Messi tops the charts as Nashville break Miami’s record on Decision Day
By James Nalton
The latest round of fixtures, dubbed Decision Day, saw playoff places decided in the West and another Eastern Conference team confirm their status as one of the favourites going into the playoffs.
Nashville the best ever?
Nashville secured their place as runaway MLS Supporters’ Shield winners AND regular season record holders thanks to a Sam Surridge-inspired 2-0 win against FC Cincinnati.
The 77 points collected throughout the regular season broke the previous record of 74, set by Inter Miami in 2024.
This weekend was Surridge’s turn to take the spotlight in a team that has several players capable of doing so.
As reported on throughout the season, Nashville aren’t reliant on one player, and have constructed a squad that is perfectly balanced for MLS success.
If Surridge isn’t finding the net, Hany Mukhtar shows up. If neither are on their game, Cristian Espinoza will do something to spark them into life.
If none of that happens, they have what has been one of the best defensive units in MLS history, in the shape of centre-backs Maxwell Woledzi and Jeisson Palacios, and goalkeeper Brian Schwake.
Their 25 goals conceded was the fewest ever in a 34-game MLS season.
Schwake has the third-highest average FotMob rating in the Nashville team, behind Surridge and Espinoza, and the majority of their regular XI have an average rating above seven.
It’s also worth pointing out the performances of Andy Nájar, who can probably claim to have been the best right-back in the league this season.
Nashville players will likely dominate the MLS 2026 best XI vote, especially defensively, and if none of them appear in the attack, that’s because they weren’t reliant on one player to do it all, which, ultimately, is why they were so much better than all of the other contenders in 2026.
Here is a list of some of Nashville’s achievements this season:
- Set the MLS record for regular season wins with 23
- Set the MLS record for regular season points with 77
- Set the MLS record for the largest Supporters’ Shield points margin at 13
- Set the MLS record for regular season points per game with 2.26
- Set the MLS record for regular season win percentage at 79.4%
- Set the MLS record for fewest losses in a regular season with three
- Tied the MLS record for most clean sheets in a single regular season with 17
- Set the MLS record for fewest goals conceded in a single regular season with 25
Decision Day in the Western playoff rush
Unlike in the East, where the teams making the postseason were decided with a week to spare, a handful of Western Conference sides were still playing for the right to extend their season on Decision Day.
Places in the top nine for LA Galaxy, Portland Timbers, and Colorado Rapids were all in doubt going into the final day with Seattle Sounders, Real Salt Lake, and Minnesota United all looking to make a late move into a postseason place.
The potential win-or-bust game between the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake turned out to be exactly that, with the Utahans’ deserved 2-1 win seeing them through.
LA Galaxy failed to register a shot on target, with their goal coming via an OG. A disappointing end to the campaign for a team that was once one of the league’s biggest names.
The Sounders’ win at home to LAFC saw them replace Colorado in a wildcard spot, after the Rapids lost 3-1 to FC Dallas, while Portland got the job done in Austin to escape the wildcard places and qualify for the playoffs proper.
Minnesota United did what they needed to do with a 3-1 win against San Diego, but results elsewhere saw them narrowly miss out.
Messi leads the way again
Unusually, Lionel Messi didn’t manage a goal or an assist in Inter Miami’s typically goal-filled game against Charlotte, but he still finished the season as the Golden Boot winner and joint-top of the assists charts.
The Argentine great has once again been unquestionably the best player in the league. By some distance, too, and despite the regular collapses of his team that meant they couldn’t challenge Nashville at the top of the table.
In some way it’s a (Messi-led) miracle that Inter Miami are so high in the standings.
They have at times felt like one of the worst teams in this league. They lack defensive organisation and solidity, and can’t seem to control games when ahead, as shown in this weekend’s 3-3 draw against Charlotte.
They were 3-0 up at halftime, but collapsed in the second half, which let Charlotte back in and claim a point.
Inter Miami aren’t quite a one-man team, as despite their lack of consideration for defending, they do have some other good performers in attack.
Luis Suárez has continued to score at a rate that belies his years and his increasing lack of mobility, netting 17 goals this season, and Rodrigo De Paul will be in a few voters’ 2026 best XIs in midfield.
But this season has been all about Messi, who has been far and away the best player in the league despite his team’s struggles.
Philadelphia Union
The World Cup break split the 2026 MLS season into two parts, and the biggest story of the latter stage of the season was Philadelphia Union’s turnaround and everything that came with it.
If this season was split up into Apertura and Clausura stages, as some leagues in the Americas are, then Union would have finished second in the East (and overall) behind Nashville in this latter stage. They would have a higher points per game than the leaders having played one less than them post World Cup.
As well as being another sign of how consistent Nashville have been throughout the whole campaign, it shows how drastic Union’s turnaround has been.
Making the postseason at all was unthinkable when they were bottom of the East as the league paused for the World Cup, but somehow they have made the playoffs proper, even avoiding the wildcard round.
Their sixth-place finish is one of the biggest achievements of the season, and a sign of how well head coach Ryan Richter has done since taking over in the summer.
Wonderkid Cavan Sullivan has rightly made the headlines with performances that have been up there with the best in the league, but contributions from many others, including Neil Pierre and the returning Kai Wagner, as well as Cavan’s older brother Quinn, have played a big part in this remarkable turnaround.
Union will now be one of the favourites going into the playoffs, having gone from the worst team in the league to the only one that looks capable of challenging Nashville.
Last year’s Supporters’Shield winners now have a chance of winning the MLS Cup, because anything can happen in a knockout tournament.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
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