In a single evening, Lionel Messi went from trailing the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi summit by two goals to leading by a pair in one of his most remarkable performances to date with Inter Miami CF.
Messi netted four goals and added an assist as the Herons secured a historic 7-1 home win over CF Montréal on Saturday.
The lopsided result set a club record for goals scored in a single game and lifted the legendary No. 10 to 18g/10a on the season to pass FC Dallas’s Petar Musa (16g/2a) into the Golden Boot lead.
Masterful Messi
Looking to snap a five-game winless run across all competitions, Miami were on the front foot from the opening kickoff. Messi snapped a 1-1 deadlock with a 40th-minute free kick, then added a second with a dazzling solo run in the 52nd minute.
Later on, he chipped Montréal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier for the hat trick, before smashing home a free-kick from distance in the final moments to score his fourth goal of the game.
"That's what it means to have Messi on the team," Herons midfielder Casemiro, who opened his MLS account in the 20th minute, told Apple TV after the match. "We have to enjoy these moments because he is a person, a player who makes history.
"We saw today that we have to enjoy it, keep supporting and keep competing with him because he continues to be the best. He proved it in the World Cup. We have to enjoy it because, with him, we are so much stronger."
MVP chase
Miami still trail Nashville SC by 10 points, giving them long odds for the Supporters’ Shield and top spot in the Eastern Conference. But Messi’s attacking outburst pushes him to the forefront of the Landon Donovan MLS MVP conversation, an accolade he’s already garnered in each of the last two seasons.
Messi became just the 19th player in MLS history to score four goals in a game, and the 39-year-old became the fastest player in league history to reach 20 multigoal games, doing so in 72 appearances.
"He manifests himself now the same way he manifested himself at that age [when I met him]. The similarities are unbelievable, with his soccer abilities increased by all of his soccer knowledge,” said interim head coach Guillermo Hoyos, who watched from the stands due to suspension.
“But he’s really the same person, with the same soccer conditions that led him to grow and win everything. Honestly, I see something really surprising in him: permanent growth. Not only when he was that age. Today he’s another age, and he keeps growing and getting bigger. There are no words."
Messi could now stand a strong chance of becoming the first player to win three straight MVPs, while Miami look to repeat last season's MLS Cup 2025 win and become the first back-to-back champions since the LA Galaxy in 2011-12.
New era beckons
Saturday’s victory marked just the fourth MLS regular-season win for Miami at Nu Stadium. Still, it offered a potential bookend to the Hoyos era, as new manager Cristian 'Kily' González prepares to take the reins once he and the new coaching staff arrive.
For now, the South Florida club embraces another remarkable performance from Messi and looks ahead to next Saturday’s clash against Atlanta United (7:30 pm ET | Apple TV).
"I’ll say it again: I don’t have any qualifiers for such soccer beauty… There are so many things combined that leave you at a loss for words, no?” Hoyos said of Messi's performance.
“I don’t think he’s a normal soccer player. You have to do a really deep analysis to find out what he’s like, soccer-wise and as a person.”
