Lionel Messi scored his MLS-leading 26th goal in the 83rd minute as Inter Miami came from behind to beat the New England Revolution 2-1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Sunday, 1 November 2026.
Victory moved Miami above New England into second place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference, with one regular-season match still to play. Miami now hold 59 points from a 16-6-11 record, one point ahead of New England, who sit on 58 points from 18-11-4.
Why the result matters goes beyond the three points. According to MLS, the win also clinched Miami a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, and it put the club in control of the race for the conference’s second seed ahead of the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs. Philstar’s AFP report added that a win against Charlotte on Saturday would guarantee Miami home advantage until the Conference Finals.
New England had led through Daniel Gazdag’s 53rd-minute goal, and Miami’s comeback needed two moments of quality in the final 21 minutes. German Berterame levelled the match in the 69th minute, before Messi settled it with a weaving run and a low left-footed finish seven minutes from time.
Berterame, who scored the equaliser, praised the effort afterwards. “It was such an important occasion… they’re a very tough team — really difficult — so I think it was a tremendous effort,” he said, according to the AFP report carried by Philstar.
How the comeback unfolded
New England started the second half the stronger side. Peyton Miller slipped down the right flank to the byline in the 53rd minute, and his cut-back pass was backheeled by Ilay Feingold to Gazdag, who powered a first-time shot home, according to the AFP account.
Miami responded by increasing the pressure. Messi forced goalkeeper Matt Turner into a diving stop in the 65th minute, and Berterame pounced on the rebound, only for Brooklyn Raines to clear his second effort off the goal line and preserve New England’s lead.
Berterame levelled four minutes later. Telasco Segovia scooped a lofted pass into the penalty area for Messi, who reached it between two defenders but was not in position to send a header towards goal. Instead, Messi popped the ball airborne, allowing Berterame to arrive and power a downward effort beyond Turner into the bottom right corner.
Messi then produced the winner himself in the 83rd minute. Picking up a loose ball about 30 yards from goal, he slalomed through multiple New England defenders before wrapping his left foot around the ball and sending it low into the far corner past Turner, according to the AFP report. Segovia was credited with the assist on the goal in the Revolution’s official scoring summary, while Messi and Segovia were both credited on Berterame’s equaliser.
Miami had to survive one late scare. An 87th-minute apparent own-goal equaliser for the Revolution, involving Ian Fray, was overturned after video review, with referee Sergii Boiko ruling Luca Langoni offside on the play, according to AFP.
Chances had been scarce before half-time. Berterame forced Turner into a comfortable stop in the 28th minute, while New England’s best opening arrived nine minutes later, when Raines fired high on a one-time chance from close range, the AFP report said.
Playoff race goes to the final weekend
Miami’s win ended two runs at once. The Herons snapped a two-match winless run, while New England failed to extend a four-match winning streak and lost for the first time this season after being ahead or tied in the 75th minute, according to AFP.
Miami’s official MLS report noted the scale of the occasion in Foxborough. The match was played in front of 54,112 fans, a season high for New England and the second-largest home crowd in the club’s regular-season history, the Revolution’s official recap said.
Messi’s record against New England also continued. MLS reported that the Argentine recorded his fifth multi-goal contribution performance in six career matches against the Revolution, for a total of eight goals and six assists in those games.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano noted on X that Messi’s goal and assist took his career tally to 937 goals and 428 assists, according to Punch. That career tally is Romano’s count, not an official MLS or club figure, and it counts goals across Messi’s whole career rather than his MLS record alone, where his 26 goals this season lead the league.
What is confirmed is the state of the table and what comes next. Miami host Charlotte FC on Saturday, 7 November, in what Gulf News described as their regular-season finale. A win there would secure second place and home advantage through to the Conference Finals, according to the AFP report. New England, meanwhile, must wait to see whether their one-point deficit can still be overturned on the final weekend, with the second seed — and the playoff path that comes with it — still to be decided.
