September 14, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Inter Miami CF News Release
Inter Miami CF (19W-4L-5D, 62 points) earned a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night to continue making history this 2024 MLS regular season. With the win, Inter Miami surpassed the 60 points mark, joining the 1998 LA Galaxy (28 games), 2019 LAFC (26 games), and the 2021 New England Revolution (28 games) as the only teams in MLS history to eclipse 60 points in 28 games or fewer. Notably, all three of those teams subsequently won the Supporters’ Shield in their respective seasons.
Additionally, the win was fueled by a brace from captain and Royal Caribbean Icon of the Match Lionel Messi in his return to MLS action for the first time since June 1, and another strike from star forward Luis Suárez. With the brace and assist on the night, the Argentine ace took his tally this regular season to 14 goals and 14 assists, and made further MLS history; Messi became the fastest player in MLS history to produce 15 goals and 15 assists, doing so in his first 19 MLS fixtures to break the previous record by 10 games (Sebastian Giovinco, 29 games). Additionally, Suárez’s strike saw him establish a new Club record, with his 17th goal this campaign breaking the previous record established by Gonzalo Higuaín for the most goals for an Inter Miami player in a single MLS regular season (16 goals in 2022).
Lineup Notes
Inter Miami took the pitch with Drake Callender in goal; Marcelo Weigandt, Tomás Avilés, David Martínez and Jordi Alba made up a back line of four; Julian Gressel, Sergio Busquets and Federico Redondo started in midfield; captain Messi and Diego Gómez flanked striker Suárez to lead the team’s attack.
The match opened up with the visitors taking an early lead, with forward Mikael Uhre giving Philadelphia a 0-1 lead in the first minute of play.
Callender then had two key interventions in quick succession in the 17th minute to prevent the Union from scoring their second on the night.
Inter Miami was able to find the equalizer minutes after, with Messi tying the match at 1-1 in the 26th minute. A play kickstarted by Alba in midfield saw Suárez receive the ball just outside the box before laying it off to the team’s captain. Messi then dribbled past his marker before sending the ball to the back of the net with a right-footed finish across goal to tie the match. The goal was the 13th for Messi this regular season and 15th across all competitions in 2024, while the assist was…
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