Inter Miami marvel as Lionel Messi smashes more records in RBNY rout
What made Messi’s explosive night against RBNY that much more singular was it all unfolded in barely half an hour of the second half. Miami had walked into the locker room down 1-0 at the halfway point, thanks to a well-taken transition sequence finished emphatically by Dante Vanzeir in the 30th minute.
“In the first half we couldn’t find the passes between the lines,” said Martino, noting the Red Bulls’ control of central areas in that opening 45 minutes. “When we found it, we pulled forward to find the pass in another part of the field. We couldn’t progress on the outside, either, because they jumped well with the winger on one side or the other.”
Some tactical tweaks to open up gaps in the Red Bulls’ 4-4-2 shape, a bit more directness to get the visitors’ back four turned and, in particular, the insertion of new signing Matias Rojas, changed everything.
Signed on a free transfer just a few weeks ago, Rojas made an immediate difference, drifting infield to receive a pass from Messi in the 48th minute, ghost around two defenders and hammer a left-footed blast past Carlos Coronel from outside the penalty box.
Mere moments later, it was Rojas’ pressing of Wiki Carmona that provoked a turnover deep in RBNY’s territory, immediately exploited by Suárez’s swift service to Messi for a straightforward conversion.
“The Red Bulls just got Red Bulled,” noted commentator Danny Higginbotham on the MLS Season Pass broadcast, and indeed, the taste of their own medicine can only have heightened RBNY’s frustration.
“Today Luis’ connection [with Messi] was very good,” said Martino. “Like the old days.”
