– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
NEW YORK — Before we close the discussion about the best team in the regular season in Major League Soccer, Inter Miami made sure everyone knew that they entered the chat with another dominating away performance on Wednesday night.
For the second time in as many trips to the tri-state area, Lionel Messi scored two goals, and he also added an assist in the Heron’s 4-0 demolition of New York City FC inside Yankee Stadium. Baltasar Rodriguez and Luis Suarez also scored for Inter Miami, whose win tonight officially clinched a playoff berth and, given the games they have in hand due to their deep run to the final in the Leagues Cup competition, Miami has an opportunity to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference and still harbors hopes of winning the Supporters’ Shield.
Before Messi’s star turn as a scorer tonight, he provided the moment of magic that broke the deadlock with a pass, a through ball to Rodriguez who was in alone on goal before firing past New York City goalkeeper Matt Freese in the 43rd minute.
After a couple of golden chances spurned in the first half, NEw York City wore down under the pressure of Miami, and Messi’s runs only got more menacing. Eventually, he broke through in the 74th minute after receiving a pass through the middle of the park by Sergio Busquets and beating the back line to the ball on the sprint before chipping Freese and sending the ball over and into the net to double Inter Miami’s lead.
Messi earned a penalty later on that Suarez converted for a 3-0 lead, and then the former raced down the right flank before sending a right-footed shot across Freese and tucked the ball into the far post to complete the perfect evening on what turned out to be a rainy night.
With the assist in the first half, Messi became the first player in MLS history to record at least 35 goal contributions in consecutive seasons.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Wednesday evening’s game, with photos taken by New York-based photographer Matthew Last. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There is one picture in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
