Leo Messi once again delivered one of those nights that seem designed to feed his own legend. Inter Miami needed to respond after a difficult run and found the answer in its captain: four goals, one assist, and a performance that ended in a historic rout.
At 39 years old, when many would expect him to manage his efforts and ration his minutes, the Argentine showed up and proved that he is still going strong. He keeps piling up records and still has room to keep extending them. And as usual, it is not even necessary for him to face Cristiano Ronaldo for the rivalry between the two to resurface; just look at their numbers and the controversy appears again.
The stat that puts Messi up against Cristiano again
The rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo now belongs to an era that made football history.
For more than a decade, both competed for goals, titles, awards, and records. Now, with their careers at a completely different stage, the comparison is showing up in increasingly specific statistics. And on free kicks, Messi has just landed another blow.
Ciro Messi recreates dad Leo's iconic sunglasses moment after stunning free kick
Free kicks have become one of the great transformations of the Argentine forward during the second half of his career. The Argentine went from being a player who hardly ever took free kicks in his early years to becoming one of the great specialists in history.
In this facet, Cristiano Ronaldo inevitably appears. Historical data and records place the Portuguese as one of the best long-range shooters in world football; however, when counting goals, the statistics place Messi clearly ahead of Cristiano.
The Argentine is coming off an extraordinary performance in which, of his four goals, two came from free kicks, placing the Argentine star among the best, just 4 goals away from the highest scorer in history from direct free kicks, Marcelinho Carioca, and level with Jair Rosa Pinto on 74. Another record for Leo.
“La Pulga” converted two free kicks, one before halftime and the other in stoppage time. In between, he also had time to score two more goals and complete the first four-goal haul of his MLS career. The result ended up being the biggest win in Inter Miami’s history.
The rout also left other important numbers. Messi recorded his 62nd hat-trick as a professional and his 51st at club level. In addition, he reached 18 goals in the MLS regular season and moved to the top of the scoring table, while also reaching 10 assists in the competition.
Now comes Atlanta… and Messi arrives on fire
The next match for Inter Miami will be against Atlanta United on Saturday, September 5, once again at home. The club's official schedule confirms that it will be the next MLS fixture after the match against Montréal.
Leo will arrive in one of those moments when any match can become another page in his history. After scoring four times in his last appearance, the expectation is no longer only about whether he will score again.
There is also the possibility of continuing to widen a gap that, over the years, seemed hard to imagine, but as long as his legs still respond, La Pulga’s collection of records does not seem to be closed.
And after a night with four goals and two free kicks, the question for the next match seems inevitable:How much more can that lead keep growing?
