Lionel Messi’s brilliance lifts Inter Miami over Revolution in Foxboro
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FOXBORO – It took a trademark performance from Lionel Messi, and a goal to be overturned by VAR just before full time, but Inter Miami got the last laugh on the New England Revolution at a packed and loud Gillette Stadium on…
FOXBORO – It took a trademark performance from Lionel Messi, and a goal to be overturned by VAR just before full time, but Inter Miami got the last laugh on the New England Revolution at a packed and loud Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.
Messi had a goal and assist in the second half – his 27th and 17th of the campaign, respectively – to deliver a 2-1 victory to star-studded Miami, which leapfrogged the Revolution into second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
With one game left before the playoffs, the Revolution will finish in third place unless they beat Orlando City SC next week and Miami loses or draws its finale against Charlotte. As it stands, the Revolution (18-11-4, 58 points) would play Miami on the road if both clubs meet in the postseason.
“From the standings perspective, you could say we lost our chance at second place, but chasing second place was not our intention tonight,” Revolution head coach Marko Mitrovic said. “We had the champion of the league in front of us, and we wanted to see where we are and how we can compete against the best teams in the league. This game showed us where we are and how it can help us move forward.
“I thought it was a pretty good game. There were moments when we were up 1-0 and had the game in our hands. There are certain details we could have handled better, but it’s easy to say that afterward. The game started to move in their direction, and we’ll analyze it, as we do everything else, and move forward.”
Sunday night’s clash had a playoff feel. A season-high announced crowd of 54,112 – the fourth-highest attendance in Revolution single-game history – descended on Foxboro and was highly engaged from the start with a smattering of pink and black Miami jerseys dotting the stands at Gillette Stadium.
A loud pop filled the ground when the Revolution opened the scoring in the 54th minute off Daniel Gazdag’s third goal of the season. Peyton Miller set the play up, running toward the end line before crossing into the heart of the box, where Ilay Feingold touched it along to Gazdag, who fired past Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
Dor Turgeman had a chance to double the lead moments later, but Miami’s back line broke up the play before he had a chance to set his shot or play a pass.
The equalizer came in the 69th minute. Telasco Segovia crossed into the penalty, where a double-marked Messi flicked the ball back with his head toward German Berterame, who headed the ball on and past Matt Turner.
Messi scored the game-winner in the 83rd minute, firing past Turner after going in alone on Segovia’s feed and leaving defenders Ethan Kohler and Brooklyn Raines behind.
“When you play against players like Messi — arguably the best player in the history of the game — they can produce inspirational moments,” Mitrovic said. “The goal he scored came from a bit of a scramble, but he has an incredibly high level of execution in those situations.”
Match referee Ricardo Montero Araya called back an apparent own goal that would have tied the game in the 89th minute after VAR review, determining second half substitute Luca Langoni had been offside on the pass preceding the decisive play.
“There were probably a couple of situations where we could have had a better setup behind the ball,” Mitrovic said. “In the second half, when it was 1-0, there were two moments when I felt we rushed our play and tried to play into spaces where it’s not ours and it kind of built momentum for them, and it became more difficult for us to regain control of the game.
“That’s a big takeaway from games like this: all the details matter. One or two wrong passes can change the dynamic.”
Sunday Night Soccer taps into best in class production
Sunday Night Soccer profited off the a high-energy atmosphere at Gillette Stadium, drawing the venue’s largest crowd since it hosted seven matches during this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
The nationally distributed series is available to all Apple TV+ subscribers at no additional cost, with no MLS Season Pass subscription required. The broadcasts are supported by dedicated studio programming, including the pregame shows MLS Countdown and MLS La Previa.
Sunday’s game featured English- and Spanish-language coverage. Former Revolution striker Taylor Twellman and Jake Zivin lead the English broadcast, while Diego Valeri and Sammy Sadovnik provide Spanish-language commentary. Sideline reporters contribute to coverage in both languages.
“The secret sauce is consistency,” said Joe Rodriguez, the senior director of live production. “When you tune into a match, you know you’re going to get the same picture quality every time. There won’t be one match that looks pixelated or blurry. That quality and consistency are there across the board.
“Soccer is also a nuanced game, and we gathered the best soccer commentators and analysts from across the globe to deliver that experience to viewers around the world. It’s not just a domestic product — it’s a global one.”
Behind the scenes, the broadcast used 11 manned cameras and approximately 20 cameras overall. The setup included point-of-view cameras, a Nucleus Gold robotic camera, handheld cameras, a reverse camera and super-slow-motion cameras.
A specialized low camera positioned behind the goal was also part of the production. The camera provides a distinctive perspective on attacking plays and goalmouth action.
Approximately 50 people worked on the broadcast, including a traveling technical staff of about 10 and a group of roughly 16 announcers and production personnel who travel together each week. Around 30 local crew members, including audio technicians, camera operators and replay staff, supported the event at Gillette Stadium.
The combination of a major crowd, star-driven interest and an expansive bilingual production underscored the growing reach of Sunday Night Soccer and Apple’s MLS coverage.