![\"Inter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/34_Inter_Miami_vs_Montreal_MJO.jpg\" "\\"Inter")
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Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) scores a goal against CF Montr\u00e9al goalkeeper Thomas Gillier (31) in the second half of their MLS match at Nu Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in Miami, Fla.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi, continuing to make magic and history at 39 years old, put on a master class on Saturday night, scoring four goals to lead Inter Miami to a 7-1 rout of CF Montreal.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s right. Four goals. A hat trick wasn\u2019t enough. He put an exclamation mark on the night in the sixth minute of added time, converting a free kick with his trusty left foot on the final play of the game.<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s brilliance left the Nu Stadium crowd and T.V. spectators struggling for words to describe what they had just witnessed.<\/p>\n
In Spanish-speaking countries, four goals are often referred to as a \u201cPoker\u201d, a reference to four-of-a-kind in the card game. Whatever you call it, in whatever language, it was jaw-dropping. It was the seventh time in his storied career that he scored four goals and the first time since Feb. 22, 2020 when he was with FC Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Messi now has an MLS-leading 18 goals on the season and overtook Petar Musa of FC Dallas in the Golden Boot race.<\/p>\n
With the win, the most lopsided in Inter Miami history, the team snapped a five-game winless skid as it awaits its new coach Kily Gonzalez, an Argentine who will join the club when he gets his work visa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was an important win, it is an honor to have Messi on the team, we have to use this as a springboard for the rest of the season,\u201d Casemiro, who scored his first MLS goal, told Apple TV after the match. \u201cThis is what it means to have Messi on your team. He\u2019s above every other footballer. We need to keep supporting him and helping him because he is still the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the first time an Inter Miami team scored seven goals and it fell one goal short from tying the record for most goals scored by a team in an MLS match. The Los Angeles Galaxy holds the league record with an 8-1 win over the Burn in 1998.<\/p>\n
Miami got off to a promising start, taking a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute when Casemiro, who lined up as a center back, leaped above Montreal defenders and scored on a header off a Telasco Segovia corner kick. It was the first MLS goal for the 34-year-old Brazilian, who joined Inter Miami from Manchester United this summer after the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Casemiro and Messi, fierce rivals when Casemiro was at Real Madrid and Messi at Barcelona, celebrated together, a rare sight for longtime La Liga fans.<\/p>\n
![\"Inter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIA_15_Inter_Miami_vs_Montreal_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_15_Inter_Miami_vs_Montreal_MJO.JPG\\"")
Inter Miami midfielder Casemiro (5) scores a header against CF Montr\u00e9al in the first half of their MLS match at Nu Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in Miami, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
Montreal equalized at the 37-minute mark on a goal by Fabian Herbers.<\/p>\n
Some boos and whistles could be heard from the crowd, tired of seeing Miami\u2019s defensive lapses. But they turned to cheers three minutes later, when Messi delivered a go-ahead goal to put Inter Miami back on top 2-1 with a deflected free kick.<\/p>\n
Messi had more magic in his boots in the second half, dribbling through four befuddled and helpless defenders before blasting a shot from close range to make it 3-1. He had a huge smile on his face as his teammates celebrated with him.<\/p>\n
He then delivered a perfectly-paced assist to Luis Suarez, who had a nice finish to make it 4-1. And Messi was not done for the night.<\/p>\n
The Argentine legend completed a hat trick to stretch the lead to 5-1 in the 83rd minute, chipping a shot over the goalkeeper off an assist from Rodrigo De Paul. Alexander Shaw, an 18-year-old substitute, scored his first MLS goal in the 89th minute to make it 6-1 and was swarmed by his teammates.<\/p>\n
Messi added the seventh goal of the night just before the final whistle, sending fans into a frenzy before they headed out of the stadium.<\/p>\n
Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who is on the Canadian national team, said it was extra special to beat a Canadian opponent and have the final play of the game be a free kick goal from Messi.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see someone score four goals, it\u2019s always a treat, especially there\u2019s very few walk-off moments like that in our sport, where you score on a free kick on the last play and have that enjoyment for the fans, especially a game like this at home,\u201d St. Clair said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to need the fans in the future, and it was nice having them rally with us and help us turn the ship around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cheering from a stadium suite was Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos, whom Gonzalez replaced last Thursday. He is still officially in charge of the team until Gonzalez arrives, but was unable to be on the sideline because he was serving a one-game suspension for the team showing up to the field late for the second half in four of the previous six games.<\/p>\n
Hoyos\u2019 assistant coach, Rafa Perez, was on the sideline and directed the team.<\/p>\n
Hoyos, a close family friend of the Messi\u2019s, met Lionel when he was 14 years old in the Barcelona youth academy. He recalled Saturday night the first time he saw Messi play, noting his soccer IQ and remarkable skill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was impressed with him and how he played at that moment, it was surprising,\u201d Hoyos said. \u201cHe impresses now the same way he did then. He\u2019s still the same person and the same player, but he continues to grow and get better, even at this age. There are no words to describe such footballing beauty. So much is going on that words fall short, he is always looking for that goal, that pass, he is not a normal footballer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoyos also acknowledged the importance of Saturday\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a very important win, especially for the players,\u201d he said. \u201cThey deserved it. The club also deserved it and our whole staff. It was a great blessing for all of us. It was very important for club\u2019s goals and comes at a crucial time.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the first day, those players have shown their greatness. They are extraordinary and do marvelous things, have won championships, World Cups and national teams. Two players alone have more than 1,500 goals [Messi and Suarez]. It\u2019s a roster rich with talent and pushed by young players from the bench. Alexander [Shaw] scored a beautiful goal and all that is important for the club and we are all happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoyos said the coaching staff decided to use Casemiro as a center back rather than a midfielder because of injuries to Gonzalo Lujan and Micael, and knew could adapt because he had played that position at times with Manchester United.<\/p>\n
Inter Miami is still 10 points behind first-place Nashville SC in the Eastern Conference standings and remains in second place with 12 games to go.<\/p>\n
Montreal was in 14th place in the East but had been energized by the arrival of Chilean star Alexis Sanchez. There were some Chilean flags waving from the Nu Stadium stands on Saturday greeting Sanchez, who came off the bench at the 60-minute mark.<\/p>\n
When Inter Miami played Montreal on the road on July 25, the game was scoreless for 80 minutes before Suarez scored the lone goal for the win in the 81st minute on a penalty kick after German Berterame left the field in an ambulance following a concussion.<\/p>\n
This time, Miami dominated start to finish, getting back on track heading into next Saturday\u2019s home game against Atlanta United, coached by former Inter Miami coach Tata Martino.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published August 29, 2026 at 7:44 PM.<\/p>\n