Lionel Messi Scores Twice, Inter Miami Beats Atlanta United 3-1 to Hold Second in the East

Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-minute span early in the second half and assisted on Germán Berterame's first-half header, and Inter Miami CF beat Atlanta United 3-1 on Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The win was Miami's third straight, came three days after the club clinched a place in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs, and kept the defending MLS Cup champions in second place in the Eastern Conference with four regular-season matches left.

Messi's goals were his 24th and 25th of the MLS season, extending his league lead, and his assist was his 15th, tying Los Angeles FC's Son Heung-min for the league lead in that category as well.

How the goals came

The match was scoreless until the final minute of the first half. Berterame headed in from close range in the 45th minute, with Luis Suárez and Messi credited with the assists. It was Berterame's ninth goal in his first 26 MLS appearances.

Miami put the game away soon after the break. In the 56th minute, Berterame turned provider, and Messi finished with his left foot from the center of the penalty area. Four minutes later, Miami broke quickly, Suárez and Berterame combined, and Messi again beat Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos with his left foot, this time into the bottom right corner, for a 3-0 lead.

Atlanta avoided the shutout only in the 89th minute. Substitute Fafà Picault converted a penalty kick after Miami defender Maximiliano Falcón, on as a 75th-minute replacement for Casemiro, was booked for the foul. Messi was also shown a yellow card in stoppage time.

The match by the numbers:

Atlanta actually outshot Miami 20-7, according to ESPN's match statistics, but put only three of those attempts on target. Miami was far more efficient, landing five of its seven shots on goal while holding 55 percent of possession. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made two saves and lost his bid for a third straight clean sheet only on the late penalty.

Messi's record chase

Saturday's performance pushed Messi deeper into MLS history. According to the Associated Press, he is now the first player in league history with at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons. He and Josef Martínez, the former Atlanta United striker, are the only players to score at least 25 goals in a regular season twice. Messi won the Golden Boot last season with 29 goals.

His 40 goal contributions this season leave him nine short of the single-season record of 49 set by Carlos Vela with LAFC in 2019. With four matches remaining, Messi would need to average more than two goals or assists per game to reach it.

His supporting cast is also putting up career numbers. Suárez's two assists gave him a career-high 11 for the season, and Berterame now has eight assists to go with his nine goals.

Playoff place secured, seeding still in play

Miami locked up its postseason berth on Wednesday, Oct. 14, with a 2-0 home win over New York City FC at Nu Stadium. Berterame and Rodrigo De Paul scored, and St. Clair kept a second straight clean sheet. The club said the result sent it to the playoffs for a third consecutive season and the fifth time overall.

After Saturday, Miami is 15-5-10 with 55 points from 30 matches, according to ESPN's standings. That is three points ahead of the New England Revolution, who beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 Saturday to reach 52. Nashville SC remains far ahead in first with 67 points after a 1-1 draw at San Jose.

The Eastern Conference top seven, as of Sunday morning:

The Supporters' Shield race is effectively Nashville's to lose. Going into the weekend, Nashville could have clinched with a win, or with a draw if the Vancouver Whitecaps also dropped points, according to Nashville SC's clinching scenarios. Vancouver won 2-1 at Austin to reach 55 points, and Miami's win also kept the math alive, so the Shield was not decided Saturday. Nashville is chasing the MLS single-season points record of 74, which Inter Miami set in 2024.

The Orlando angle

The other Florida club also won Saturday. Orlando City beat D.C. United 4-1 at Inter&Co Stadium, with Antoine Griezmann scoring twice and assisting on Martín Ojeda's goal. The French star has 12 goals and seven assists in his first 14 MLS appearances. Orlando moved to 41 points, holding seventh place in the East, five points above the line for the wild-card round.

That standing matters for Miami. In the first round, the No. 2 seed in each conference faces the No. 7 seed in a best-of-three series, so if the table held, the playoffs would open with a Florida derby between Inter Miami and Orlando City. Miami won the regular-season meeting in Orlando 4-2 in March.

Atlanta's season

For Atlanta, the loss dropped the club to 8-16-6 and 30 points, 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference. Atlanta had won 3-0 at CF Montréal in midweek and had drawn Miami 2-2 at Nu Stadium in September, but it could not keep pace Saturday despite the shot advantage. Miguel Almirón, who started for Atlanta and was replaced by Picault in the 82nd minute, entered the night tied for the team lead with six goals. Miami now leads the all-time series with nine wins to Atlanta's seven, with five draws.

What's next

Miami closes the regular season with two road matches and two at home, and the final weekend is Decision Day.

The Nov. 1 trip to New England could decide second place. After Decision Day on Nov. 7, the league pauses for the November international window. Wild-card matches are set for Nov. 18, and best-of-three first-round series run from Nov. 20 to Dec. 2, with the higher seed hosting Games 1 and 3. MLS Cup is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 18. Orlando City hosts New York City FC on Saturday, and Atlanta hosts the Chicago Fire.