Messi Scores 83rd-Minute Winner as Inter Miami Beats Revolution 2-1, Takes No. 2 Spot

Featured image: the New England Revolution playing at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough in 2013 (file photo). Photo: md.faisalzaman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Lionel Messi set up Inter Miami’s equalizer and scored the 83rd-minute winner as Miami beat the New England Revolution 2-1 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, Nov. 1. The Revolution Inter Miami result moved Miami past New England into second place in the Eastern Conference by one point, with one regular-season match left.

Gazdag’s goal, then Messi’s answer

Neither team scored in the first half, but New England had more of the chances and outshot Miami 6-3, according to the club’s recap. Matt Turner made a sprawling save on Germán Berterame in the 28th minute, and Brooklyn Raines sent Peyton Miller’s cutback over the bar in the 37th.

The Revolution scored in the 53rd minute. Miller beat a defender on the end line and found Ilay Feingold, who redirected the ball to Dániel Gazdag, and Gazdag finished for his second goal in two games. Miami pushed back. In the 65th minute Turner made a diving save on Messi, and Raines cleared Berterame’s rebound off the goal line.

Miami tied it four minutes later when Berterame headed in Messi’s assist. In the 83rd minute, Messi hit a left-footed shot into the bottom corner for the winner. ESPN reported that the win also clinched Miami a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.

By the numbers: the race for second

New England finished Sunday at 18-11-4 (wins-losses-draws) with 58 points, and Miami moved to 16-6-11 with 59, according to the club. New England has two more wins, but Miami has seven more draws and five fewer losses, and that is why Miami leads the table. Miami has earned 1.79 points per game to New England’s 1.76 (TBR calculation, 33 matches each).

The loss also snapped a four-match winning streak that included a 2-1 win that ended the Philadelphia Union’s 15-game unbeaten run, and it ended New England’s home schedule at 11-4-2, which the club says is tied for the second-most home wins in MLS. Those 11 home wins account for 35 of the Revolution’s 58 points, or 60% (TBR calculation from the club’s figures). AP noted that Miami’s 10 road wins are three more than any other team has this season.

The crowd of 54,112 was the fourth-largest home crowd in Revolution history and the second-largest for a standalone regular-season match, behind Miami’s visit on April 27, 2024 (65,612), the club said. Turner also set Revolution single-season goalkeeper records with 33 appearances and 2,970 minutes.

Decision Day at Orlando

New England closes the regular season at Orlando City SC on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 4 p.m. ET at Inter.co Stadium, on Apple TV. To take back second place, the Revolution must finish at least level with Miami on points. Our Revolution-Inter Miami preview laid out what was at stake Sunday. The weekend’s other local results are in our Hockey East roundup.

Other notes from the match: Miller’s secondary assist was his fifth in five games and a career-high ninth of the season, Feingold has three assists in his last two games, and midfielder Alhassan Yusuf played 14 minutes in his return from an eight-match hamstring absence.

Sources

• New England Revolution: Revs drop regular season home finale in front of season-high 54,112 fans
• AP News: Messi has goal, assist to rally Inter Miami to 2-1 victory over Revolution
• ESPN: New England 1-2 Miami match report
• ESPN: Messi brings Miami back to stun Revs, clinch Champions Cup

Additional sources

• Wikimedia Commons: Revolution at Gillette Stadium photo (CC BY 2.0)