NYCFCs Historic Result Overshadows Messi in Inter Miami Ratings

Inter Miami will play for MLS Cup for the first time in club history after defeating New York City FC 5–1 at Chase Stadium on Saturday night.

The No. 3 seed Herons had little issue securing the result in front of their home fans, and with the win, earn hosting rights for the one-match final on Dec. 6, where they will welcome Vancouver Whitecaps FC for a winner-take-all showdown.

Tadeo Allende scored three goals for the Herons, bringing his total to eight in the MLS Cup playoffs, surpassing Lionel Messi for the lead in 2025 and tying Carlos Ruiz’s 2002-record with the LA Galaxy for the most in a single postseason.

Telasco Segovia and Mateo Silvetti chipped in with the other goals, while Justin Haak scored NYCFC’s lone marker.

Here’s Sports Illustrated’s full breakdown of the match.

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Rocco Ríos Novo—7.2: Ríos Novo had plenty to do on the night, making three saves. His best moment came in the second half as Julián Fernández blasted one at the top corner, which he saved.

RB: Marcelo Weigandt—6.6: Starting over Ian Fray as the Jamaican continues to recover from injury, the Argentine kept things quiet out wide before Miami did some real damage after he subbed out.

CB: Maximiliano Falcón—7.0: Falcón continued his stellar form through the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs, making two tackles and commanding the center of Miami’s defensive third.

CB: Noah Allen—6.6: The Greek youth international struggled and was eventually taken out for Fray, allowing Jordi Alba to swap into the right center back position.

LB: Jordi Alba—7.3: With retirement looming, Alba put in yet another outstanding performance with two assists, despite spending the final half hour playing alongside Falcón at center back.

RM: Rodrigo De Paul—7.7: The Argentine midfielder might not be the flashiest of players, but he put in a strong performance with two tackles and 96% passing accuracy.

CM: Sergio Busquets —7.0: Busquets wasn’t officially given an assist on Allende’s first goal, but he was critical to the midfield buildup all night in the penultimate match of his illustrious career.

LM: Baltasar Rodríguez—6.1: Through 72 minutes, Rodríguez struggled to get a handle on the match. That’s two underwhelming performances; could Javier Mascherano look at a swap for MLS Cup?

RW: Tadeo Allende—9.7: Allende scored 11 goals in the regular season and now has eight in the playoffs, debatably establishing himself as Miami’s best attacking player not named Lionel Messi. He tied the record for the most goals scored in a single postseason, as well.

ST: Lionel Messi—8.0: It was a quieter night for Messi, but he still put up an assist to bring him to 13 goal contributions in five games of Inter Miami’s playoff run.

LW: Mateo Silvetti—7.5:Silvetti’s attacking prowess and pressing ability have raised Miami’s ceiling, and his finish on Saturday proved that. Luis Suárez may struggle to start another game for the club.

Subs not used: Oscar Ustari (GK), Gonzalo Lujan, Tomas Aviles, Fafa Picault, Allen Obando.

New York City FC (4-4-2)

Starting XI: Matt Freese; Tayvon Fray, Thiago Martins, Justin Haak, Raul; Agustin Ojeda, Kevin O’Toole, Jonathan Shore, Aidan O’Neill; Maxi Moralez, Nicolas Fernández Mercau

Subs used: Hannes Wolf, Julián Fernández

Player of the Match: Tadeo Allende (Inter Miami)

Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano looked at the semifinal win against FC Cincinnati and wanted to do everything possible to replicate the 4–0 victory—and he pretty well did with the 5–1 win.

For the third straight game, he started 19-year-old Argentine attacker Silvetti in the front three alongside Allende and Messi, leaving Suárez on the bench after a disappointing season.

With the commitment to the same lineup as the semifinal, it didn’t take long for the Herons to get going in the attacking third.

Allende opened the scoring in the 14th minute, as Sergio Busquets spotted the Argentine right winger from deep midfield and sent a direct ball over, which Allende ran onto, holding off NYCFC’s Raul Gustavo, before beating USMNT goalkeeper Matt Freese.

Much like they have all season, Miami didn’t let up after opening the scoring. They drew NYCFC into a scuffle in the 21st minute to slow down the visitors’ quick pushback, before sparking another attack of their own.

Allende scored his second of the night in the 23rd minute with a precise header after making a run for Jordi Alba’s aerial delivery, giving Freese no chance at the save.

While Miami continued to hold much of the ball through the first half and got methodical defensive play from center backs Noah Allen and Maxi Falcón, they couldn’t keep NYCFC silent heading into the break.

In the 37th minute, NYCFC center back Justin Haak headed home a free kick from 38-year-old Maxi Moralez, giving The Pigeons some hope heading into halftime, even without an outright striker in the squad, given Alonso Martínez’s absence after picking up an injury while playing for Costa Rica.

Not long after halftime, the visitors had a golden opportunity to draw level, as Ríos Novo and Falcón struggled to build out from the back and gave the ball away to Moralez at the top of the box, only for NYCFC not to manage a fully-fledged shot, having been caught by surprise on the turnover.

Manager Pascal Jansen’s side continued to press and were the better team through the first stages of the second half, in particular in the 65th minute when Hannes Wolf slipped a ball through to Nicolas Fernández Mercau, who then crossed into Julián Fernández at the back post for a shot, only for Ríos Novo to make an outstanding, sprawling save.

The momentum shifted soon after Ríos Novo’s stop, though, as Miami regained possession through Allende, before Messi exposed space in the counterattack, eventually setting up Mateo Silvetti for the 3–1 strike, all but securing the victory in the 66th minute.

Miami weren’t done there, though. After entering the match off the bench, Venezuelan winger Segovia found a goal of his own in the 87th minute, finishing off a linkup from Messi and Alba. Moments later, Allende completed his hat-trick in the 89th minute, tying the MLS record for the most goals in a single postseason.

With another outstanding performance, Miami raised their total to 98 goals scored between the regular season and playoffs, the most ever by a team in a single season, earning their way into a chance to play for MLS Cup.

Not only will they look for the club’s first MLS Cup next week, but Busquets and Alba will look to lift one last trophy before hanging up their boots forever, as previously announced.

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