Lionel Messi gives 65,612 a dream show at Gillette
FOXBOROUGH — Judging by the sea of pink Inter Miami jerseys at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, much of the sellout crowd of 65,612 came for Lionel Messi. And Messi delivered, displaying the skill that earned him eight Ballon D’Or awards as the world’s best player.
Messi scored twice and helped set up a third goal as Miami rallied from an early deficit to take a 4-1 victory over the Revolution.
Messi’s arrival was anticipated for months, and the largest home attendance in the Revolution’s existence produced a festive atmosphere, nearly every Messi move cheered on. For the first two Miami goals, Messi slipped through the Revolution back line, taking feeds from Robert Taylor and Sergio Busquets. Then, in the final minutes, a Messi rebound was converted by Benjamin Cremaschi and Luis Suárez curled in a final goal off a Messi layoff.
The Revolution had their supporters, as well — the team expects to average 28,000 per home match this season. They were rewarded as Tomás Chancalay finished a looping pass from Carles Gil for a 1-0 lead in the first minute.
But Miami (6-2-3, 21 pts.) took control with a composed passing game, keyed by Busquets, a former Messi teammate at FC Barcelona. After a fast start, the Revolution (1-7-1, 4 pts.), who visit the Chicago Fire next Saturday, faltered, partly because of the effects of a virus that kept several players out and affected other starters.
Messi captured the crowd’s attention, and the Revolution kept things tight as Gil and Chancalay made things look easy in opening the scoring. Gil picked off a Nicolas Freire pass, then lofted a right-footer for Chancalay, making a diagonal run toward the right corner. Chancalay caught goalkeeper Drake Callender charging out to the edge of the penalty area, chipping a one-timer over him, the shot bouncing into the goal about 37 seconds in.
Miami coach Tata Martino changed tactics, sending left back Franco Negri into midfield, and the Herons began dominating possession. Eventually, the Revolution broke down, Messi finishing in the 32nd minute inside the right post after Robert Taylor went past Matt Polster.
The Revolution regained composure after halftime, threatening as Mark-Anthony Kaye missed high (47th minute) and Carles Gil chipped on top of the net (58th).
But Messi broke the deadlock, sliding between defenders, taking a touch off a Busquets feed, and scoring in the 68th minute, upping his goal total to nine in seven games. Messi’s shot off a pass from Matias Rojas was saved by Henrich Ravas, but Cremaschi converted the rebound in the 83rd minute. Finally, Suárez, another former Messi teammate, placed a shot from the penalty arc in the 89th minute.
Only one soccer crowd topped this one at Gillette, for a 2007 Brazil-Mexico match that drew 67,584. That will remain a record, as the stadium has been reconfigured. This was the second Gillette appearance for Messi, who converted once in a 4-1 Argentina victory over Venezuela in 2016.
“The people in every stadium come to see Leo, to cheer him on, this is true,” Martino said. “But after that they want their team to win. It motivates us in every city we play. But it also motivates our rivals, and we try to prepare for that. We weren’t ready for that last year, but we are dealing with it better now.”
The Revolution were facing a difficult task, but their situation worsened as two starters, goalkeeper Alijaz Ivacic and midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic, plus defender Dave Romney and forward Bobby Wood, were declared out. Polster spent the early morning hours in an emergency room, and played 60 minutes before being replaced by Ian Harkes.
“They weren’t finding a lot of time and space to operate and then Messi did what he does,” Revolution coach Caleb Porter said. “And he found a crack. And it was a great pass, great turn, and a finish. Even though he’s the best in the world at finding those gaps and scoring goals but our detail in that moment could’ve been better. It wasn’t like the goal came from sustained pressure and chances from them. I still thought at 1-1 we had a great chance in the game. And then he found another crack, almost the exact same play.
“We have to look at both those moments, when we felt pretty good about the defending and we were limiting their effectiveness. But that’s Messi. He finds two goals out of nowhere.”
