FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (October 19, 2024) – The New England Revolution (9-21-4; 31 pts.) concluded the 2024 MLS campaign with a 6-2 loss to Inter Miami CF (22-4-8; 74 pts.) on Saturday night at Chase Stadium. The Revolution's Luca Langoni and Dylan Borrero scored in the first half, both goals aided by Alhassan Yusuf, but Miami's Luis Suarez answered with a brace to tie the match before halftime. In the second half, Lionel Messi came on as a substitute and lifted the hosts to victory with three goals and an assist.
Similar to the season's first meeting with Inter Miami, New England began the night on the front foot, tallying a goal within the opening two minutes of the match. Langoni raced onto a through ball from Yusuf and capitalized on a deflection to poke home his third tally of the year only 73 seconds into the match. Langoni concludes the season with five goal contributions in his first 10 MLS appearances.
The Revolution doubled their lead in the 34th minute when Borrero tapped the ball through the legs of Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. The Colombian netted his first goal of the season in his 10th start of the year. Yusuf, who made his return to action after missing one while on international duty with Nigeria, registered his second helper of the campaign on the play. However, in the 40th minute, Suarez pulled one back for the hosts and tacked on the equalizer minutes later, leveling the proceedings at 2-2 heading into the intermission.
New England continued to press for a result in the second half, seeing two scoring opportunities from Giacomo Vrioni miss just wide of the mark. The match tilted in Miami's favor when Lionel Messi entered in the 57th minute. With his first touch, Messi set up the go-ahead goal from Benjamin Cremaschi. Bobby Wood appeared to bring the Revs back to level terms when he poked his own deflected shot over the line, but a handling offense erased the goal.
Messi closed the scoring with three goals of his own to put the game out of reach. With the result, Inter Miami surpassed the Revolution's 2021 regular season points total (73) to set a new MLS record with 74 points.
MATCH NOTES
- Luca Langoni scored his third goal of the season 73 seconds into Saturday's contest. The Argentine logged 87 minutes and a team-high four interceptions in his 10th appearance.
- Dylan Borrero doubled the advantage in the 34th minute with his first goal of the season. Borrero recorded a team-best three chances created.
- Alhassan Yusuf, who returned to the lineup after missing last week's match through international duty, registered his second MLS assist in his fifth league start.
- Yusuf, who also helped create Langoni's opening goal, registered team highs in duels won (9) and recoveries (8).
- Xavier Arreaga returned from international duty for his 25th Revolution start across all competitions. In a 90-minute shift, Arreaga had a team high 12 clearances.
- Matt Polster made his 31st start of the season to tie his career high (2023). He finishes the season as the team leader in minutes played.
GAME CAPSULE
Revolution Match #34
MLS Decision Day (Matchday #38)
New England Revolution vs. Inter Miami CF
October 19, 2024 – Chase Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Referee: Alexis Da Silva
Assistant Referee: Cory Richardson
Assistant Referee: Ryan Graves
Fourth Official: Mark Allatin
Video Asst. Referee: Geoff Gamble
Assistant VAR: TJ Zablocki
Weather: 80 degrees and mostly cloudy
Attendance: 21,550
Scoring Summary:
NE - Luca Langoni 3 (Unassisted) 2'
NE - Dylan Borrero 1 (Alhassan Yusuf 2) 34'
MIA - Luis Suarez 19 (Hector Martínez 1, Robert Taylor 5) 40'
MIA - Luis Suarez 20 (Yannick Bright 3) 43'
MIA - Benjamin Cremaschi 4 (Jordi Alba 13, Lionel Messi 16) 58'
MIA - Lionel Messi 18 (Luis Suarez 8) 78'
MIA - Lionel Messi 19 (Jordi Alba 14) 81'
MIA - Lionel Messi 20 (Luis Suarez 9, Leo Campana 3) 89'
Misconduct Summary:
None
New England Revolution: Aljaž Ivačič; Will Sands, Dave Romney, Xavier Arreaga, Brandon Bye; Alhassan Yusuf, Matt Polster ©; Dylan Borrero, Esmir Bajraktarević (Emmanuel Boateng 87'), Luca Langoni (Nacho Gil 87'); Giacomo Vrioni (Bobby Wood 59').
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Andrew Farrell, Ian Harkes, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Peyton Miller, Tim Parker.
Inter Miami CF: Drake Callender ©; Jordi Alba, Tomás Avilés, Hector Martínez (Noah Allen 87'), Marcelo Weigandt (Ian Fray 89'), Julian Gressel (Lionel Messi 57'); Benjamin Cremaschi (Leo Campana 87'), Sergio Busquets; Robert Taylor (Diego Gomez 58'), Yannick Bright, Luis Suarez.
Substitutes Not Used: Cole Jensen, Sergii Kryvtsov, Franco Negri, Lawson Sunderland.
Full statistics available HERE.
