Lionel Messi produced one of the standout individual performances of his Major League Soccer career on Saturday, scoring four goals for the first time in the league to lead Inter Miami to a commanding 7-1 victory over CF Montreal, ending a five-match winless run for the club across all competitions.
The 39-year-old Argentine was at his imperious best, restoring Miami's lead just before halftime before adding a second in the 52nd minute. He completed his hat-trick in the 83rd minute and then punctuated the evening with a stoppage-time free kick, finishing the night with four goals and an assist. The performance pushed Messi to the top of the MLS scoring charts with 18 goals this season.
Interim coach Guillermo Hoyos struggled to put into words what he had just witnessed from his star forward. "There are no words to describe such footballing beauty," Hoyos said. "So much is going on that words simply fall short. He is constantly looking for that goal, that play, that pass; I don't think he's an ordinary footballer. Analyzing him, both as a player and as a person, goes so deep that you run out of words."
Messi, who lifted the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 and captained his country to this year's final before falling to Spain, continues to dazzle at Inter Miami alongside a growing list of elite teammates. Among them is Casemiro, who joined the club in July following the expiration of his Manchester United contract. The Brazilian midfielder, once a fierce rival of Messi's during his Real Madrid days against Barcelona, is now reveling in sharing a locker room with him.
"That's what it means to have Messi on the team," Casemiro told Apple TV. "We have to enjoy these moments because he is a person, a player that 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."
Elsewhere in MLS action, Dejan Joveljic made an immediate impact on his Seattle Sounders debut, scoring twice in a 2-2 draw against a visiting Chicago Fire side that extended its unbeaten run to five matches. Joveljic, who arrived from Sporting Kansas City in a $6 million transfer just days earlier, opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a well-worked team goal before doubling his tally shortly after halftime with a looping shot that crept in off the crossbar. Robert Lewandowski and Maren Haile-Selassie each contributed a goal and an assist for Chicago, while Seattle's result extended their streak to two consecutive draws following an eight-match losing skid.
In Philadelphia, 16-year-old sensation Cavan Sullivan continued his remarkable rise, netting in the second half to become the first player of his age in MLS history to record a goal contribution in four consecutive matches. His strike helped the Union to a 3-0 lead before New York Red Bulls forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting pulled one back late on. Philadelphia ultimately triumphed 3-1, stretching their unbeaten run to seven games, with goals also coming from Milan Iloski and teenage midfielder Neil Pierre.
Meanwhile, Orlando City rescued a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Minnesota United. Tyrese Spicer struck in second-half stoppage time, assisted by new signing Antoine Griezmann, to cancel out a stunning four-minute span in which Minnesota scored three times to erase a two-goal deficit built by Daryl Dike and Griezmann himself.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.