Messi, Suárez, and Alba Dazzle as Inter Miami Crushes Atlanta United in Spectacular Fashion
Lionel Messi netted a brace and provided an assist as Inter Miami demolished Atlanta United 4–0 on Saturday evening, boosting their prospects of securing second place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Messi, who chose to feature for Miami after being rested from Argentina's friendly match against Venezuela on Friday evening, found the net in the 39th and 87th minutes to reach 26 regular-season goals, maintaining a two-goal lead over LAFC's Denis Bouanga before the final matchday.
Beyond his double strike, the 38-year-old Argentine delivered an impressive nearly 50-yard through ball to Jordi Alba, who converted the 2–0 goal in the 52nd minute following his retirement announcement earlier this week.
The Barcelona connection persisted with the 3–0 strike, a powerful effort from Luis Suárez.
Following this victory, Miami reached 62 points, sharing second position in the Eastern Conference before their Decision Day encounter with Nashville SC, which will also determine the outcome of Messi's Golden Boot campaign.
Below are the individual ratings from Miami's commanding display on Saturday evening.
Inter Miami Player Ratings vs. Atlanta United (4-2-3-1)
*Player Ratings Provided by FotMob*
Players | Ratings (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
GK: Rocco Rios Novo | 8.0 |
RB: Marcelo Weigandt | 7.0 |
CB: Tomás Avilés | 7.9 |
CB: Gonzalo Lujan | 7.9 |
LB: Jordi Alba | 9.0 |
CDM: Yannick Bright | 7.3 |
CDM: Sergio Busquets | 8.1 |
RW: Tadeo Allende | 7.7 |
AM: Lionel Messi | 9.4 |
LW: Baltasar Rodríguez | 8.5 |
ST: Luis Suárez | 8.6 |
SUB: Fafà Picault (56' for Bright) | 6.8 |
SUB: Ryan Sailor (80' for Avilés) | 6.4 |
SUB: Santiago Morales (89' for Rodríguez) | N/A |
Subs not used: Oscar Ustari (GK), William Yarbrough (GK), Samuel Basabe, Tyler Hall, Ricardo Montenegro.
Player of the Match: Lionel Messi
Atlanta United (5-3-2): Jayden Hibbert; Leo Afonso, Juan Berrocal, Stian Gregersen, Pedro Amador, Dominik Chong-Qui; Cooper Sanchez, Steven Alzate, Tristan Muyumba; Emmanuel Latte Lath, Jamal Thiaré.
Subs: Brad Guzan (GK), Josh Cohen (GK), Salvatore Mazzaferro, Cayman Togashi, Patrick Weah, Adyn Torres, Rodrigo Neri.