Soccer great Lionel Messi shows he's still the master in Inter Miami's win at New England
FOXBORO — We’ve grown used to watching the greatest performer in his sport take the stage at Gillette Stadium.
Tom Brady spoiled us for two decades while leading the New England Patriots to unprecedented heights. Lionel Messi offered a reminder how it feels to bear witness on a special Saturday evening against the hometown club.
Inter Miami CF was shocked by an early Tomas Chancalay strike before spending the rest of the night delivering as anticipated. Messi netted a pair of goals, took the shot that led to a third and provided the pass that created a fourth. The visitors gradually squeezed the New England Revolution over 90 entertaining minutes, two clubs at opposite ends of the Eastern Conference standings eventually reverting to their expected Major League Soccer form.
More: Lionel Messi dominates with two goals to lead Inter Miami past the New England Revolution, 4-1.
“He does the things he’s done his whole career,” Inter Miami midfielder Julian Gressel said following this 4-1 thumping. “This wasn’t just one spectacular performance he’s had. I think he’s been having these every weekend.”
Metronomes keep time for musicians looking to stay in rhythm. Messi has been the soccer version since his November 2003 debut with FC Barcelona, a genius in shin pads and boots whose reach across the sport spans the globe. A record crowd of 65,612 fans created traffic jams generally only seen here on fall Sundays and it buzzed every time this peerless dynamo took possession with his magical left foot.
“He does it and he makes it look very easy,” Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi said. “We’re just happy he’s on our side.”
More: Here is the New England Patriots' full 2024 draft class.
Messi has no boxes left to check. Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the game’s best individual player over a single season, four-time Champions League king, a World Cup hero with his native Argentina — all but a handful of top-level professionals could be granted five lifetimes and still not come close to matching his achievements. Pele, Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Johan Cruyff — Messi has long walked alongside those gods of the game.
Cremaschi was born in the city he now represents nearly two years after Messi began his professional career. That they eventually became teammates is a testament to a young man’s precociousness and an older man’s longevity. Messi made a shocking move away from Spain for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 but never truly settled in France’s capital — this potential final chapter could prove much sweeter to pen.
“It’s something I don’t think I would have imagined last year,” Gressel said. “I’m happy.”
Gressel is a Providence College graduate and Major League Soccer veteran who signed a three-year contract with Inter Miami during the offseason. He’s now square in the middle of a nightly phenomenon that’s just another match for its centerpiece. Messi drew a gathering here that hasn’t been seen since an international friendly between Brazil and Mexico brought out 67,584 in September 2007.
“I think it's an opportunity for us to use this spotlight and gain fans — for the casual fan who doesn't always come to New England Revolution matches, to capture interest,” New England manager Caleb Porter said earlier in the week. “That's really important.”
Messi will turn 37 in June and has played more than 1,000 times for club and country, but his sharpness over a few yards endures. His pair of strikes came off similar darting runs in the New England penalty area, with opposing defenders caught flatfooted while he stole in behind them. Robert Taylor and former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets provided the pinpoint passes that slipped Messi free in front of helpless Revolution keeper Henrich Ravas.
“We just try to look from the outside,” Cremaschi said. “Try to learn from him and try to enjoy him, too.”
Messi was denied a hat trick in the 82nd minute by a strong hand from Ravas, but the ball caromed to Cremaschi at the back post for a simple tap-in. Luis Suarez flashed his own cutting edge six minutes later, finding space just above the penalty spot and offering Messi a target for a cross off the right. Another old Barcelona connection made no mistake with his finish into the top left corner, and the fans who gathered on this perfect spring night started to file out.
“You don’t stop Messi, but can you limit his touches in key areas?” Porter asked during the week. “Because when he's in key areas around the box, he is lethal.”
We could spend another 1,000 words or 100 years attempting to explain why Messi is one of one, a talent with a skill set never to be equaled. We could rue New England’s current inability to inspire a similar crowd on its own or a United States youth development system that actively detours the possible growth of similar prospects. That would be time wasted and aggravation misplaced while we could be doing the obvious instead — enjoying excellence like this while we see it.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Soccer great Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami past New England
