Lionel Messi set up the equaliser and then scored the winner himself as Inter Miami came from behind to beat the New England Revolution 2-1 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, moving into second place in the Eastern Conference and clinching a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Miami trailed to Daniel Gazdag's 53rd-minute opener and were heading for a result that would have left the second seed — and the Champions Cup place — still to be settled on Decision Day. Instead Messi produced two decisive moments in fourteen minutes, first creating German Berterame's equaliser in the 69th minute and then settling the game himself in the 83rd, in front of 54,112 fans in Foxborough.
Gazdag Punishes a Scoreless First Half
Neither side could break through before the break. New England registered the better early pressure, while Miami's clearest chance fell to Berterame in the 28th minute, his left-footed shot from the left side of the box saved by Matt Turner. Dayne St. Clair made two saves and Turner one in a scoreless first half, as reported by TSN.
The breakthrough came eight minutes after the restart. Gazdag took passes from defenders Ilay Feingold and Peyton Miller and sent a right-footed shot past St. Clair for his second goal in 11 appearances this season. Feingold's assist was his fifth of the season and Miller's his ninth — both career highs for the pair — and at that point New England, on a four-match winning streak, looked in control of second place themselves.
The No-Look Header, Then the Winner
Miami's reply was pure Messi. Telasco Segovia lifted a pass into the box and Messi, with his back to goal, headed it backwards without looking for Berterame to thump home a header of his own from the centre of the box. It was Berterame's 10th goal of his first MLS season — he also has 10 assists — and Messi's 16th assist of the campaign, ending a run of three matches without a goal contribution for the captain.
The winner, fourteen minutes later, was the moment of the night. Luis Suarez found Messi in a central position outside the box, Messi carried the ball past three defenders, combined with Segovia and broke into the area before finishing low into the bottom-right corner. The goal took Messi to a league-leading 26 goals for the season, with Segovia reaching a career-high 12 assists. Messi now has 42 goal contributions this season, nine clear of the next player, and a fifth multi-contribution game in six career meetings with New England — eight goals and six assists in total against the Revs, as MLSSoccer.com noted.
New England thought they had rescued a point late on when an apparent equaliser went in off a Miami defender, but it was ruled out after a video review for offside against Luca Langoni, and Miami held on for their 10th road win of the season — three more than any other team in the league.
So What Does It Mean?
The table is the story. Miami move to 59 points (16-6-11), one ahead of New England (18-11-4, 58 points), with one regular-season match left for each side. The win ends New England's four-match winning streak, snaps Miami's two-match winless run, and — most importantly — removes the risk from Decision Day: Miami's place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup is already secured, alongside Nashville, New England and Vancouver.
Miami host Charlotte FC on Saturday with the East's No. 2 seed in their own hands, while New England travel to Orlando City knowing they now need help. Nashville's record-equalling night and Vancouver's five-goal win elsewhere on Sunday underlined how tight the top of MLS has become — but on the night it mattered most in Foxborough, the difference was still the same player it has been all season.
Beyond the Final Whistle: At 39, Messi is no longer just deciding games — he is deciding whole seasons in twenty-minute bursts. A no-look backwards header for an assist and a solo winner past three defenders, away from home, with second place and a continental place on the line, is not a cameo; it is a statement that the MVP and Golden Boot races are his to lose. New England played well enough to win most games. They did not have Messi. Can anyone stop Miami once the playoffs start if he keeps producing nights like this?
