Inter Miami’s dream season reaches a pivotal moment as they host Atlanta Untied in Game 3 of their MLS Cup Playoff opener. After splitting the first two games, Saturday’s showdown at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a high-stakes decider, with Miami aiming to avoid an early playoff exit and continue their record-breaking run.
For the Herons, this season has been transformational. Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba have made Miami the team to beat, earning the Eastern Conference’s top seed with a record 74 points. But ninth-seeded Atlanta has already shown resilience, winning Game 2 with a dramatic stoppage-time goal from Xande Silva.
Miami’s path to victory will hinge on controlling the tempo and minimizing defensive errors, as Atlanta’s pace has caused some trouble. Messi, despite missing a chunk of the season, has already posted impressive numbers, and Saturday offers a perfect stage for his playoff breakthrough. Atlanta, meanwhile, will look to frustrate Miami’s midfield rhythm, with leading scorer Saba Lobzhanidze aiming to exploit any lapses.
With all eyes on Fort Lauderdale, Miami’s star-studded squad has the pressure — and the potential — to move one step closer to a championship. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Follow our live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates, expert analysis and insight as Messi and Co. fight to keep their title hopes alive.
Live19 updates
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Atlanta leads, 2-1, at halftime
This, obviously, would be a stunner.
But “would” is still the key word. Miami trailed in a majority of their MLS games during the regular season. They still broke the points record.
They’ll surely create plenty of chances to equalize in the second half.
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HIGHLIGHT: Guzan’s massive save
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34′
Guzan heroically denies Messi’s shot into the lower-right corner. Incredible save to keep Atlanta in the lead.
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HIGHLIGHT: Thiare puts the visitors on top
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HIGHLIGHT: Atlanta’s equalizer
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HIGHLIGHTS: Miami goes up 1-0
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25′ Goal disallowed
Miami thought it had leveled the score, but Diego Gomez was offside before sending the ball into the net.
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Miami’s leaky defense…
The second Atlanta goal was quite an embarrassing one for Inter defender David Martínez.
He played a late, loose pass forward that was intercepted near midfield. Then he didn’t recover. Atlanta played a ball into the space where he should’ve been, to the man he should’ve been covering. And a couple touches later, the ball was in the back of the net.
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21′ GOAL
Dax McCarty sends a pass down the middle and finds Aleksey Miranchuk, who quickly dished it to a Thiare for another goal. Incredible sequence of events has the visitors up 2-1!
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19′ GOAL
Atlanta quickly equalizes as Jamal Thiare puts the visitors on the board!
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17′ GOAL
Inter Miami’s gets on the board first after Brad Guzan’s deflection on a direct shot from Messi bounces toward Matias Rojas who sends his first touch toward the back of the net.
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Orlando City survives the shootout and advances to the Eastern Conference semifinals. They’ll face the winners of Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United.
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Who will prevail in Saturday’s must-win Game 3?
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Match starts now!
Meanwhile in Orlando, the Lions tied the game in stoppage time and have forced a penalty shootout.
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Sergio Busquets’ availability
Busquets missed Game 2 in Atlanta. This week, he was initially ruled out for Game 3 as well. Then, hours later, he was ruled back in. Now … he’s on the bench, and expected to be available in the second half. We’ll see how Miami does without him.
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Atlanta United lineup
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Inter Miami lineup
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Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United match info
Lionel Messi and Co. host Atlanta on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale in a must-win match. Both teams defended home turf and so it all comes down to Game 3 for a chance to advance to the conference semifinals. The winner will face the winner of Orlando City vs. Charlotte, which is currently in stoppage-time. Charlotte holds a 1-0 lead.
How to watch Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United
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Time: 8 p.m. ET
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Location: Chase Stadium | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
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Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
