Miami, 15 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Lionel Messi provided an assist for Rodrigo De Paul, while German Berterame ended his scoring drought as Inter Miami secured a place in the Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs with a 2-0 victory over New York City FC on Wednesday. The win gave head coach Cristian “Kily” Gonzalez his first consecutive victories since taking charge last month and guaranteed second-placed Miami at least a place in the wild-card round, with five regular-season matches remaining. Messi, who scored twice on Saturday after returning from Argentina’s emotional farewell to him, played a key role in both first-half goals. In the 20th minute, Messi helped launch the move that led to Berterame’s opening goal, as Rodrigo De Paul combined with Luis Suarez before the ball reached the forward for a simple finish. De Paul doubled Miami’s lead with the final kick of the first half after Messi drew three defenders and delivered a clever pass with the outside of his left foot, allowing De Paul to fire the ball high into the net. Messi came close to adding another goal in the second half, sending a curling effort over the crossbar. In the closing moments, New York City goalkeeper Matt Freese produced an excellent diving save to deny De Paul, tipping his long-range effort onto the post. New York City, which has managed just one win in its last 11 MLS matches, earned a late penalty opportunity in stoppage time, but Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made a superb save to preserve the clean sheet. It was Miami’s second consecutive match without conceding a goal, following a run of 10 games in which the team failed to keep a clean sheet. Gonzalez praised his players’ defensive organisation and their ability to stop counterattacks, while acknowledging that the team’s ball circulation could improve. Although Nashville remains well ahead at the top of the Eastern Conference, the victory strengthened Miami’s hold on second place and improved its position for home-field advantage in the playoffs.