New York, Sep 25: Lionel Messi bagged a brace and dished out an assist to lead Inter Miami CF to a dominant 4-0 win on the road over New York City FC to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, with the Club advancing to postseason for a third straight year.

Midfielder Baltasar Rodríguez and striker Luis Suárez scored Inter Miami’s other goals on the night at Citi Field in New York City.

With five matches remaining, the reigning Supporters' Shield champions are third in the Eastern Conference (55 points; 16W-6L-7D). They're on pace to secure home-field advantage in their Round One Best-of-3 Series as they pursue the club's first MLS Cup title.

Miami have already earned a 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup spot, courtesy of reaching the Leagues Cup 2025 final this summer. They also made a historic run to the FIFA Club World Cup knockout rounds earlier this year.

Messi has a strong case to become the first back-to-back MLS MVP award winner. The Argentine megastar has a league-best 37 goal contributions (24g/13a) in 23 matches, putting the Golden Boot presented by Audi in his crosshairs.

Messi's 37 goal contributions in 2025 (24g/13a), making him the first player in MLS history to record 35 goal contributions in back-to-back seasons.

Wednesday's match was Messi's league-leading eighth multi-goal game this season, which tied him for third all-time in MLS goal contributions in a season with Josef Martinez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and trails Carlos Vela (49) with five games remaining in the regular season.

Inter Miami will look to extend their winning streak to four on Saturday, when they take on Eastern Conference foe Toronto FC at BMO Field.

(IANS)

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