Lionel Messi scored two goals and assisted on another as Inter Miami beat New York City FC 4-0 to seal a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs for the second year running.

Luis Suarez and Baltasar Rodriguez were the other goal scorers for Miami as the visitors snapped NYCFC’s three-game winning streak at Citi Field, New York, on Wednesday.

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The win helped Miami move into third place, above NYCFC and Charlotte FC in the Eastern Conference with 55 points from 16 games.

Messi’s brace helped him move to the top spot on the MLS goal-scoring charts with 24 goals in 23 games, two ahead of LAFC’s Denis Bouanga.

The Argentinian star’s first goal came in the 74th minute when he reached Sergio Busquets’s exceptional through-ball and chipped the charging Matt Freese. His second came 12 minutes later, when he finished low on the dribble on an attack set up by Marcelo Weigandt’s pass and Suarez’s decoy run.

Messi was a provider first, when Rodriguez put Miami in front in the 43rd minute by finishing off an attack that flowed straight up New York’s middle.

Busquets intercepted a pass in his own half and then quickly fed the ball to Messi, who turned his body towards the goal with one touch, then, with his second, fed Rodriguez’s run in behind the NYCFC defence.

After one touch forward, Rodriguez dispatched his second from just inside the penalty area, low past Freese and inside the right post.

Messi, who will play the MLS Cup playoffs for the second time, has three consecutive matches with at least one goal and one assist and has stamped himself a candidate for the 2025 Most Valuable Player award.

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