Lionel Messi’s latest jaw-dropping assist has challenged our understanding of mathematics
Lionel Messi wasted little time before making his presence felt in Inter Miami’s MLS season opener – and the 37-year-old produced a stunning last-gap assist that has leading mathematicians stumped.
Inter Miami narrowly escaped Chase Stadium with a 2-2 draw against New York City FC, thanks in large part to Messi’s last-second heroics.
Messi made history on Saturday in just the first few minutes of the 2025 MLS season, becoming the fastest player to make 40 goal contributions in the league.
In 2024, he played just 19 games, scoring 20 goals and 16 assists, but injury and international duty kept him out for a significant amount of time.
Still, he became the fastest player to reach 25 goal contributions in a single season last year.
Only five minutes into the contest, he received a through pass from Jordi Alba and pulled it back across to set up Tomas Aviles for Inter Miami’s first goal of the MLS season.
It was also the 380th assist of Messi’s career. No other player has reached 300.
But New York fought back and went into the final seconds of the game holding a 2-1 lead. For all their star quality, Miami had huffed and puffed through the game and looked short of inspiration.
The MLS giants had also played the majority of the match with only 10 men after Toto Aviles was sent off with a red card.
Luckily for them, Messi has spent his entire career pulling rabbits out of hats.
As the clock ticked remorselessly towards the 100 minute mark , the 37-year-old collected possession midway in the New York half and scurried forward.
The opposition defenders, who have all grown up watching clips of Messi magic, made a passable impression of a panicking flock of sheep.
Amid the chaos and falling limbs, Messi picked the perfect moment to release the pass into the path of his new teammate Telasco Segovia.
Segovia dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s with a gorgeous dinked finish to level the game at the last.
When everyone around him was losing their head, Messi stayed cool and collected while picking out the perfect angle for his eye-of-the-needle assist.
It would take senior mathematicians years and an entire vanload of protractors to achieve a similar result.
OH MY 😱
Another Messi assist laaaate in stoppage time to equalize. pic.twitter.com/ZEt6KeD2Cf
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 23, 2025
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“He’s like a kid playing, and he doesn’t want to lose,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said of his star player after the game.
“So for us, it’s a big, big advantage. So just we need to keep him with this spirit because it’s not just what he does on the pitch, it’s what he translates to his teammates and all that he does with his 37 years.
“So it’s magnificent.”
Messi’s brilliance helped Inter Miami overcome two major individual errors to salvage a result, and that is exactly why he was named the club’s captain prior to the start of the campaign.
Such brilliance is been a weekly occurrence for almost two decades now. If only he could carry on forever.
By Michael Lee