Inside Inter Miami MLS playoff race: Tracking Lionel Messi’s climb up Eastern Conference standings

September 16, 2023 Admin

Lionel Messi has been sensational with Inter Miami, but beyond dazzling fans and media in his start to club life in the United States, he has also been critical to the team’s competitive revival.

Messi’s arrival immediately coincided with Inter Miami’s first-ever trophy in the Leagues Cup

For his next trick, Messi is helping Inter Miami dig out a deep hole with his sights on the MLS postseason. It’s no small feat as Inter Miami sat in dead last in the Eastern Conference.

Incredibly, it seems they have a real chance to chase down a playoff spot. Having secured 10 points through their first four games of the stretch run, Inter Miami now looks like a real contender set to jet up the standings.

Here’s a closer look inside how they’ve managed to climb back into the MLS playoff race.

MORE: Lionel Messi goals, stats, and more for 2023/24 season with Inter Miami and Argentina

Current MLS Eastern Conference table, standings

Inter Miami currently sit 14th in the Eastern Conference, having gained considerable ground in the playoff race.

While there are a number of teams they must still overtake to reach a playoff position, they sit just six points out of ninth place, which secures the final postseason berth.

NOTE: The first tiebreaker in Major League Soccer is not goal differential, but instead total number of wins, while goal differential is the second overall tiebreaker.

Table last updated entering Saturday, September 16

Pos.	Team	GP	Pts	W-D-L	GD
1.	FC Cincinnati	27	57	17-6-4	+14
2.	New England	27	48	13-9-5	+14
3.	Orlando City	27	47	13-8-6	+10
4.	Philadelphia	26	46	14-4-8	+16
5.	Columbus Crew	27	45	13-6-8	+17
6.	Atlanta United	28	42	12-9-8	+8
7.	Nashville SC	27	40	11-7-9	+5
8.	FC Montreal	27	35	11-2-13	-10
9.	D.C. United	28	34	9-7-12	-1
—-	———————	—	—	——	—
10.	Chicago Fire	27	32	8-8-11	-10
11.	Charlotte FC	26	31	7-10-9	-9
12.	NYCFC	28	30	6-12-10	-8
13.	NY Red Bulls	27	29	7-8-12	-9
14.	Inter Miami	26	28	8-4-14	-9
15.	Toronto FC	27	22	4-10-13	-16

Eastern Conference standings when Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami

When Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami, the club sat bottom of the MLS standings, having failed to win a single game for 11 straight matches.

They sat 12 points clear of a playoff spot with 12 games remaining on their league schedule, a massive gulf between themselves and a postseason berth.

Pos.	Team	GP	Pts	W-D-L	GD
11.	Charlotte FC	23	26	6-8-9	-10
12.	NY Red Bulls	23	26	6-8-9	-14
13.	NYCFC	24	26	5-11-8	-11
14.	Toronto FC	24	19	3-10-11	-17
15.	Inter Miami	22	18	5-3-14	-14

Inter Miami MLS record since Lionel Messi joined

Lionel Messi’s introduction at Inter Miami has been nothing short of a resounding success.

Here’s a breakdown of each MLS game since Messi came aboard.

August 26: Inter Miami 2, New York Red Bulls 0
August 30: Inter Miami 0, Nashville FC 0
September 3: Inter Miami 3, LAFC 1
September 9***: Inter Miami 3, Sporting Kansas City 2

***Messi did not play (international team duty with Argentina)

Messi’s arrival, along with that of Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Facundo Farias, Kamal Miller, David Ruiz, Diego Gomez, and Tomas Aviles in the summer, plus the hire of manager Gerardo Martino, has brought new life to the struggling club.