A magnificent Lionel Messi hat-trick propelled Inter Miami to record the best ever points tally in an MLS season. Inter Miami thrashed the New England Revolution 6-2 to finish the MLS campaign with 74 points.
Ironically it was New England who set the ball rolling with 73 points back in 2021 and Inter Miami shattered that record within just three years. Messi started the game on the bench and scored for his team when it mattered the most. The 37 year old took the game to another level with a 11-minute hat-trick and the Herons will enter the MLS playoffs as one of the contenders for that coveted MLS Cup title.
Inter Miami have also now ended an MLS season with a winning percentage of .765, the best in the league’s history. Earlier four teams recorded a winning percentage of .750 and Inter Miami managed to decimate all records.
LUIS SUAREZ to MESSI for his first MLS HAT TRICK and the single-season points record! 🐐That’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/lJND2jDkHs
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 20, 2024
Lionel Messi’s side also became the only 4th team in MLS history to scrape through the regular season with only four losses in their tally. Messi now has 36 goal involvements in the MLS despite missing a host of matches due to his ankle injury. Luis Suarez also scored a brace and also finished the campaign with 20 goals and nine assists.
Inter Miami also won the Supporters' Shield and are emerged as the No. 1 overall seed in the MLS CUP playoffs. Messi also bagged an assist and could now lead to a rare double (MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield) in MLS history as they become the first team since Los Angeles Football Club which achieved the feat in 2022.
In the proccedings, Inter Miami have also qualified for the FIFA World Cup, FIFA have announced. World football’s governing body said, “Inter Miami CF have become the penultimate club to seal a spot at the new FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ after winning the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield, confirming them as the best team throughout the 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season.
“Inter Miami qualify as the host country representative team on the basis of the club’s outstanding and consistent 34-match campaign that saw them secure the shield with two MLS matches to play. Inter Miami will also open the tournament as the host team and play in the inaugural game of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ in their hometown of Miami.”