FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi will play for another trophy, proving that longtime teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets aren’t ready to begin their retirements just yet.
Tadeo Allande scored three goals, with Alba and Busquets providing the assists on his first two, as Inter Miami topped New York City FC 5-1 on Saturday night to claim the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the MLS Cup final.
Mateo Silvetti also scored in the 67th minute for Inter Miami, with Messi setting up that goal — the 405th assist of his illustrious career for club and country. This milestone is widely regarded as the most assists in soccer history.
Inter Miami, the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, will host either San Diego or Vancouver for the MLS Cup final on December 6 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. San Diego and Vancouver are set to face off later Saturday night for the Western Conference title.
This marks Inter Miami’s first MLS final appearance. The club had never advanced past the opening postseason round in any of its first five seasons. Interestingly, Messi’s team went 0-2 against Vancouver this season, losing both legs of a semifinal meeting in the CONCACAF Champions Cup by a 5-1 aggregate.
Justin Haak scored in the 37th minute for NYCFC, which finished the season 0-2-1 against Inter Miami.
With this decisive win, Inter Miami moves one step closer to adding another trophy to their collection, following their Leagues Cup victory in 2023 and the Supporters’ Shield as MLS’ top regular-season team last year.
Messi, a World Cup champion with Argentina and an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, joined Inter Miami midway through the 2023 season when the team was languishing at the bottom of the MLS standings and enduring an 11-match winless streak.
Since then, the club’s profile has skyrocketed. Messi’s iconic No. 10 jersey in the team’s pink kit is now sold worldwide, a new stadium near Miami International Airport is slated to open next season, and Messi is signed through 2028. He is widely favored to win his second consecutive MLS MVP award, as the team stands on the brink of clinching an MLS title.
Stars continue to flock to see Inter Miami play because of Messi’s presence. Tennis great Carlos Alcaraz attended the game Saturday night, along with several members of the U.S. Women’s National Team.
“Everyone in the world knows who Lionel Messi is. I think everyone thought he would come in here and do exactly what he’s done,” said U.S. women’s forward Lindsay Horan, whose fandom of Messi goes back many years.
During the match, Messi took a blow to the left side of his head in the ninth minute and was briefly shaken up. He remained down near the center circle for a few seconds before getting back to his feet. Just two minutes later, he was tripped while Inter Miami was on the attack and took a direct kick from about 30 yards out, sending the ball into the box. However, Silvetti’s header off that play was easily caught by NYCFC goalie Matt Freese.
Inter Miami’s next chance came quickly thereafter. A long pass from Busquets was controlled by Allande, who skillfully beat Freese from about 12 yards out to give Miami a 1-0 lead.
Allande struck again in the 23rd minute, this time heading in a long pass from Alba to extend the lead to 2-0.
After Messi set up Silvetti for the 3-1 goal, Inter Miami essentially began a roughly 25-minute countdown to celebration, cruising toward their historic victory.
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