Adri Mehmeti outshines Lionel Messi as New York Red Bulls upset Inter Miami in tight MLS playoff chase originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
HARRISON, N.J. — Fans flocked to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday evening to be wowed by Lionel Messi.
Instead, they were treated to the Adri Mehmeti show.
The 17-year-old American kid outshined the greatest player of all-time as the New York Red Bulls overwhelmed Inter Miami 2-0 to secure a massive three points in the MLS playoff race.
From the opening whistle, the Red Bulls pressed the Herons into oblivion, and Mehmeti was central to their ability to overwhelm the visitors.
In the first 15 minutes of the match, Inter Miami held 72 percent possession, but played practically the entire time in their own half, unable to get out of jail. It was a team effort from the hosts, truly, but Mehmeti's influence in midfield was undeniable.
"We hope it was a spectacle in the most positive sense," said Red Bulls head coach Michael Bradley after the game. "We understand the responsibility that, on certain nights, when certain teams come here with certain players, the spotlights come on a little brighter. That's our chance to show we have a pretty good team too."
It was Mehmeti, not Messi, who snatched the spotlight. Having just accepted the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports out in Spain just two days prior, Messi did not start the match. As Inter Miami floundered throughout the first half and into the early part of the second half, the crowd repeatedly chanted his name, hoping for their Argentine legend to come save the day. But even when he came on just past the hour mark, to great cheers and elation — the loudest the crowd was all evening — he was ineffective, hemmed in by the Red Bulls and left on an island with little help.
That had everything to do with Mehmeti. Playing alongside Ghanan international Mohammed Sofo, who was moved from his usual No. 10 position into a dual No. 8 role alongside Mehmeti, the American youngster shined throughout the match. Mehmeti led the Red Bulls with 82 touches and 55 accurate passes in his 85 minutes, able to keep Inter Miami's possession in front of him almost the entire way through.
"What else can I say," said Sofo of his midfield partner Mehmeti, "I mean, when you look at the quality he has, especially his age also, it's unbelievable.
"I think since I switched my position to No. 8, I think our connection has been amazing so far. I just hope we can play more games together.
"The maturity he has is unbelievable," Sofo said. "The vision he has, he knows when to play forward, when to calm down. Sometimes he does things I'm like 'wow.' For me, as a No. 8 or also as a No. 10, I try to find myself in the pockets, and sometimes he finds me with just two touches. Other players need to take a first touch, look for it, and then play it. But for him, he can just...second touch, he finds you."
It was the culmination of all of Mehmeti's best skill sets — passing, positioning, range, ball-stopping, and pressing — that came together on one evening to allow him to boss the match.
Adri Mehmeti just toying with a World Cup winner in Rodrigo De Paul here 🇺🇸 Only a matter of time until Mehmeti is getting a real run with the USMNT. Just 17. https://t.co/c3wvf85kGY
— Joseph Lowery (@joeclowery) October 24, 2026
"For a young player, Adri has...really good starting points," Bradley told reporters after the match. "He has personality, he has technical ability — the technical ability that you need to play in that spot when spaces are tight and things happen fast — he has a feel and understanding for the game, and the way things have gone this year, we've thrown an incredible amount at him.
"I didn't know coming into the season what exactly it was going to mean for Adri," the Re Bulls' coach continued. "We knew that they [the young players] were going to be a real part of the first team, and in the end we were going to see how it played out — how they responded every day, how they took to ideas, how they pushed themselves along in a group, how they earned respect.
"We have put a lot on Adri's plate, we expect a lot of him, he has a lot of responsibility in our team for a 17-year-old, and he doesn't bat an eye."
USMNT fans got a taste of what Mehmeti can bring to the midfield during the latest international break, but it was still just that — a taste. He played a total of 80 minutes across three international caps, 62 of which came in the 4-2 win over Chile.
This match tonight against Messi and company vintage Mehmeti, if such thing exists. He dazzled on the ball, passed all over the pitch, completed both his tackles, and led all outfield players in the match with 10 recoveries, tied with World Cup winner Rodrigo De Paul. By the end of the game, the statistical algorithm of FotMob had named Mehmeti Man of the Match, while he had the second-highest rating on SofaScore behind only Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, which makes little sense.
The star of 17-year-old sensation Cavan Sullivan has risen exponentially in recent months, and he stands to be an exciting player for the USMNT in the coming years, but Mehmeti might be the most important young player in the talent pool. He will have his work cut out for him breaking into a national team midfield that boasts the likes of Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Johnny Cardoso, Sebastian Berhalter, and Gio Reyna, but fans hope he can be the anchor of the next generation of midfield talent.
There's a long way to go for that to happen, but on the pitch in Harrison, New Jersey tonight, he stole the show from the greatest of all-time. That, at the very least, is something to get very excited about.