Qualification and brilliance
Argentine star Lionel Messi scored a goal and provided an assist, leading his team Inter Miami to a late 2-1 away victory over host New England Revolution on Monday at Gillette Stadium, in Major League Soccer (MLS) competition. With this win, Inter Miami surpassed their rivals New England by one point, raising their tally to 59 points and moving up to second place in the Eastern Conference standings, officially securing their spot in next year's CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Individual achievements
The result is significant in the league standings ahead of the MLS playoffs, as Inter Miami is guaranteed to maintain second place if they win their final match against Charlotte FC. The victory for Inter Miami came after a draw and a loss in the previous two rounds, and featured Messi's brilliance, who returned to scoring after a goal drought in the last two matches. The 39-year-old Messi raised his career tally to 937 goals for clubs and his national team, bringing him within 63 goals of reaching the milestone of 1,000 career goals.
Match details
The Inter Miami captain also increased his tally this season to 26 goals and 16 assists, totaling 42 goal contributions, making him a top contender to win the "Landon Donovan" award for MLS Player of the Year for the third consecutive time, and the Golden Boot for the second consecutive time. The first half ended goalless, before Hungarian Daniel Gazdag gave the home side the lead in the 53rd minute with a shot from inside the penalty area following a heel pass from Eliot Finnold.
Inter Miami equalized in the 69th minute when Mexican Germ谩n Berterame converted a through ball from Messi with a header. In the 83rd minute, Messi snatched the winning goal for his team, dribbling past three defenders and exchanging passes with Venezuelan Tiago Santos before shooting with his left foot into the far corner. New England nearly equalized in the 87th minute when Inter Miami player Ian Fray scored an own goal, but the referee disallowed the goal after a VAR review due to offside.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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