Lionel Messi will fight for another trophy. Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets are also clearly not ready to retire.
Tadeo Allende scored three goals – Alba and Busquets, a pair of Messi's longtime teammates who will retire when this season ends, had assists on the first two goals – and Inter Miami topped the rankings. New York City Saturday night, 5-1 for the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the MLS Cup finals.
Mateo Silvetti scored in the 67th minute. Inter Miamiand Messi has set this goal – his 405th career assist for club and country, which is generally considered to be the most in football history. Telasco Segovia scored Alba's backheel pass in the 83rd minute to turn it into an escape, and Allande completed the hat-trick in the 89th minute for the final game.
Inter Miami, the No. 3 seed in the East, will host San Diego or Vancouver for the title on Dec. 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET. San Diego and Vancouver will play for the Western Conference title later Saturday night.
This will be the first MLS last appearance for Inter Miami, which had never advanced past the first round of the postseason in any of its first five seasons. This season, Messi's club beat Vancouver 0-2, losing both legs of the Concacaf Champions Cup semi-finals by an aggregate score of 5-1.
Justin Haack scored in the 37th minute for New York, which beat Inter Miami 0-2-1 this season.
The win moves Inter Miami one step closer to another trophy after winning the League Cup in 2023 and the Supporters' Shield as the top team in the MLS regular season last year. Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina and now an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, joined the team midway through the 2023 season when it was bottom of the MLS standings and on an 11-match winless streak.
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Now? The club's brand is global, Messi's No. 10 jersey in the club's pink kit is sold around the world, a new stadium near Miami International Airport is being prepared for next season, Messi is under contract until 2028, he appears close to winning his second consecutive MLS MVP award, and the team is on the verge of winning the MLS title.
Stars flock to see this team because of Messi; tennis great Carlos Alcaraz was there Saturday night, as were some members of the U.S. women's national team.
In the ninth minute, Messi was hit on the left side of his head and was briefly jolted, remaining down near the center circle for several seconds before eventually rising to his feet. About two minutes later, he was tripped by an Inter Miami attack and then fired a direct shot from about 30 yards into the box, but Silvetti's header was easily caught by New York goalkeeper Matt Freese.
Inter Miami's next chance came a minute later. The chance was converted, with Busquets' long pass controlled by Allende, who easily beat Frieze from around 12 yards for a 1-0 lead.
Allende headed in again from Alba's long pass in the 23rd minute to make it 2-0. And after Messi gave Silvetti a 3-1 lead, the roughly 25-minute countdown to celebration began.
