It was a Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez show as Inter Miami steamrollered to a 6-2 win over New York Red Bulls at the Chase Stadium in the MLS matchday 12 clash.
Far from a second-half rout that changed the trajectory of the game, it was a tight affair in the first 45 between the two top sides in the East in the MLS.
Inter Miami went into the game top of the MLS table with 21 points from 11 games while New York Red Bulls settled in the top four on the table with 17 points from 11 games.
The six-pointer clash was set for a dramatic ending when Vanzeir fired the New York Red Bulls into the lead exactly at the half-hour.
The lone goal was enough to send the visitors into the break with the lead after Inter Miami failed to find an equaliser.
In the second half, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez proved difficult for the New York Red Bulls defence to handle. The pair showed clinical telepathic understanding with clutch performances to bring back Inter Miami into the game.
Three minutes into the second half, Lionel Messi assisted Rojas to restore parity for the Herons and peg the visitors to a 1-1 draw.
Two minutes later, the Argentine iconic footballer registered his name on the score sheet to turn around the game, thanks to an assist by fellow Barcelona legend Luis Suarez.
12 minutes later, Rojas was again on target for the Herons, bagging his brace to extend the lead thanks to Lionel Messi’s third assist in the game.
Seven minutes after Roja’s second goal, Luis Suarez bagged his double of goal contributions, scoring to steer Inter Miami to a 4-1 lead. Again, Lionel Messi created the goal to bag his hat-trick of assists with a goal to his name.
In the 75th minute, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez tore apart New York Red Bulls again with a great combination play that swept off the defences of the visitors.
With another world-class assist by Leo, Luis Suarez scored to make it 5-1. Six minutes later, the two players combined to strike again with Luis Suarez recording his hat-trick while Lionel Messi tallied a stunning 6 goal contributions, comprising 5 assists and a goal.
Forsberg would score from the spot in the last touch of the game to reduce the deficit as Inter Miami’s secured a thumping 6-2 victory to stay top of the Eastern Conference table.
According to ESPN, Lionel Messi has now become the first MLS player with six-goal contributions in a single match – the highest goal contributions tally ever boasted by a player in the league.
With 10 goal contributions shared between Messi and Suarez in the game, the pair now leads the MLS table with 10 goals with Lionel Messi staying top of the assist table with 12 assists.
