Messi provided a record five assists and scored a goal, while Suarez scored a hat trick in the Eastern Conference win over the New York Red Bulls.
Luis Suarez scored a hat trick and Lionel Messi added an incredible five assists and a goal in the second half as Inter Miami beat the New York Red Bulls 6-2 in Major League Soccer.
Substitute Matias Rojas scored two goals in the second half to ensure defeat against Eastern Conference leaders Inter after New York had led 1-0 at the break.
Without Messi, Miami suffered a 4-0 defeat to the Red Bulls in New York in March, but on Saturday they more than avenged that defeat with a merciless second-half blast.
Messi’s five assists, all of which came in the second half, set a new record for an MLS game and he has 10 goals and 12 assists in eight league appearances so far this season.
Messi, operating behind Suárez and covering the smallest gaps while using his former Barcelona teammate’s telepathic understanding of his intentions, was simply too much for the Red Bulls, who came into the game third in the East.
“Obviously what we saw today surprises people because you don’t see that in football,” Suarez said of Messi’s five assists.
“But as a teammate and someone who knows him, nothing about him surprises me,” the Uruguayan added.
The 37-year-old Suarez’s three-point combinations take his own tally to 10 in 11 league games for Miami, and while he is no longer blessed with speed, his deadly finishing clearly remains intact.
While it was the kind of attacking performance that Miami owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham certainly dreamed of when they brought in the star duo, there were no signs of explosiveness in the first half.
Dante Vanzeir gave the Red Bulls the lead in the 30th minute, firing home after Wikelman Carmona’s shot hit the post following a great through ball from Swedish playmaker Emil Forsberg.
Gerardo Martino’s Inter lacked intensity and ideas in the first 45 minutes, but the change of coach at half-time changed the game.
Paraguay’s Rojas were deployed in the second half and needed just three minutes to make their impact, receiving a pass from Messi and evading two defenders before firing an unstoppable shot from 25 yards out.
Messi then gave Miami the lead when Rojas robbed Carmona and found Suarez, who passed the ball to the Argentine, who made no mistake.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner then became the provider again as he split the New York defense with a brilliant through ball to Rojas, who deftly played past the advancing Carlos Coronel.
Suarez’s hat-trick then came within 12 minutes – he found the net for the first time when Messi shot a ball into the goal from the right and the Uruguayan volleyed into the goal.
A few minutes later, Suarez played a one-two with Messi and then shot into the goal to make it 5-1.
Messi was once again the creator of Miami’s sixth goal, which Suarez converted from point-blank range from a tight angle.
“The partnership of his [Messi] and Luis [Suarez] “In the second half, like old times, it worked very well… They had a big influence on the game,” Martino said.
New York managed a late consolation in the final seconds with a penalty from Forsberg.