter teams – the Celtics and Bruins – both in the play-offs, much of the sporting landscape revolved around Messi’s visit this week.
About 90 minutes before the match, hundreds of fans, mostly children, entered the stadium wearing the pink Miami Messi shirt.
They were seen mingling easily once the stadium was filled.
There were some of the white and blue striped jerseys of Messi No. 10 Argentina strewn in there.
“I’m so excited,” said Stacy Mills, 31, a traveling nurse from East Tennessee, who wore one of the Messi Argentina jerseys. “I’ve actually been following him since he played for Barcelona.”
Her friend, Caledia Jessup, 53, also a travel nurse, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, was proud to show off her Messi Argentina one as well.
“I followed him when he played for the home country in the World Cup,” she said with a smile.