There’s simply nothing left to prove for Lionel Messi. He’s won it all, he’s earned the respect of the entire sport, and he has put to rest any debate about where he stands in the history of the game.
But at 39 years old, he continues to show a truly incredible competitive fire, and a dominance over his opponents that still astounds. On Saturday, that was on full display. By notching a “poker” with four goals against CF Montreal, Messi got Inter Miami back on track in a major way, and got some help in the process.
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The scoring was kickstarted by Casemiro, who joined Inter Miami this summer. It was Casemiro’s first goal with the club. He rose up high on a corner kick and headed home to make it 1-0. Montreal responded with a goal of their own in the 37th minute, but then came Messi.
Lionel Messi scored two free-kick goals and provided an assist
A Messi free-kick was deflected on its way to the back of the net to make it 2-1. Messi then struck again in the 52nd minute with a truly marvelous goal where he danced around several defenders and finished with his weak foot.
Messi helped his longtime friend Luis Suarez get on the scoresheet with a vintage assist in the 80th minute, then notched his hat-trick just three minutes later with a chip over the goalkeeper.
With the score at 5-1, 18-year-old Alexander Shaw took advantage of his opportunity by burying a long-distance shot. Messi made sure to one-up the youngster, though, with a stellar free-kick goal as time expired.
Miami ended up winning the game 7-1. It was the team’s first game since the club announced Guillermo Hoyos would be replaced by Kily Gonzalez at the manager position. Gonzalez wasn’t on the sideline for this game, but he will be soon.