SoFla Guide Editors
Lionel Messi came off the bench, but he couldn’t drag Inter Miami back into it. The New York Red Bulls beat the Herons 2-0 on Saturday, October 24, 2026, in Harrison, New Jersey, the Associated Press reported, with an early own goal and a late gift-wrapped finish from Emil Forsberg doing the damage. The big question for South Florida fans: did starting Messi on the bench cost Miami the game?
What happened in Harrison
The night went sideways fast. In the 7th minute, Inter Miami midfielder Casemiro deflected a Cade Cowell cross into his own net, according to the Associated Press. That’s not the kind of early lead you want to hand anyone, let alone a team fighting for its playoff life.
Miami never found the equalizer. Then, in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, the Red Bulls put it away. Forsberg, who had subbed on in the 85th minute, scored at 90+1 with assists credited to Cameron Harper and Ronald Donkor, the AP reported.
The goal came straight from a Miami mistake. According to WSVN 7News, Harper intercepted a poor pass from Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and squared it to the Swedish midfielder for a tap-in. Painful.
St. Clair did finish with four saves, per Reuters. At the other end, Red Bulls goalkeeper Ethan Horvath needed only two saves to earn the clean sheet, the AP reported.
The match was played at Sports Illustrated Stadium, also known as Red Bull Arena, as part of MLS Matchday 31.
The Messi question
Messi did not start. He entered as a substitute in the 56th minute, replacing Riquelme Fillipi, and played roughly 34 to 35 minutes, according to the AP.
So why the bench? The reporting provided here doesn’t include an explanation from the coaching staff, so we’re not going to guess at one. What we can tell you is the context. Messi had traveled to Oviedo, Spain, to receive the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, then flew back to the United States in time for this match. That’s a lot of air miles right before a road game.
Did it cost Miami the result? The facts paint a mixed picture. Miami was already trailing by the time Messi came on, thanks to that 7th-minute own goal. Once he was in, he didn’t change the scoreline: Horvath did not face a single shot from Messi, the AP reported. That’s a rare quiet night for a player who came into the game having scored or assisted in 13 consecutive matches for club and country.
And the goal that sealed it had nothing to do with who was or wasn’t on the field to start. It came from a goalkeeper’s misplaced pass in stoppage time.
Meanwhile, one of the Red Bulls’ youngest players drew attention. Adri Mehmeti, a 17-year-old American midfielder born in New York City, started and played 85 minutes. A Yahoo Sports headline went as far as saying Mehmeti reportedly “outshone” Messi. That’s a judgment call, but it’s the kind of headline a teenager will probably screenshot.
What it means for Inter Miami
Zoom out and this is a bump, not a crisis. Inter Miami entered the match as the defending 2025 MLS Cup champions with a playoff berth already clinched, sitting second in the Eastern Conference. Their record now stands at 15-6-10 with 55 points, according to Reuters.
Still, it snapped some good momentum. The loss ended Miami’s three-game winning streak, a stretch in which the Herons had outscored opponents 9-1, the AP reported. It also broke a strong run against this particular opponent: Miami had gone 3-0-1 in the previous four meetings with the Red Bulls, outscoring them 17-6.
For New York, this one was huge. The Red Bulls had lost their previous two matches and came into the day clinging to the final playoff spot in the East. With the win, they moved into a playoff position at 11-14-6 and 39 points, Reuters reported.
Forsberg, a Swedish international who joined the Red Bulls from RB Leipzig, got a nice personal boost too with his stoppage-time tap-in.
The takeaway
Miami fans can breathe. The playoff ticket is already punched. But the two goals the Herons gave up were both self-inflicted, an own goal and a turnover from their own keeper, and that’s the part worth cleaning up before the games that really count.
As for Messi, a limited, shot-free cameo after a trip across the Atlantic and back isn’t the story anyone in South Florida wanted. Whether starting him would have changed anything is a question only the coaching staff can answer, and so far, they haven’t on the record.
