Overview
- Messi scored with a 19th‑minute header and assisted Mateo Silvetti in the 57th minute and Tadeo Allende in the 62nd and 74th minutes to finish with one goal and three assists.
- The result sends Inter Miami to its first MLS playoff semifinal since the club’s inaugural 2020 season.
- New York City FC advanced by defeating the Philadelphia Union 1-0 and will face Miami next.
- Messi is reported as the all-time leading playoff scorer in MLS with six goals and six assists.
- In the West, Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps reached the conference final on penalties over LAFC and await the San Diego–Minnesota winner.