Inter Miami cruised to a 4-2 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday, driven by goals from Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suarez, Sergio Reguilon, and Lionel Messi. In a dominant road performance, Messi spearheaded the attack with a goal and two assists, ensuring Miami (6-2-4, 22 points) avoided a repeat of their recent collapse against Orlando City.
The afternoon was historic for the Argentine captain, who shattered yet another MLS record by becoming the fastest player to reach 100 goal contributions. Messi achieved the landmark in just 64 matches, comfortably beating the previous record of 95 games held by Toronto icon Sebastian Giovinco. Since his arrival in South Florida in 2023, the legendary No. 10 has amassed a staggering 59 goals and 41 assists.
Emilio Aristizabal scored a brace for Toronto (3-4-5, 14 points).
The Herons took a 1-0 lead when De Paul’s free kick from 25 yards out in the 44th minute ricocheted off the wall and his one-time right-footed shot hit the post and went in.
Suarez gave Miami a 2-0 advantage when he finished Messi’s pass with his left foot in the 56th minute. The Herons took advantage of the space created when Toronto forward Raheem Edwards remained down on the pitch.
In the 73rd minute, Miami went up 3-0 when Messi returned a pass to Reguilon who scored his first MLS goal.
Miami poured it on at 4-0 when De Paul connected with Messi in the middle of the box in the 75th minute.
Toronto FC Fight Back After Inter Miami’s Four-Goal Blitz
Aristizabal trimmed Miami’s lead to 4-1 in the 82nd minute. Toronto trailed 4-2 on Aristizabal’s header on a Kobe Franklin pass in the 90th minute.
Early in the match, Toronto had its chances. Alonso Coello’s free kick from outside the box in the eighth minute skipped through the Miami wall, but Dayne St. Clair made the save.
In the next few minutes, Toronto continued to press as Malik Henry, Markus Cimermancic and Deandre Kerr had shots go wide of the target.
Miami’s offense started to build late in the first half when a Messi shot sizzled beyond the near post in the 37th minute.
Moments later, St. Clair made a diving punch save of a Daniel Salloi shot to preserve Miami’s 1-0 lead at halftime.
The 47th minute featured Luis Suarez forcing a turnover at midfield which set Messi up for a 2-on-1 run. Messi drew in both defenders and slipped a pass to Suarez on the wing, whose shot from inside the box was off target.
(With inputs from Reuters)
