Messi and Suarez hit form for Inter Miami
By James Nalton
Most teams have just six games to play before the regular season ends, and Inter Miami will no doubt be a threat in the postseason.
But they are still not the best team in the league currently, or even the second or third-best, as a trio of teams continue to impress week in, week out, in the latter stages of the 2026 season, setting records of their own.
Messi and Suárez brace for playoffs
It’s safe to say Inter Miami have been unspectacular as a team in 2026 so far, but with Lionel Messi in their ranks, they are always capable of spectacular moments.
There were a couple of those from himself and Suárez as Inter Miami defeated DC United 4-0.
Messi was not down in the dumps following his emotional retirement from international football during the previous international break, and instead put in a performance that makes you think he’d still have plenty to offer Argentina.
Suárez retains the striking instincts that made him the best in the world in his position at one point in his career.
Even as the speed is now gone, for as long as he can reach a canter, he will still score goals in MLS, fool defenders, and get assists, too, as he did for Messi’s first.
Messi’s second, meanwhile, was a reminder that he remains world-class, as he danced past multiple defenders before slotting past the goalkeeper.
It was a first win for Inter Miami’s latest head coach, Kily González, and a first clean sheet in 11 league games.
St. Louis City and Philadelphia Union continue impressive runs
Danish winger Carlo Holse is the highest-rated player (9.7) of the round after scoring a hat-trick for St. Louis in their Sunday night game against LA Galaxy.
The 6-2 win saw St. Louis continue an unbeaten run that now stretches to 20 games, tying the record for an MLS team in all competitions, joining Red Bull New York, who also managed 20 games unbeaten in 2016.
Holse, 27, joined St. Louis as a designated player this summer and has gradually been introduced to the team over the past two months.
He’s had a run of four starts since mid-September, having mostly been limited to appearances off the bench late in games prior to that, and in these most recent games has scored five goals and registered one assist.
The third goal for his hat-trick this weekend was particularly good, as he did brilliantly to control a long ball from Chris Durkin on his chest before turning and shooting.
Fellow summer signing Rafael Navarro wasn’t far behind him with a FotMob rating of 9.5 thanks to two goals and two assists of his own.
His all-round centre-forward play combined with the runs of Hulse could be a great combination for St. Louis in the playoffs.
Their 20-game unbeaten run also includes wins in the US Open Cup. They’ll face Columbus Crew in the final next week, giving them a chance to have a trophy to show for this impressive form.
A cup win would be good accompaniment to their climb to second place in the Western Conference, where they are now just a point behind Vancouver Whitecaps.
While St. Louis are setting the tone in the Western Conference, Philadelphia Union continue their charge in the East.
Their dismal pre-World Cup form means they have further to go to reach the top end of the table, but the complete turnaround since appointing Ryan Richter for the post-World Cup run continued with a 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake.
Union are now quite comfortably in a playoff spot, something which seemed impossible following their poor start to the season.
For those on Cavan Sullivan watch, he played a part in the opening goal in this game, which also featured a clever dummy from Milan Iloski to leave the ball for goalscorer Bruno Damiani.
MLS counts second assists, so Sullivan will get one from the league for that goal, and he was also on the scene when Iloski made it two.
Nashville SC still on for points record
Though there are lots of storylines happening below them, Nashville remain steady at the top of the table and are still on course to be the story of the season thanks to a potential MLS regular season points record.
They need to win four of their last six games to claim that record after a 4-1 victory across the border in Texas against Austin FC kept them on course.
They look certain to claim the Supporters’ Shield title for the first time in their history, so now the weekly motivation comes from trying to reach that points record, currently held by Inter Miami, who accrued 74 points in 2024.
One of those six games is against Philadelphia Union, which will see the form team meet the league leaders in a matchup that could also feature in the post-season MLS Cup playoffs, which are now on the horizon.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
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