FOXBORO – Lionel Messi came, saw and conquered on Wednesday night, as his brace powered Inter Miami CF to a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.
The lively, season-high crowd of 43,293 — dotted with several pink and black Miami kits — was treated to a vintage display by the Argentine star, who became the first player in Major League Soccer history to score multiple goals in four consecutive regular season matches.
The Revolution (6-8-6, 24 points) showed flashes of promise and made things interesting late in the game via Carles Gil’s eighth goal of the season, but missed several chances to put more pressure on Miami (10-3-5, 43 points). In the end, defensive miscues contributed to both Messi goals, as the Revolution extended their winless run to five.
Messi opened the scoring with his 13th regular season goal in the 27th minute. He latched onto an errant, headed backpass by Revolution defender Tanner Beason, who was attempting to reset after Mamadou Fofana’s headed clearance. Messi one-timed the loose ball into the back of the net, past Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic.
“They had a bit of the ball, which we expected, and then we made a big mistake,” said Revolution head coach Caleb Porter. “It wasn’t that they broke us down. He’s going to score those 10 out of 10 times. That was a big mistake.”
The visitors doubled the lead 11 minutes later, as Messi ran onto a perfectly-weighted through pass from Sergio Busquets before tidily tucking his brace into the far corner. Busquets had plenty of space near midfield to pick out his pass, which traveled about 25 yards to meet the run of Messi, who beat Beason for speed and position before his sublime finish.

New England created several chances off quick counter-attacks and fast breaks, working through Gil and attacking runs from Luca Langoni, Leonardo Campana and Matt Polster.
One of the game’s most consequential plays arrived moments before Miami’s first goal, as Langoni rolled a low drive wide of the far post after getting played in by Gil on the left side of the box. If that chance had gone in, the Revolution’s position would’ve been entirely different — and Miami likely wouldn’t have gone downfield seconds later to take the lead.
Campana got blanked by Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari in the second minute of first half stoppage time, and fired wide of the far post from distance before halftime.
New England ramped up the pressure in the second half, with Gil firing wide of the far post (60th); Campana denied again by Ustari, and the rebound from substitute Tomas Chancalay finding only the side netting (65th); and Luis Diaz seeing his shot tipped over the bar by Ustari (73rd).

Gil eventually produced the Revolution’s breakthrough, blasting a powerful drive from the top of the box after reclaiming possession from Miami’s Tadeo Allende.
“Credit to our guys for staying disciplined,” Porter said. “Overall, the chances were there … at the end of the day, we just played one of the best teams in the league. That keeps me encouraged. What we have to keep getting right are the boxes – the details. We had massive chances to score and we have to finish them. We can’t make that early mistake.”
Miami created chances early, with Baltasar Rodriguez shooting over the bar after the remnants of a free kick (2nd); Messi curling a free kick into the side netting (9th); and Rodriguez turning to shoot wide of the far post (12th). Later, Messi dragged a shot wide of the far post following a giveaway by Fofana (32nd); and early in the second half, Allende had a low shot saved by Ivacic, with Luis Suarez’s follow-up header cleared off the line by Peyton Miller (53rd).
It remains to be seen whether Messi, who played the full 90 minutes in this fixture for the second year in a row, will return to Gillette Stadium — barring an unlikely return to Foxboro in the playoffs.
Wednesday was his last scheduled appearance in the Boston area. Messi’s contract runs through the end of 2025, and negotiations for an extension are ongoing. Interest from abroad is growing, including from Saudi Arabia, though it’s also possible he could suit up again for Argentina as it defends its FIFA World Cup title next summer.

The tournament will be hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with Gillette Stadium set to host seven matches, including a Round of 32 game and a quarterfinal.
“Messi decided himself that he wanted to play,” said Miami head coach Javier Mascherano. “He told us before the match that he wanted to play. It was an important game, and although it was complicated at times, it was important to have him on the field.
“In this game, after New England scored, we were under pressure, so we preferred to keep him on the pitch. We had to make some decisions. It’s not the best situation for us because we know in the next games we’ll need to find a moment to give him some rest. That’s how it is.”
As for the Revolution, they remain on the outside looking into the Eastern Conference playoff race, with Porter not losing faith in his team’s ability to rebound.
“Overall, the play was there, the chances were there, now we have to move on to the next,” Porter said. “Of course it feels low after a loss, but I can tell you the team is still confident.
“Now we’re under it a little bit, chasing points again, but we have a team that can go on the road and get three points. We can go and beat anybody. We just have to do it. But I’m confident we can. If you’re not winning and you’re not playing well, then there’s not a lot of confidence. That’s not the case with this group, and it’s certainly not the case with me.”
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