Messi shines as Inter Miami beats Toronto 4-2 on road in front of record crowd
A record crowd of 44,828 filled an expanded BMO Field Saturday afternoon and saw defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami, with its superstar captain, Lionel Messi, put on a show in a 4-2 win over Toronto FC.
It was a much-needed win for Miami after an embarrassing collapse and home loss against Orlando City last weekend.
Miami led 4-0 at the 81-minute mark on Saturday after goals by Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suarez, Sergio Reguilon and Messi. Once again, Miami fans were on edge after the team’s defensive lapses led to late goals, both by Colombian forward Emilio Aristizabal. But this time, the men in pink held on and Messi left the field in a good mood after being named Man of the Match with a goal and two assists.
Messi reached 100 goal contributions in his 64th MLS game, the quickest any player in league history has reached that milestone.
“It was a hard game, and it was difficult to play, especially in the first half,” Messi said in a post-game interview with Apple TV. “But we were able to get an important win because we had to win given the recent results and how things happened, so I am happy.”
Miami interim coach Guillermo Hoyos, who has been Messi’s confidant since the Argentine star was a teenager, used his post-game press conference to stress the importance of “protecting” Messi. He did not specify if he was referring to the media, referees or security guards, who allowed two pitch invaders to nearly tackle Messi.
“We have to take much better care of him, there’s only one Messi,” Miami interim coach Guillermo Hoyos said after the game. “We have to take care of him because he fills stadiums. Don’t abandon him. Say what you have to say and don’t be timid, there’s no problem with public expression. But I’m telling you straight up, we have to look after the players and protect them because they are the real stars.”
The stadium capacity was increased from 28,000 for the upcoming World Cup, and the temporary stands were open for the first time on Saturday as a test run. There were plenty of pink No. 10 shirts and Argentina jerseys sprinkled among the crowd, as there always are when Messi visits opponent’s home fields.
Hoyos complimented the BMO Field stadium, saying it was lovely and worthy of hosting World Cup matches, but he complained about the condition of the field itself, saying it needs to be improved to be up to the standards required by elite World Cup players.
“The playing field needs to be fixed because the risk for players such as the ones we have are increased on a field like that,” he said.
Inter Miami took a 1-0 lead into halftime after a screamer of a goal from De Paul in the 44th minute. It appeared Messi was setting up to take a free kick, but De Paul took it instead. His shot bounced off the wall, and he cranked a shot, which bounced in off the left post.
The Miami players ran over to De Paul for a group celebration.
Messi had missed a close-range shot five minutes earlier off a nice feed from Suarez, and seemed delighted to see his close friend De Paul score.
Suarez, Messi’s other best friend on the team, doubled the lead to 2-0 at the 56-minute mark with a left-footed shot to the bottom left corner after receiving a pass from Messi following a fast break.
Miami left back Sergio Reguilon, who has missed much of the season due to injuries, came in off the bench in the 68th minute, replacing Noah Allen. The Spaniard made an immediate impact, scoring in the 73rd minute off a give-and-go with Messi.
Two minutes later, after spending all afternoon setting up his teammates, it was time for Messi to get on the scoreboard. He and De Paul connected at the end of a fast break, and Messi, surrounded by Toronto defenders, found the back of the net with his trusty left foot.
Holding a 4-0 lead, it appeared Miami was in cruise control, but then Toronto got back into the game with two late goals by Aristizabal. The first was the result of an errant clearance by Miami midfielder David Ayala, who had just entered the game as a substitute.
Hoyos said it did not concern him that Inter Miami conceded two late goals.
“No worries,” he said. “There were many good things and the game manifests itself in different ways. I am grateful to our players who made a great effort and performance on a very difficult field...Our team and players have a significant presence wherever they play and express themselves in an extraordinary way and open any defense, any game situation. We’re talking about players who are cracks, cracks, cracks.”
Both teams were looking to bounce back from embarrassing home losses. Miami was coming off a 4-3 loss to Orlando in the Florida Derby, a match in which they surrendered four goals in a row after taking a 3-0 lead in the first half.
Injury-plagued Toronto, coached by Robin Fraser, a Miami Palmetto High grad and former FIU soccer star, conceded a late hat trick in a 3-1 loss to visiting Atletico Ottawa on Tuesday in the first round of the Canadian Championship.
It was a homecoming for Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, a Canadian national team goalkeeper who celebrated his 29th birthday on Saturday and grew up 35 miles from Toronto. St. Clair, the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year with Minnesota United, has had an up and down first season with Miami and is highly motivated to play well as he vies for a starting role on Canada’s World Cup team.
De Clair made a big save in first-half added time on a shot by Daniel Salloi from the center of the box.
“I thought I did decent,” St. Clair said. “Their first goal was a mistake [from Miami] and the second one was a good finish. I didn’t have too, too much to do. Sometimes in my performances, with the way that we play, I don’t get too many opportunities to be judged on, so it’s not always as black and white as it may seem in other situations. I thought I did what I could...my long ball to Reguilon led to his goal and the save at the end of the first half was a key moment to keep the score 1-nil at halftime.”
Joining St. Clair and Messi in the starting lineup were right back Facundo Mura, center back Gonzalo Lujan, center back Micael, left back Noah Allen, midfielder Yannick Bright, midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, midfielder Telasco Segovia, winger German Berterame and forward Luis Suarez.
Lujan replaced Maxi Falcon in the Starting XI. Left back Sergio Reguilon and midfielder David Ayala were back from injury and available on the bench. Other Miami substitutes included Mateo Silvetti, Rocco Rios-Novo, David Ruiz, Daniel Pinter, Preston Plambeck, and Alex Shaw.
Ian Fray missed the game with a lower leg injury. Tadeo Allende was left off the game roster as a precaution for signs of muscle fatigue, per a team spokesman. Allende scored an MLS playoff record nine goals during Miami’s MLS Cup run, but has not scored through eight games this season.
With Saturday’s win, Inter Miami moved into second place in the Eastern Conference with 22 points. Nashville SC is in first place with 23 points. Toronto dropped a spot to ninth.
Toronto’s veteran center back Walker Zimmerman, a two-time MLS Defender of the Year, played Messi several times while with Nashville SC and explained the challenges of facing Messi in the leadup to the game .
“There’s no denying [Messi’s] talent; his ability to change the game at any given point in time,” Zimmerman said. “He just raises awareness of all the people that play against him because anytime you’re in an individual moment, you’re like, ‘I’m gonna stop him.’ And that can be good or bad. I’ve seen it go both ways.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 1:33 PM.