Lionel Messi led the charge for Inter Miami CF, scoring twice in the second half to extend his tally to five goals in the past nine days, securing a 4-0 victory over New York City FC on Wednesday night at Citi Field and a spot in the 2025 Major League Soccer playoffs.

Miami head coach Javier Mascherano emphasized that the team had accomplished an important goal, but it was only the first step for a club with aspirations to repeat as Supporters’ Shield champions.

“We are happy and with the tranquility of having achieved the first goal, which was to qualify for the playoffs. Now we’ll try to finish as high as possible in the standings, which would allow us to have home-field advantage,” Mascherano said.

Messi had the opportunity to record a hat trick when Inter Miami earned a penalty in the 83rd minute, but the Herons captain chose to give the chance to longtime teammate Luis Suárez instead.

“He has done that too many times in his career. Sometimes he looks at some teammates who haven’t scored and need a goal more than him,” Mascherano added.

“He tried to help in this way. For me, it’s great. He tried to show to everyone the team spirit, trying to involve all the players and players that maybe in this case Luis, needed to score. So it’s great.”

Messi has managed two or more goals in eight of the past 12 Inter Miami matches, becoming the fourth player in MLS history to record multiple goals in just eight games in a single season.

The team will now focus on the game against Toronto FC on Saturday night as Inter Miami looks to secure the 2025 Supporters’ Shield.

“We are happy because now we are officially qualified for the playoffs. That was very important for us. Now we have to continue moving forward,” Mascherano said.

“We know we have two games in hand, so we will try to rest and recover before going to Toronto. We know how difficult Saturday will be because we have less than 72 hours to play, but we’ll try to play our best and win the game and to qualify as high as possible. If we can win the five remaining games that we have, it will be great and we’ll have that chance to fight for the Supporters’ Shield.”

Miami sits in third place on the Eastern Conference table with 55 points in 29 games, two matches behind leaders Philadelphia Union.