FOXBOROUGH, MA– The New England Revolution (9-4-21, 31 pts.) were defeated 6-2 versus Inter Miami CF (22-8-4, 74 pts.) on Saturday night.
The match kicked off at 6:00 p.m. ET at Chase Stadium to a crowd of 25,000.
Tonight's starting XI 👊 pic.twitter.com/s7FQFIBeQh
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 19, 2024
The team started their lineup in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Aljaž Ivačič starting in net with a backline of (left back) Will Sands, (center backs) Dave Romney, and Xavier Arreaga, along with (right back) Brandon Bye. The midfield spots were manned by Matt Polster (left defensive midfield) and Alhassan Yusuf (right defensive midfield), with Esmir Bajraktarević appearing ahead of them (central attacking midfield). The forward roles were manned by Dylan Borrero (left wing), Luca Langoni (right wing), and Giacomo Vrioni as the lone striker.
🔴🔵#MIAvNE pic.twitter.com/2CKzBF9eix
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 19, 2024
The match began with Inter Miami starting from the center circle and swiftly advancing the ball into New England’s defensive third through the midfield.
In just the 2nd minute, New England took the lead.
Luca Langoni gets us on the board early 👏#MIAvNE | 0-1 pic.twitter.com/ysixe8R1J4
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 19, 2024
Following an interception by Alhassan Yusuf, he managed to dribble up the field and slot a through-ball to midfielder Luca Langoni. He took two touches, looked to square the ball, which then deflected back to Langoni for a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner for the 1-0 lead.
Inter Miami’s first chance of the match came in the 13th minute when midfielder #24 Julian Gressel’s effort was parried away by goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič.
In the 34th minute, New England added to their lead.
Dylan's goal! ⚽🎥#MIAvNE pic.twitter.com/mRS99u9FnC
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 19, 2024
Midfielder Alhassan Yusuf managed to slide the ball forward to find Dylan Borrero for the close shot that managed to sneak under the arms and legs of goalkeeper #1 Drake Callender to make it 2-0 to New England.
In the 39th minute, Inter Miami pulled one back.
U RU GUA YO !!!! 🇺🇾 Luis Suárez marca el primero de la noche 💥 VAMOS!!! pic.twitter.com/vc4QasKtgG
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 19, 2024
Following a pass from defender #14 David Martínez, forward #9 Luis Suárez managed to slot home his left-footed effort into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1.
Just 2 minutes later, Inter Miami leveled the scoreline.
EL PISTOLERO DOES IT AGAIN 💥 pic.twitter.com/o8ysABx6te
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 19, 2024
Following a bad giveaway, midfielder #42 Yannick Bright managed to find forward #9 Luis Suárez, who took 5 touches, did a cutback move, and then unleashed a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner to level the score at 2-2.
After the initial 45+1 minutes, the match entered halftime with the scoreline level at 2-2.
Halftime. #MIAvNE | @SantanderBankUS pic.twitter.com/FjANggmnbj
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 19, 2024
The second half began with New England starting from the center circle and quickly advanced the ball into Inter Miami’s defensive third.
Inter Miami had the first chance of the second half when forward #9 Luis Suárez struck the post in the 55th minute.
In the 57th minute, Inter Miami CF head coach Tata Martino made his first two changes of the match by replacing midfielders #16 Robert Taylor and #24 Julian Gressel for midfielders #20 Diego Gómez and #10 Lionel Messi.
Less than 30 seconds later, Inter Miami gained the lead.
LEO 🐐 ➡️ JORDI ➡️ BENJA 🤩✨ pic.twitter.com/NbH0HahZeU
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 19, 2024
Midfielder #10 Lionel Messi managed to combine with defender #18 Jordi Alba, who then crossed the ball centrally to find midfielder #30 Benjamin Cremaschi for the tap-in finish.
Just two minutes later, in the 59th minute, Revolution head coach Caleb Porter made his first change of the match by replacing Giacomo Vrioni with Bobby Wood.
Inter Miami’s next chance came in the 62nd minute when midfielder #20 Diego Gomez’ effort was saved by goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič.
Entering the 72nd minute, New England thought they had leveled the scoreline from a goal scored by Bobby Wood, however, the play was shockingly pulled back for a handball, and the scoreline remained 3-2 to Inter Miami.
In the 77th minute, Inter Miami added to their lead.
Gol del mejor futbolista de la historia ✨ pic.twitter.com/U5T0upXLTK
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 19, 2024
Forward #9 Luis Suárez laid the ball off for midfielder #10 Lionel Messi, who elected for a left-footed shot that snuck into the bottom right corner to make it 4-2 to Inter Miami.
Less than a minute later, Inter Miami added to their lead once again.
2️⃣ GOALS IN 3️⃣ MINUTES FOR MESSI ✨ pic.twitter.com/t8yqu8FLBP
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 19, 2024
Defender #18 Jordi Alba managed to slide the ball in-behind to find midfielder #10 Lionel Messi for the left-footed finish to make it 5-2 to Inter Miami.
In the 86th minute, both teams made changes. Revolution head coach Caleb Porter made his final two changes of the match by replacing Esmir Bajraktarević and Luca Langoni with Nacho Gil and Emmanuel Boateng. Inter Miami CF head coach Tata Martino replaced midfielder #30 Benjamin Cremaschi and defender #14 David Martinez with forward #8 Leo Campana and defender #32 Noah Allen.
Just two minutes later, in the 88th minute, Inter Miami scored yet again.
No caption needed 🔟🐐 pic.twitter.com/J0kgXx5rkA
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 20, 2024
Midfielder #8 Leo Campana played a scooped aerial through-ball to find forward #9 Luis Suárez, who then elected for the aerial scissor-kick cross to find midfielder #10 Lionel Messi for the tap-in finish to complete his hat trick and solidify a 6th goal for Miami.
In the 90th minute, Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino made his final change of the match by replacing defender #57 Marcelo Weigandt with defender #17 Ian Fray.
After the 90+4 minutes, the match concluded with Inter Miami holding on for the comfortable 6-2 victory.
Final.#MIAvNE | @SantanderBankUS pic.twitter.com/ka0GFtHxHX
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) October 20, 2024
With the result, Inter Miami CF have clinched the MLS single-season points record (74 points).
The New England have been eliminated from the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. This result moves New England to 14th in the MLS Eastern Conference.
The New England Revolution are into the offseason and will look to rebuild for the upcoming 2025 season.
(Editor’s Note: For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)