Lionel Messi lit up MLS once again with two brilliant goals for Inter Miami against Atlanta United, but the performance of another former star of the European leagues arguably eclipsed the Argentine in Matchday 31.
There are only a few weeks of the league season left to go before the playoffs begin, and we are on the verge of crowning the MLS regular season champion for 2026.
There’s also another trophy to play for this week as St. Louis City and Columbus Crew face off to see who will become US national domestic cup champions in the US Open Cup final.
Messi’s brace sets Miami up for playoffs
Inter Miami officially secured their place in the MLS playoffs with a 2-0 win over New York City in midweek as Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez assisted goals for Rodrigo De Paul and Germán Berterame.
They followed it up this weekend with a 3-1 win against Atlanta United in Georgia, where Messi bagged a brace, Berterame scored again, and Suárez added a couple more assists to his season stats.
Messi’s magic can sometimes be taken for granted. There is no longer a surprise when looking at an Inter Miami scoreline and seeing his name mentioned multiple times among the list of goals and assists.
His goals on Saturday were world-class, as he dribbled past defenders and finished with aplomb.
Though this now seems normal for Messi, it’s worth stepping back now and again to remember how impressive this all is for the 39-year-old who recently retired from international football.
Messi currently tops the charts for both goals and assists in MLS. He’s five ahead of the next most prolific goalscorer, Petar Musa, on 25, and level with Anders Dreyer, Son Heung-min, and Cristian Espinoza, on 12 assists.
MLS’s own stats definitions, which count some secondary assists, have Messi level with Son on 15 assists.
Messi has the highest average FotMob rating in MLS by some distance on 8.32, and also tops the charts for goals per 90, expected goals, shots per 90, expected assists, and xG + xA per 90.
Though Messi topping the table for all these metrics and more is not particularly unexpected, it’s sometimes worth a reminder that it’s still happening and shows no sign of slowing up.
Antoine Griezmann steps up for Orlando City
With Messi in the league, even the biggest-name players at other teams can fly under the radar somewhat as the focus regularly lands on Inter Miami alone.
Even in the same state of Florida, there is another player who might normally be a leading light in MLS in other, non-Messi circumstances, playing his part in leading his team to a playoff spot.
Antoine Griezmann scored twice in Orlando City’s 4-1 win at home to DC United, and assisted Martín Ojeda’s outstanding strike. It was a victory that puts them more comfortably in a playoff spot.
Orlando have a very useful pair of wins and a draw from their last three games that could prevent them from being drawn into a tight race for the playoffs come the final games of the season.
Griezmann has 11 goals in his last nine games for Orlando, having joined the team in the summer, not far off Messi’s recent record.
His signing looks set to be one of the more successful acquisitions of an aging European star by an MLS side, and he edges Messi as the player of the round per FotMob’s ratings.
St. Louis streak ahead of US Open Cup final
St. Louis City had embarked on one of the most impressive runs MLS has seen, and propelled themselves to the top of the Western Conference, just behind Vancouver Whitecaps.
Their 0-0 draw with the Whitecaps on Wednesday set an unbeaten record for an MLS team in all competitions at 21 games, edging ahead of the previous record of 20 set by Red Bull New York.
However, that run was to go no further, and came to an end this weekend as they lost 3-2 to Minnesota United.
The defeat comes ahead of their appearance in the US Open Cup final against Columbus Crew on Wednesday night.
Perhaps that’s why they took their eye off the ball in the league somewhat, and though they remain the favourites to lift the domestic trophy, they would have liked to be going into this final on the back of another win. Or maybe the defeat will serve as a wake-up call.
Columbus Crew will be motivated for this game as it will give them a chance to turn a disappointing season in the league into a memorable one in the cup, and win their second Open Cup title, having won it once before in 2002.
The Crew have won a couple of trophies in recent years, including the big one, the MLS Cup, in 2023, as well as a Leagues Cup in 2024, and will be looking to keep this kind of success going.
They are suddenly in good form in the league, too, and four wins in their last five have given them a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
The city of St. Louis, meanwhile, has a rich history in the US Open Cup, with teams from the area having won the cup ten times in the pre-MLS era. As a city, only New York has more.
Now, as a 2023 expansion franchise, St. Louis finally has a team in MLS too, and one that will be looking to continue that Illinois Open Cup tradition this week.
San Jose make Nashville wait for Supporters’ Shield glory
San Jose Earthquakes’ 1-1 draw at home to Nashville secured their place in the playoffs but also prevented the Tennesseeans from confirming their place at the top of the overall MLS table in 2026.
Nashville will now have another chance to claim the title when they travel to Montréal this coming weekend for Saturday’s early kick-off.
They will be expected to defeat the Canadian team, who sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and lift the Supporters’ Shield trophy.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
You can follow every match from MLS with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including player ratings. Download the free app here.