New England Revolution

Watch: Lionel Messi scores twice, adds assist to Luis Suarez in Inter Miami win vs. Revolution

Messi's inclusion was not guaranteed due to concerns over playing on turf, but the Argentine superstar was named in the Starting XI.

By Hayden Bird

April 27, 2024

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One of the greatest soccer players in history was indeed featured in the lineup in front of more than 60,000 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, brushing aside concerns about playing on turf.

Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar forward of Inter Miami, was officially included in the Starting XI for the April 27 matchup against the Revolution when lineups were announced prior to kickoff. In the end, he led Miami to a comfortable 4-1 win over the Revolution.

Here’s a quick recap of Messi’s highlights from the night, with a Revolution record 65,612 in attendance:

First half summary: Despite all of the pregame hype around Messi, it was fellow Argentine Tomas Chancalay of the Revolution who struck first with a spectacular goal in the first minute.

Eventually, Messi and Miami settled into the game and found a rhythm. The moment that the assembled crowd had been waiting for arrived in the 32nd minute when the superstar found a crease in the New England defense.

Robert Taylor’s pass found Messi in stride, and the World Cup winner did the rest, sending the Gillette Stadium crowd wild:

Second half summary: Miami, having tied the score through a Messi goal in the first half, went ahead in the second on another goal from their star.

In the 67th minute, New England defenders got a good education in the years-long, unspoken chemistry that exists between Messi and his longtime Barcelona teammate, Sergio Busquets.

The 35-year-old Spanish midfielder found Messi on a perfectly-coordinated diagonal run in the box. Given time and space to shoot, Messi once again found the back of the net:

Messi was denied a hat-trick by fantastic save from New England goalkeeper Henrich Ravas in the 83rd minute, but Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi was in position to tap in the rebound:

Luis Suarez, subbed on in the second half for Miami forward Leo Campana, added a goal of his own via a Messi assist in the 88th minute:

The game finished with a 4-1 Inter Miami win. Messi, having drawn an incredible amount of pregame attention, lived up to the billing in the end. He finished his night with two goals and an assist.

Pregame notes

Messi has gone against the trend of world superstars avoiding playing on turf. Where the likes of David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Thierry Henry regularly skipped playing on turf during their time in MLS, Messi has seemed to have less of an issue.

In his first press conference after signing with Miami in 2023, Messi told reporters that as he played on turf in his youth, he didn’t have a problem reacclimating to it in front of U.S. crowds.

“The truth is my youth was spent on artificial turf, my whole life was on that pitch,” he told reporters, per The Athletic. “Truth is it’s been a while since I’ve played on artificial turf, but I have no problem adapting myself again.”

True to his word, Messi played on turf against Charlotte FC in the MLS regular season finale last October.

Signs pointed to his inclusion in the Starting XI prior to the game against New England as well. With a clear schedule in the short term — Inter Miami lost in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup — and the looming distraction of Copa América this summer, Miami head coach Tata Martino disclosed earlier this week that he viewed the next month as a crucial period for his team to pile up as many points as possible.