Lionel Messi has scored seven goals in Inter Miami’s past six matches, including a brace inside four minutes during a 3-1 win over Atlanta. At 39, the Argentine remains the deciding figure in a side that has quietly moved up a gear since the international break.

ESPN’s latest MLS power rankings, published on Monday by Meg Swanick, placed the Herons second behind Nashville SC, up one spot after a three-match winning run. St. Louis City SC dropped to third following their first defeat since May; Philadelphia Union held fourth.

The climb matters more for the seeding than for the standings. Nashville have been fixed at the top for weeks and sit 12 points clear of Miami on 67. Both clubs have already clinched a playoff place, which leaves one real question for the final stretch: how close to Nashville can Kily González’s side get?

Nashville one win from the Shield

B.J. Callaghan’s Nashville stood on 66 points through 30 matches heading into the weekend. A 1-1 draw at San Jose added one more, delaying the Supporters’ Shield celebration but keeping them inside record range.

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The record itself is Miami’s. Inter Miami set the single-season MLS mark of 74 points in 2024. Nashville have three fixtures left; to beat the mark outright, they would have to win all three.

González’s three-match surge

Miami are a different side from the one that spent most of the summer looking for a coach. Kily González took the job on 15 September, ending a five-month spell during which Guillermo Hoyos ran the squad as interim after Javier Mascherano’s departure. The former Argentina international is the third name on the Miami bench this year.

Messi has carried the attack through all of it. ESPN’s season tracker credited him with 38 goals and 17 assists in 41 matches across all competitions as of 10 October. In September he became the first player in MLS history to record 30-plus goal contributions in three separate seasons.

Playoffs after 7 November

The MLS regular season runs through 7 November, with the playoffs following from 18 November to the MLS Cup final on 18 December. The Shield winner takes home-field advantage through to the final.

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A win at CF Montréal on Saturday would clinch the Shield for Nashville with two games to spare, leaving two more fixtures to try to beat Miami’s 74.

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