The iconic Argentine combined with Luis Suárez three times to give the Uruguayan superstar a hat-trick. He also assisted on every account of Paraguayan midfielder Matias Rojas, who was making his first start for the club since joining from Brazilian side Corinthians in April. The 28-year-old first struck a thunderbolt from Messi’s line-up in the 48th minute and also found the net again in the 62nd minute with a cheeky through ball from Messi.
Between these shots, Messi again found the scoreboard himself with a shot in the 50th minute. He then provided three more assists before the end of the contest, all three of which saw Suárez find the net (69′, 75′ and 81′). It marked a continuation of Suárez’s own blistering pace, as he now has 10 goals in 11 games this season, trailing Messi for the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi. (Messi has the assist).
Messi’s latest record comes just one week after he hit two goals against Inter Miami on Matchday 11 at the New England Revolution, becoming the first player in MLS history to score multiple goals in five consecutive games and set the record for most assists (16) ) by any MLS player through the first seven games of a season.
When the dust settled on Matchday 12, Messi found himself with an incredible 10 goals and 12 assists just eight games into his 2024 season. Those exploits have the Herons leading the previous Supporters’ Shield with 24 points from 12 games (7W-2L-3D).
At this point, no record seems certain from the legendary number 10.