Lionel Messi did not score in Miami. He did not need to. Rodrigo De Paul took one touch and found the net from the edge of the box, and the pass that set him up was Messi’s 14th assist of the MLS regular season, a league-leading number that keeps climbing even as Messi, at 39, decides when and where to inject himself into games.

The 2-0 win over New York City FC on Wednesday night put Inter Miami into the 2026 MLS playoffs. It is the club’s third consecutive postseason appearance since Messi joined in 2023, and comes after the reigning MLS Cup champions took back-to-back league wins for the first time since July.

Berterame breaks a long drought

The scoring opened in the 20th minute. Germán Berterame, played in by Luis Suárez, finished for his eighth goal of the season and his first since 24 May against Philadelphia Union. The Argentine forward had gone months without a goal in league play before ending the run against NYCFC.

De Paul doubled the lead before the break. Messi slid the ball into his path, and the midfielder drove it past the NYCFC goalkeeper. TSN reported it was Messi’s second straight match with an assist, three days after Miami’s 4-0 win at D.C. United on 11 October, in which Messi scored twice.

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Messi: 23 goals, 14 assists

Messi now leads MLS in both goals and assists heading into the final matchdays. The ESPN match report has him on 23 goals and 14 assists for the regular season, ahead of the field in both categories. He turned 39 on 24 June and has been directly involved in a goal in each of Miami’s past two matches.

Inter Miami sit second in the Eastern Conference on 52 points from 29 games.

“Everything becomes easier”

Head coach Cristian “Kily” González picked up his second league win since taking charge on 16 September. The former Argentina international replaced interim coach Guillermo Hoyos and was announced as permanent head coach on 27 August.

He credited the squad for buying into the plan.

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“When you have players who are willing to buy into the vision you’re trying to implement, everything becomes easier,” González told reporters after the win.

St. Clair saves it late

NYCFC pushed for a consolation and were awarded a penalty in the final minute, only for Nicolás Fernández to see his effort saved by Dayne St. Clair. The Miami goalkeeper kept his second consecutive clean sheet.

Miami travel to Atlanta United on Saturday.

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