Lalas comments on Lionel Messi’s recent goals against Nashville as solid but not extraordinary, yet highlights Messi’s consistency as making Inter Miami a “must see” team.
Messi scored twice and assisted Sergio Busquets in a 3-1 victory over Nashville.
Lalas acknowledges the routine nature of Messi’s goals but emphasizes his ongoing productivity, likening it to the excitement he brought to Barcelona and Argentina.
“He is incredible,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “And this was such an interesting game because the goals that we have now started to associate him with MLS, we’ve been doing it for years with Barcelona and Argentina, we’re associating with these magical moments.
“And yet both of these goals were nothing. If it wasn’t Messi, we’d be like, yeah, okay, whatever, just scored a penalty and then a broken play that he did finish off.
“But, the greatness is in that Messi is doing this and he’s doing it consistently and for this team in pink, each and every time they go out, they must see TV. And more often than not, they are delivering. And individually, when it comes to Messi right now, he is on a torrid pace and if he were to keep this up, we would see a historic production.”
Messi has been in stunning form, tallying nine goals and five assists in just 724 minutes of play this year.
His contributions have propelled Inter Miami from being league contenders to clear favorites for the MLS Cup.
However, Lalas rightly points out the importance of keeping Messi fit, as minor injuries have limited his playing time since joining the team in Florida.
Despite this concern, Inter Miami remains at the top of the Eastern Conference standings after 10 matches, setting the stage for an intriguing clash against the struggling New England Revolution this weekend.