Lionel Messi scored two goals and assisted on another as Inter Miami beat New York City FC 4-0 to seal a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs for the second year running.

Luis Suarez and Baltasar Rodriguez were the other goal scorers for Miami as the visitors snapped NYCFC’s three-game winning streak at Citi Field, New York, on Wednesday.

The win helped Miami move into third place, above NYCFC and Charlotte FC in the Eastern Conference with 55 points from 16 games.

Messi’s brace helped him move to the top spot on the MLS goal-scoring charts with 24 goals in 23 games, two ahead of LAFC’s Denis Bouanga.

The Argentinian star’s first goal came in the 74th minute when he reached Sergio Busquets’s exceptional through-ball and chipped the charging Matt Freese. His second came 12 minutes later, when

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