Messi scores 4 as Inter Miami net 7 in record win

No coach, no problem.

Lionel Messi scored four goals to lift Inter Miami to a 7-1 victory, the most goals Miami has scored in a game, over visiting CF Montréal on Saturday, snapping the team’s winless run in style.

Messi scored on a deflected free kick in the 40th minute before converting again after a stunning solo run in the 52nd. After supplying an assist to Luis Suárez, the Argentina great then completed his hat trick with a delicate chip over the goalkeeper with seven minutes of regulation time remaining.

He wasn’t done.

Deep into stoppage time, Messi lined up a free kick and dispatched it with trademark precision into the side of the net.

“That’s what it means to have Messi on the team,” Miami midfielder Casemiro told Apple TV. “We have to enjoy these moments because he is a person, a player that makes history.

“We saw today that we have to enjoy it, keep supporting and keep competing with him because he continues to be the best. He proved it in the World Cup. We have to enjoy it because, with him, we are so much stronger.”

It’s the eighth time in Messi’s legendary career that he has scored four or more goals in a game and the first time since joining Miami. His last four-goal match came in February 2020 for Barcelona against Eibar in Spain’s LaLiga.

The 39-year-old is also the fastest player in MLS history to reach 20 multigoal games in the regular season, having done so in 72 appearances.

Messi leads MLS in scoring this season, with 18 goals in just 19 games, to put him two ahead of FC Dallas‘ Petar Musa.

“There are no words to describe such footballing beauty,” Miami interim coach Guillermo Hoyos, who was suspended for the game, said. “So much is going on that words simply fall short.

“He is constantly looking for that goal, that play, that pass; I don’t think he’s an ordinary footballer. Analyzing him, both as a player and as a person, goes so deep that you run out of words.”

The victory was Miami’s first in MLS play since July 25 and ended a run of five games without a victory in all competitions, including the Leagues Cup.

It came with Hoyos watching from the stands as punishment for repeated violation of the league’s late kickoff policy. The club named Cristian ‘Kily’ Gonzalez as his permanent successor this week, but Gonzalez is still waiting for his work permits to begin his new job.

“The significance of this victory is huge for everyone,” Hoyos said. “First and foremost for the players, the team itself, who truly deserved it and still do. For the club, which also deserves it given the immense effort involved; and for all of us working together.

“We all deserve this, and what we’re experiencing right now is truly a great blessing. It’s also important for the club’s objectives, coming at what I believe is a crucial moment.”

With assistant coach Rafael Pérez leading the team, Brazil international Casemiro opened the scoring with his first goal for Miami since his summer arrival.

Miami’s other goal came from 18-year-old Alexander Shaw in the 89th minute.

The victory keeps Miami second in the Eastern Conference standings, 10 points behind Nashville SC.

Montréal, which brought on new arrival and Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Alexis Sánchez in the second half, is 14th, second to last in the Eastern Conference.

ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano contributed to this report.