Inter Miami produced a stunning performance on Saturday, thrashing Montreal 7-1 to set a new franchise single-game scoring record in MLS.
Lionel Messi was the undisputed star of the show, scoring four goals to record the first four-goal haul of his MLS career.
It was the eighth time in Messi’s legendary career that he had scored four or more goals in a single game across all competitions.
His last four-goal performance came back in February 2020, when he netted four times for Barcelona against Eibar in Spain’s LaLiga.
The 39-year-old has also scored hat-tricks for Inter Miami against the New England Revolution in 2024 and Nashville SC in 2025.
Inter Miami had been in a difficult spell heading into the match, making the commanding result all the more significant for the club.
The win arrived in the first match overseen by new head coach Kily Gonzalez’s appointment, though assistant Rafael Perez took charge on the touchline.
Guillermo Hoyos watched proceedings from a skybox after being suspended for violating the league’s Late Kickoff Policy on multiple occasions in recent games.
Casemiro opened the scoring in the 20th minute, heading home from a corner delivered by Telasco Segovia, before Fabian Herbers levelled for Montreal in the 37th minute.
Herbers’ equaliser was set up by Noah Streit, who played a long ball into the area before Herbers fired past Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair for the 21st goal of his career.
Messi broke the deadlock again shortly before halftime with a vintage mazy run through the box before sliding the ball home in clinical fashion.
He added a second goal in the 52nd minute and a third in the 83rd, before completing an extraordinary evening with a superb free-kick in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Luis Suarez added his 11th goal of the season in the 80th minute, assisted by Messi for his 10th assist, while 18-year-old rookie Alexander Shaw also got on the scoresheet in the 89th minute for his first MLS goal.
Messi’s haul moved him to 18 goals for the season, overtaking Dallas forward Petar Musa to take top spot in the MLS Golden Boot race.
The Argentine is also now the fastest player in MLS history to reach 20 multigoal games in the regular season, achieving the feat in just 72 appearances.
Inter Miami moved to 12 wins, 4 losses, and 6 draws for 42 points, while Montreal had their four-game unbeaten streak in league play ended, sitting at 5-11-6 with 21 points.
The seven-goal haul also ended a winless run in MLS play for Inter Miami that had stretched back to July 25, making it a landmark evening on multiple fronts for the club.
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