Gerardo 'Tata' Martino Reacts to Historic Lionel Messi Performance

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino Reacts to Historic Lionel Messi Performance

Inter Miami boss Gerardo "Tata" Martino wasn't surprised by Lionel Messi's record-breaking performance against New York Red Bulls, telling reporters post-match that the eight time Ballon d'Or winner "always does something new".

Messi set a new MLS record for most goal contributions and assists in a single game to help Miami come from a goal behind to win 6-2 at Chase Stadium.

First, Messi laid the ball off for Matias Rojas to smash home from long range, before scoring the go-ahead goal himself as Miami stole the ball deep in Red Bulls territory. He then laid on a further four assists, helping long-time buddy Luis Suarez to a superb hat-trick.

"All [goals] were fundamental to the game, but Leo did something historic tonight with five assists and one goal," Martino told the assembled press.

"But I can't forget Suarez's three goals and Rojas' two goals. The first, well both, but the first Rojas goal was amazing. But because of the technical aspect of Leo on the assist I will choose Luis Suárez's scissor goal as my favorite."

"Messi had exceptional games in Barcelona, during my time with him," Martino continued. "But I also remember a semifinal with Paraguay in the Copa America in Chile, where he didn't score a goal and he was still the best player on the field.

"In Barcelona, he had a game against Valencia where we were losing 2-0 and then won 3-2 with three goals from him. And there was another against Sevilla where we were losing 1-0 and then he scored three goals and we won 4-1. I always say this, and it's redundant at this point, but he always does something new. To have involvement in all six goals of a team's 6-2 is something that will be difficult to see again."

The seamless link-up play from Messi and Suarez showed they have lost none of the magic that sparkled during their hugely successful stint at FC Barcelona, despite both players now being in the twilight of their playing careers.

Maintaining momentum will be the key message to Messi, Suarez and the rest of Miami's team, who now sit comfortably at the top of MLS' Eastern Conference standings.

Lionel Messi Dazzles With MLS-Record Five Assists in Inter Miami's Blowout Win

Lionel Messi Dazzles With MLS-Record Five Assists in Inter Miami’s Blowout Win

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi's greatness can be taken for granted worldwide, given that many soccer fans do not remember the sport without him.

Sometimes, though, it's nice to get a reminder of just how special he is—and has been since he burst on to the scene in the mid-2000s.

On Saturday, Messi provided just such a reminder to all in attendance at Inter Miami's 6–2 victory over the New York Red Bulls. He assisted on five goals—the most by any player in one game in Major League Soccer's 29-year history.

Not content to stop there, Messi added a goal in the 50th minute; his six goal contributions in one game are also an MLS record.

Messi's contributions were such that striker Luis Suárez, his teammate, flew under the radar despite netting a hat trick in 14 minutes.

Inter Miami currently sits in first place in MLS's Eastern Conference, three points ahead of second-place FC Cincinnati.

Inter Miami 6-2 New York Red Bulls: Player Ratings as Messi Grabs Five Assists

Inter Miami 6-2 New York Red Bulls: Player Ratings as Messi Grabs Five Assists

Lionel Messi grabbed five assists and Luis Suarez bagged a hat trick to propel Inter Miami to a dominant 6-2 triumph over New York Red Bulls at Chase Stadium.

Miami were eager to get things started to avenge their 4-0 defeat back in March at Red Bull Arena when New York ran rampant as Drake Callender and Lionel Messi were unavailable for selection.

After a rather dull 28 minutes to start the contest, the visiting Red Bulls struck first in transition. Emil Forsberg sliced the Miami defense in half with an exquisite outside-of-the-foot pass into Wikelman Carmona’s path. Carmona’s effort was kept out by Callender at first, but Dante Vanzeir’s follow-up shot from around the penalty spot gave New York the lead.

In the first half, the Herons tiptoed around the New York penalty area and found themselves in good shooting positions but took too long to pull the trigger. That changed at the start of the second 45 when Matias Rojas was substituted on for David Ruiz.

The legendary Messi was barreling down the right-wing before he cut inside on his favored left foot to find Rojas, who danced past a couple of Red Bulls defenders and blasted a shot into the far-right corner past Carlos Coronel to score his first goal as a Miami player.

The hosts then turned the game on its head just a couple of minutes later after a turnover by Red Bulls. Rojas was involved yet again, as his pressing helped turn the ball over near the Red Bulls’ penalty area into Luis Suarez’s path. Suarez looked up to find his best friend Messi and played the Argentine through on goal, and Miami’s No. 10 scored his 10th goal of the 2024 MLS season to put Miami in front for the first time in the game.

Miami went on to find their third goal of the night with Messi linking up Rojas once more. Messi played the former Corinthians player through on goal with a clever pass that fooled everyone on the pitch other than Rojas, who chipped Coronel with ease to secure his brace. 

Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s side just couldn’t be stopped as Messi grabbed his third assist of the night to make it 4-1 in favor of the Herons. The former Barcelona and PSG figure teed up an inviting cross that Suarez latched on to to increase the hosts’ advantage. 

Suarez decided that he wanted to grab another goal as he and Messi raced forward at the tired Red Bull defense. Messi combined with Suarez for a quick-one-two and the Uruguayan made no mistake in front of goal.

The ex-Atletico Madrid player capped off his hat trick with a delicate finish from a tight angle to make it 6-1 for Miami. It was once again the Messi-Suarez connection that Red Bulls fans will probably have come to despise after watching the game. Messi combined with Suarez with a simple outside-of-the-foot pass to send the Liverpool icon through on goal to set a new record for assists in an MLS match with five helpers.

Emil Forsberg managed to pull one back in stoppage time for New York after Marcelo “Chelo” Weigandt stepped on John Tolkin’s left foot in his own penalty area. The former RB Leipzig player converted the penalty with ease but it was of course too little, too late as the game ended 6-2 in favor of the Herons.

The resounding victory saw Miami gain a foothold on the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Martino’s side have now collected 24 points from 12 matches played, while New York drop to fourth place in the division with 17 points from 11 matches played.

Inter Miami player ratings ( 4-3-3 )

GK: Drake Callender - 6/10 - The lone goal conceded wasn’t his fault entirely as he did
manage to keep out Carmona’s effort and he can’t help that Freire decided to assist Aviles in
marking the same player leading up to the goal.

RB: Marcelo Weigandt - 5/10 - Struggled defensively in the first half but managed to turn
things around after the halftime break. Ended the night in poor fashion with a clumsy challenge
in stoppage time that resulted in a converted penalty for Red Bulls.

CB: Tomas Aviles - 7/10 - One of Miami’s best performers on the night as he kept them in the
contest with several last-ditch tackles and challenges.

CB: Nicolas Freire - 6/10 - Was pulled way out of position for New York’s opening goal.

LB: Franco Negri - 6/10 - A quiet night overall from the veteran full-back.

CM: Julian Gressel - 6/10 - Showed off his impressive passing range here and there but
nothing much to write home about.

CM: Sergio Busquets - 8/10 - Another timeless performance from the veteran midfielder
against the dynamic pairing of Frankie Amaya and Daniel Edelman.

CM: David Ruiz - 7/10 - Displayed great anticipation with a few well-timed challenges in the first
half. Unfortunate to be hooked for Rojas at the start of the second half.

RW: Lionel Messi - 10/10 - Perhaps his best showing in a Miami shirt even though he only
managed to find the back of the net once. His five assists set a new record for most in an MLS
match and he’ll no doubt be the MVP frontrunner after this week’s matches – if he already
wasn’t the frontrunner, that is.

ST: Luis Suarez - 9/10 - A clinical outing from the legendary forward as he bagged his first hat
trick as a Heron.

LW: Robert Taylor - 7/10 - Had a few nice moments here and there in the attack as he
continues to regain sharpness

Substitutes

SUB: Matias Rohas (46’ for Ruiz) - 9/10 - Came on and instantly changed the game with a
perfect strike from distance to level the score.

SUB: Benjamin Cremaschi (66’ for Taylor) - 7/10 - Played his part in setting up Suarez’s first
goal of the night.

SUB: Yannick Bright (66’ for Gressel) - 6/10 - The player neither helped nor hindered his
side.

SUB: Leo Campana (84’ for Suarez) - N/A

SUB: Noah Allen (84’ for Negri) - N/A

Manager

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino - 9/10 - A slow start occurred once again for his team, but that clearly
didn’t affect them as they went on to put six past Coronel. His decision to bring on Rojas was a
masterstroke, and Miami continue to look like the best team in MLS and are capable of flipping
the switch in a moment’s notice to go all-out in attack.

Player of the match - Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

Inter Miami Will Soon Unveil Sweet New Dolphins-Inspired Shirts

Inter Miami Will Soon Unveil Sweet New Dolphins-Inspired Shirts

Inter Miami FC will soon unveil Miami Dolphins-inspired kits this summer. The news was confirmed by the Miami Herald after a few weeks of rumors about the emergence of a third uniform option.

A rumored look at the aqua-themed kits has emerged online, featuring a not-to-scale image of Tua Tagovailoa towering over Lionel Messi. Reasonable minds can disagree but they look pretty slick.

Inter Miami has predictably ascended on the world stage as they brought in Messi last year and further leveraging the local market with tried-and-true threads is a really smart idea. Finding another way to move team merchandise could help the club continue its impressive marketplace surger.

Per the Herald:

Lionel Messi’s No. 10 pink Inter Miami shirt became the most-sold jersey of 2023 within 45 minutes of his jersey launch on MLSStore.com, the league’s retail site, last summer, and became the most sold jersey in the history of MLSStore.com within three days. Inter Miami also set an MLSStore.com all-time unit and revenue record last season, despite being near the bottom of the standings most of the year.