New York Red Bulls 1-5 Inter Miami: Messi nets double in comeback win

Lionel Messi netted his sixth brace in seven matches as he helped Inter Miami to a resounding 5-1 comeback win over the New York Red Bulls in MLS.

Having seen his streak of five doubles in as many games end last time out, Messi ensured Miami got back to winning ways.

Alexander Hack gave the Red Bulls the lead just 14 minutes in when he held off his defender to volley Emil Forsberg's corner past the flapping Rocco Rios Novo from close range.

But just 10 minutes later, Jordi Alba restored parity, rifling a pinpoint strike across goal into the top-right corner after meeting Messi's throughball.

It then took a further three minutes for them to get in front as Telasco Segovia poked Alba's cross over Carlos Coronel from inside the box.

The Venezuelan got his second of the match on the stroke of half-time, picking out the bottom-right corner from range after Federico Redondo's tricky footwork drew in the Red Bulls defenders.

Messi netted his first on the hour, racing in behind on the counter-attack and coolly rounding the goalkeeper to slot in from close range.

Another quick counter opened up space for him again 75 minutes in, when he chested down Luis Suarez's cross before drilling Miami's fifth past a helpless Coronel.

A brace, two assists, and a night full of fútbol ‍ Another #IconOfTheMatch trophy secured @RoyalCaribbean pic.twitter.com/FJT31btxmT
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 20, 2025

Data Debrief: Messi back on song

Messi struggled against FC Cincinnati last weekend, but he returned to the scoresheet in style, racking up his 17th and 18th goals of the season as Miami earned another comeback win.

The Herons have now earned 13 points from losing positions in MLS this season, with only FC Dallas (17) and the Columbus Crew (16) recovering more.

But even with that slow start, Miami were the better side as they outperformed their 2.99 expected goals (xG) from 13 attempts, while limiting the Red Bulls to just two shots on target throughout. The hosts only managed 1.17 xG.