Messi sets a record, familiar demons raise their heads in Inter Miami win | OneFootball

Herons' fourth-straight MLS win lifts them into fifth in the East

Lionel Messi scored two first-half goals Wednesday at Gillette Stadium to lead Inter Miami to a 2-1 win against the New England Revolution and set a new Major League Soccer record with his fourth-straight league match with at least two goals. With the victory, Los Garzas improved to 10-3-5, good for 35 points, and leapfrogged Orlando City (34 points) into fifth place in the MLS East.

Inter Miami trails first-place FC Cincinnati by seven points, Nashville SC by six, Philadelphia Union by five and Columbus Crew by three, but all four of those teams have played three matches more than the Herons. Those three matches -- potentially nine points -- could give Inter Miami an advantage in its bid to win a second Supporters Shield and ensure homefield advantage in the MLS Cup playoffs.

But it's a little soon for the Herons to be counting their chicks. The Pink & Black is preparing to play its third match in eight days Saturday against second-place Nashville. Road games at league-leading FC Cincinnati (Wednesday) and the eighth-place New York Red Bulls (30 points) on July 19 comprise a stretch of five matches in 15 days. After a week's rest, Inter Miami will host FC Cincinnati on July 26.

Including its Club World Cup matches, Inter Miami has lost just once in its previous nine outings, but the Herons will have to play better than they did Wednesday against New England to keep that momentum going.

Low-block, turnovers, long balls, lack of pace plague Miami

Messi scored his first goal after intercepting a defender's attempted back-pass in the 27th minute; in the 38th, the Argentine icon scored his second after running onto a beautifully placed through ball from Sergio Busquets. Carles Gil, the Revolution's gifted attacking midfielder and 2021 MLS Most Valuable Player, scored New England's goal in the 79th minute.

Inter Miami couldn't find a third goal to put the game out of reach against the Revs, the11th best -- and fifth worst -- team in the Eastern Conference. As expected, New England played compact defense, frustrating the Herons' attempts to find space in the box, and bombed passes deep over Miami's back line to sprinting attackers. The strategy was effective; if the Revs were even a little more efficient (they put just six of 16 shots on target), this match would have been much different.

Again, no rest for the best

Miami coach Javier Mascherano made just two changes to the lineup that started the Herons' 4-1 win Saturday against Montreal, with Federico Redondo beside Busquets in the defensive midfield and little-used newcomer Baltazar Rodriguez at left wing for Telasco Segovia. Once again, Messi, Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez -- all former teammates of Mascherano at Barcelona and the club's four oldest field players -- started and, once again, the Barca Boys stayed on the pitch until the final whistle (except Suarez, who was subbed out at the 87th minute).

Obviously, the Herons are better with those players on the field, but it's a long season, and we're entering the hottest, most humid part of the North American summer. Of course we want to win every match, but Inter Miami's priority now has to be winning the MLS Cup -- and thanks to the playoff system, we can finish ninth in the 15-team conference and still qualify for the playoffs. We don't have to win every game!

By not resting Messi & Friends, Mascherano is risking their health and their performance in October and November, when it will be needed most. Messi and Suarez are 38, Alba and Busquets 36. Mascherano has to do a better job managing their minutes.

Mascherano is risking their health and their performance in October and November, when it will be needed most.

Mascherano, in his first year managing a club team and his first experience in MLS, knows what he needs to do, but hasn't yet had the courage. After last night's match, Mascherano told reporters he had intended to rest Messi, but decided to keep him in the match when Gil scored.

“The plan was always for Leo to play...we wanted to give him some rest during this game, but once New England scored, they put us under pressure, so we preferred to keep him on the pitch,” he said. “It’s not the best situation for us because we know in the next few games, we have to find the moment to give him some rest. We have a lot of games coming but we will try to analyze when is best time to give him some rest.”

Gil scored in the 79th minute! That Messi was still playing with a 2-0 lead against the conference's 11th best team in the 79th minute makes me think Mascherano is struggling to actually coach his friends. That doesn't bode well for the future.