Inter Miami has clinched a spot in the MLS playoffs. Kily González's side beat New York City FC 2-0 on Wednesday to reach 52 points, with six regular-season games still to play.
Germán Berterame opened the scoring after a quick passing move, and Rodrigo De Paul doubled the lead with an assist from Lionel Messi. Miami kept a second straight clean sheet with Casemiro and Micael paired at center-back — a partnership that's starting to carry real weight as the season winds down.
Match Recap
Miami created their first real chance in the 12th minute. Messi found Gonzalo Luján on the right, who made a good run and crossed for Sergio Reguilón's header — Matt Freese made a strong save to keep it level.
Casemiro got involved soon after, feeding Messi inside the box with a vertical pass and later winning the ball back as NYCFC tried to build out of the back. The sequence showed exactly what he adds as a center-back.
Casemiro started the move for the opener in the 20th minute. Miami played through NYCFC's first line, Messi found De Paul, De Paul slipped it to Luis Suárez, and Suárez waited for Freese to commit before rolling it to an unmarked Berterame for 1-0.
NYCFC had more of the ball after that but struggled to turn possession into clear chances. Miami didn't force the tempo, but when space opened up, they punished it.
The second goal came in first-half stoppage time, again with the Brazilian pairing involved in the buildup. Micael started the move, Berterame carried the transition, and found Messi on the right. Messi drove forward and set up De Paul, who arrived from deep and fired into the corner — 2-0, with Messi assisting De Paul for once instead of the other way around.
NYCFC's best second-half chance came in the 81st minute: Kevin O'Toole crossed from the left, and Luighi rose behind Micael to head narrowly wide of Dayne St. Clair's post.