Argentinian football legend Lionel Messi scored his second hat-trick of the week as Inter Miami beat the New England Revolution 6-2 to smash the Major League Soccer's (MLS) regular season points record.
Inter Miami's win, in their final game of the regular season, took them to 74 points, securing the team's Supporters' Shield for the best record in the regular season to stamp themselves clear favourites in the MLS Cup playoffs which start next week.
Inter Miami, with the 74 points, surpassed New England's 2021 record, by one point.
Messi, 36, who came off the bench in the 58th minute and led the late flurry of goals, has now scored 20 goals in 19 appearances in MLS with his former Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez also notching 20, from 27 games.
The challenge of breaking the record added some spice to the final game of the regular season.
The match began with Revolution in a 2-0 lead which was soon levelled thanks to Luis Suarez's brace in three minutes, closing out the half.
Then, Messi, who had scored a hat-trick for Argentina against Bolivia earlier this week to level with Cristiano Ronaldo's international hat-trick record, entered the field in the 58th minute.
The Argentine attacker combined with Jordi Alba to start, with the fullback feeding midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi for the go-ahead strike, putting Miami up 3-2 from close range in the 59th minute.
the eight-time Ballon d'Or award winner made it 4-2, collecting a back-heeled pass from Suarez before brilliantly blasting into the far bottom corner.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star was on target again when he latched on to a superb pass from Jordi Alba and then he completed his hat-trick in the 89th minute when he met a volleyed cross from Suarez with a precise first time finish.
Messi's three goals came within an 11-minute spell and after his two month injury absence after the Copa America he now looks back to his best.
"I have the feeling that we have him in an ideal situation to face the most important part of the year," said Gerardo Martino, the head coach of Inter Miami.
At the post-game celebration of the Supporters Shield success, club co-owners David Beckham and Jorge Mas were joined by Fifa president Gianni Infantino who announced that the Shield had earned the team a place in the 2025 Club World Cup.
