Good, Bad & Ugly: Messi scores four, Inter Miami snaps winless skid with rout

Sparkling performance reminds fans how good the Herons can be

Inter Miami CF is not a perfect team; the Messi Project, in its fourth year, is a work in progress. But some nights, Las Garzas set aside the noise, the doubts and drama, and play beautiful soccer.

Saturday was such a night. The Herons came into their home game against CF Montréal on a five-match winless streak, with interim coach Guillermo Hoyos suspended and new coach Kily González unavailable while he obtains the appropriate work permits, and supporters grumbling about the team's direction.

Then the Herons outscored L'Impact 7-1. Lionel Messi scored four goals -- two on free kicks -- and added as assist to his good friend Luis Suárez, and Casemiro and Alexander Shaw each scored their first goals in Major League Soccer.

Inter Miami improved to 12-4-6 for 42 points and remain second in the Eastern Conference and third in the Supporters' Shield Standings; the Herons trail Nashville SC by 10 points. Montréal, which had been unbeaten in in its previous four matches, fell to 5-11-6 (21 points); L'Impact is 14th in the East. Here's a look at the Good, Bad & Ugly from Saturday, minus the Bad & Ugly; I'm sure if I looked hard enough, I could find something to criticize, but nothing comes immediately to mind:

GOOD -- Messi, obviously. The captain's performance moved him into first place in the league's Golden Boot race with 18 goals, two more than FC Dallas' Petar Musa; his 10 assists are tied for fourth. Messi is the only player to earn back-to-back MLS Most Valuable Player awards and just the second player to win the honor twice. On Saturday, he strengthened his claim to a third-straight MVP.

GOOD -- The lineup. Hoyos moved defensive midfielder Casemiro to center back, giving Yannick Bright, Rodrigo De Paul and Telasco Segovia space to recreate the midfield dominance they displayed before the World Cup break. The result was the Herons' most balanced performance in weeks. The 4-3-3 formation featured Dayne St. Clair in goal, center backs Casemiro and Maxi Falcón, wing backs Noah Allen and Ian Fray, midfielders Bright, De Paul and Segovia, and forwards Messi, Suárez and Germán Berterame.

The Herons earned an overall FotMob rating of 7.9 of a possible 10, and the soccer site rated every Inter Miami player 7.0 or higher, led by Messi's incredible 9.8.

GOOD -- First times. Casemiro showed off his vertical leap, soaring above a defender to head home a corner kick for his first-ever MLS goal in the 20th minute. Homegrown Heron Alexander Shaw, 18, tallied his first league goal in the 89th minute on a strike from distance.

The Herons host Atlanta United (6-13-3, 21 points, 13th in the Eastern Conference) and former Inter Miami manager Tata Martino on Saturday.

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