WATCH | Lionel Messi Stars With Record-Breaking Brace to Power Inter Miami Into MLS Playoff at Big Apple

MLS: It was a night to remember for football icon Lionel Messi at the Big Apple as his brace powered Inter Miami to the playoff of the ongoing season of the Major League Soccer. The brace also saw Lionel Messi move ahead of LAFC's Denis Bouanga and Nashville's Sam Surridge in the MLS Golden Boot race with 24 goals and 13 assists. Messi's two goals also made him the first player in the history of the MLS to score 35 goal contributions or more in consecutive seasons. 

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Messi found the back of the net for the first time in the 74th-minute of the game. Sergio Busquets came up with an exceptional throughball for him to chip it over a charging Freese.

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The Argentine's second goal of the match came just 12 minutes later when he finished low on the dribble on an attack set up by Marcelo Weigandt's pass and Luiz Suarez's superb run.

Inter Miami Into The Playoff

With the win, Inter Miami secured themselves a spot in the playoff and that impressed coach Javier Mascherano. The Miami head coach said that he hopes the good run continues. 

"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," Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said, via ESPN.

“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,” he concluded. 

Inter Miami play Toronto next on September 28.