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Lionel Messi's goal for Inter Miami against the New York Red Bulls has won the MLS Goal of the Matchday. The Herons secured a 4-1 win over NYRB at the Chase Stadium over the weekend (May 3) in the league.
The Florida-based club arrived at the game on the back of a three-match losing streak that had seen them bow out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Inter Miami lost the away leg of the semifinal 2-0 to Vancouver and were defeated 3-1 at home in the return leg.
However, the Herons were back to winning ways last weekend at home against the New York Red Bulls. Fafa Picault, Marcelo Weigandt, Luis Suarez, and Lionel Messi all found the back of the net against NYRB.
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The Argentine superstar has endured a mixed start to the campaign, but has still managed nine goals and three assists from 14 games. On Saturday, La Pulga played a neat one-two with Telasco Segovia, before following the Venezuelan's lofted pass into the box. The 37-year-old allowed the ball to drop to his feet before unleashing a fiery volley from close range.
Lionel Messi's effort was shortlisted for the Goal of the Matchday award, along with Carles Gil, Hirving Lozano, and Joaquin Pereyra. The Argentine received 47% of fan votes to lift the award.
How many trophies has Lionel Messi won with Inter Miami?
Lionel Messi has transformed Inter Miami's fortunes since arriving at the club as a free agent in the summer of 2023. The Argentine has won the Leagues Cup and the Supporters' Shield so far at the Chase Stadium.
Speaking recently to La Vinotinto, as cited by GOAL, Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez stated that Messi had turned the Herons into the Real Madrid of MLS.
“When I joined Inter Miami, it was El Combate [The Combat] FC. When it became official (Messi’s signing), it went from being the worst team in MLS to the Real Madrid of MLS," said Martinez.
He continued:
“Before Messi’s first training session, not even people on Instagram knew us, not even the club’s own journalists came. That was the first time I met my godfather, and people who didn’t even know I existed were writing to me. Outside, there were 1,000 journalists - when before, we had seen maybe one. And there were 50,000 people at the first training session. It changed overnight.”
La Pulga's contract with Inter Miami expires at the end of this year.
