Five assists and goals for Lionel Messi, hat-trick for Luis Suarez, Inter Miami scored six. football news

Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick and Lionel Messi made an incredible five assists and a goal in the second half as Inter Miami beat the New York Red Bulls 6-2 in Major League Soccer on Saturday. After New York led 1-0 at the break, substitute Matias Rojas scored two goals to put Eastern Conference leaders Inter ahead in the second half. Without Messi, Miami suffered a 4-0 defeat to the Red Bulls in New York in March, but they avenged that defeat with a ruthless demolition of the second half.

Messi’s five assists, which came in the second half, is a new record for an MLS game and he now has 10 goals and 12 assists in eight league matches this season.

Working in behind Suarez, Messi’s passing through the slightest gap, taking advantage of his former Barcelona teammate’s telepathic understanding of his intentions, was too much for the Red Bulls, who came into the game third in the former.

“Obviously what we saw today surprises people, because you don’t see that in football,” Suarez said of Messi’s five assists.

“But as a teammate and someone who knows him, nothing surprises me about him,” the Uruguayan said.

The 37-year-old Suarez’s triple took his own tally to 10 in 11 league games for Miami and, despite not being blessed with pace, his lethal finishing is clearly intact.

Although it was the kind of attacking performance that Miami owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham had surely dreamed of when they brought in the star duo, there was no sign of explosiveness in the opening half.

Dante Wenger put the Red Bulls ahead in the 30th minute after Wickelman Carmona’s shot deflected off the post following a brilliant through pass from Swedish playmaker Emil Forsberg.

Gerardo Martino’s Inter lacked intensity and ideas in the opening 45 minutes but a half-time change of coach turned the game around.

Paraguayan Rojas was introduced for the second half and it took him just three minutes to make an impact, collecting a pass from Messi and bypassing two defenders before launching an unstoppable drive from 25 yards.

Messi then put Miami ahead when Rojas robbed Carmona and found Suárez, who slipped the ball to the Argentine, who made no mistake.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner again played the role of provider and split the New York defense with a brilliant ball to Rojas, who cleverly beat the onrushing Carlos Coronel.

Suárez’s hat trick came in the space of 12 minutes – he found the target first time when Messi fed a ball in from the right and the Uruguayan volleyed home.

A few minutes later it became a level playing field when Suarez played a one-two with Messi and then made the score 5-1.

Messi was once again the creator of Miami’s sixth, which Suárez headed in from close range from the most difficult angle.

Martino said, “In the second half he (Messi) and Luis (Suarez) had a very good partnership, like old times (…) They were very influential in the game.”

New York got a brief reprieve in the final seconds with Forsberg’s penalty.

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