Messi extends MLS record scoring streak after Nashville GK's dreadful error | OneFootball

Lionel Messi certainly doesn't need any help scoring goals in MLS, even in the twilight of his career at age 38. But if opposing defenses are going to keep gifting him opportunities, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is going to keep taking them.

Messi extended his MLS record of consecutive league games scoring multiple goals to five in Saturday's highly anticipated home meeting with Nashville SC.

And Coyotes goalkeeper Joe Willis must have wanted to run and hide after how he helped set up Messi's second of the evening with an ill-advised pass that arrived directly at the feet of the Argentine, with no other defenders to beat.

In truth, it also perhaps felt like Willis should've done better on Messi's first, a free kick driven into the bottom left corner, inside the left post toward which Willis was cheating.

Those two moments ultimately decided a critical top-of-the-Eastern Conference clash in Miami's favor, a 2-1 win that will bring the Herons within three points of the Coyotes.

Friendly fire in the Golden Boot race

Making matters worse, the two goals pulled Messi to 16 total and tied atop the leaderboard for the MLS Golden Boot, the annual award bestowed upon the league's top goal scorer. The other man on 16 goals? None other than Willis' Nashville teammate Sam Surridge.

When Surridge scored his last goal from the penalty spot in Nashville's 1-0 league win at D.C. United on June 28, Messi was six behind and not even in the top five of the leaderboard.

Since then, Messi scored two brilliant goals at CF Montreal on July 5 and two more tallies on Wednesday night against the New England Revolution. Messi also got a gift against the Revs in the form of an equally ill-advised header from defenderTanner Beason that played Messi in on goal.

Despite Messi's hot streak of 10 total goals in his last five MLS matches, he remains behind last year's pace in terms of goal contributions per 90 minutes.

Messi finished the 2024 campaign with 20 goals and 16 assists, despite only making 19 total MLS appearances (15 starts). That was good for an astounding 2.06 goal contributions per 90 minutes. And if he could've made even 30 appearances, he likely would have shattered the all-time record of 49 goal contributions in a season set by LAFC's Carlos Vela in 2019.