June 1, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Inter Miami CF News Release
MIAMI – Inter Miami CF (10W-3L-5D, 35 points) earned a point tonight in a highly contested 3-3 draw against St. Louis CITY SC at Chase Stadium. Left-back Jordi Alba shone on the night with a goal and two assists, while captain Lionel Messi and striker Luis Suárez netted the team’s other goals. Notably, Messi made MLS history by becoming the fastest player to 25 goal contributions in an MLS season, tallying 12 goals and 13 assists in just 12 appearances to shatter the previous record established by Carlos Vela in 2019 in 16 appearances.
“There was a positive part to tonight’s match, which was coming back three times from a negative result and ending up being better than the opponent in the final 10 minutes where we could have won,” said head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino. “I think it ended up being an acceptable match today with very good individual performances… I think that we leave today’s game with a feeling of at least peace of mind.”
Inter Miami took the field with one change to the team’s starting XI from the midweek match against Atlanta United. Drake Callender started in goal; Marcelo Weigandt, Tomás Avilés, Sergii Kryvtsov and Alba made up a backline of four; Matías Rojas, Sergio Busquets and Federico Redondo started in midfield; captain Messi and Robert Taylor flanked Suárez in the attack.
The match at Chase Stadium presented an attacking exhibition from both sides from start to finish. It was the visitors, however, that struck first, with a goal by midfielder Chris Durkin giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute.
Inter Miami didn’t take long to respond with a goal of its own, with Messi leveling the scoring at 1-1 in the 25th minute. Messi first served a ball outside for Alba on the left wing just outside the box, where the left back took a touch before serving a ball for Messi at the center of the box. The Argentine attacker then finished with a first-time, left-footed finish to send the ball to the back of the net. The goal was Messi’s team-leading 12th this regular season and his 14th across all competitions, while the assist was the third for Alba this regular season and fourth in 2024.
St. Louis was then able to regain the lead in the 41st minute through a goal by midfielder and former Inter Miami player Indiana Vassilev.
Inter Miami, however, struck back in added time to send the match into the half with the score tied at 2-2. Messi recovered possession…
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