Lionel Messi scored two more goals on a warm Saturday night in Massachusetts. He almost scored his third goal. He assisted Inter Miami’s fourth goal. And he did it without producing any notable results due to his impeccably high standards.
However, Messi’s performance so far in his first full season in MLS is as follows. He has nine goals in six and a half MLS games in 2024.
According to MLS’ somewhat generous definition, he contributes an average of 2.5 goals per 90 minutes with seven assists.
That’s completely unreasonable. Remember when Messi took America by storm last summer? Between the League Cup and the regular season, it took him 731 minutes against MLS opponents to record a 16-goal contribution.
In 2024, it will take 583 minutes. This kid will go far.
Messi’s first attack on the New England Revolution, who lived in the basement of MLS like a rebellious teenager drawn to a dive bar, was a matter of regulation.
After receiving a perfectly weighted pass from Robert Taylor, Messi made a luxurious first touch and slotted the ball into the goal, as if he had won a week’s vacation at the Ritz Hotel in London.
As I said, it’s about regulation.
Robert Taylor➡️Lionel Messi⚽️
Messi’s 8th MLS goal in just 7 games this season 😤
🎥: @MLS
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 28, 2024
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His second visit will be in the 2010s, when Messi, combined with his old friend Sergio Busquets, will likely spend a day soaking up culture and great tapas, perched on one of Camp Nou’s vertigo-inducing high floors. Yes, we transported the attendees across the Atlantic Ocean to the wonderful city of Barcelona.
Blessed with a criminally expansive midfield turf, Busquets ripped through the Revolution’s defense with needle-like passes. Messi wasn’t going to let his mate down and sent the ball into the far corner.
Busquets –> Messi
Too good. pic.twitter.com/Q4yl0Qi1OO
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 28, 2024
It’s nothing new that Messi and his former Barcelona mates are tearing MLS apart. After all, they won the Champions League and the World Cup.
But the speed is astonishing and unprecedented.
In 11 games before suffering a season-ending injury last summer, Messi averaged 1.61 non-penalty goals and key assists per 90 minutes.
Over the entire season, this would have been the second-best goal production rate of his unparalleled career. But questions remained about whether it was sustainable.
it was. And he continues to do all this despite having his season interrupted by a hamstring injury.
He missed one game and three with injury, but when he returned, he only played 45 minutes off the bench — and still led the league with nine goals. He also ranks first in assists, tied for seventh.
On Saturday, he became the first player in MLS history to record two or more goal contributions in five consecutive games, according to the league itself.
And Inter Miami has risen to the top of the Eastern Conference despite its many flaws, which were exposed in its recent CONCACAF Champions League loss to Monterrey.
Messi has built a career on making the amazing seem ordinary. And his accomplishments in MLS won’t surprise anyone in Europe or Argentina.
But this miniature magician is currently breaking all kinds of records in America. Despite the fall of his career, Messi has etched his name into every corner of history.
Written by Michael Lee
