Messi leads Golden Boot race, Inter Miami chases points vs. Toronto FC on Saturday
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates have already clinched a playoff spot and now aim to chase points, win back-to-back Supporters’ Shields and take home the club’s first MLS Cup.
With five games remaining in the regular season, Miami sits third in the Eastern Conference, five points behind leader Philadelphia Union, with the advantage of having two games in hand.
The men in pink now have another source of motivation after Sergio Busquets’ announcement Thursday night that he will retire at the end of the season. His teammates would love nothing more than to send the legend off with a trophy.
Inter Miami heads into the road game Saturday at Toronto FC flying high after a 4-0 road victory over New York City FC at midweek.
Messi scored two goals and had an assist in that game. Over the past three games the Argentine captain has scored five goals and had three assists. He leads the Golden Boot race with 24 goals over 23 games and became the first player in MLS history to record 35 goal contributions (24 goals, 11 assists) in back-to-back seasons.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said he expects a difficult game against Toronto but suggested there could be some lineup changes as Miami has a jam-packed schedule. Toronto has been eliminated from the playoffs and has won only five games all season.
Asked on Friday if Messi will play on Saturday, Mascherano replied: “Tomorrow you will know. I don’t like to say before. We have a training session [Friday afternoon] and I like to talk to the players after about who will play and who will not.”
Miami has won nine of its 12 all-time meetings with Toronto across all competitions and is unbeaten in its last four league matches against Toronto, outscoring the Canadian club 9-2. Their last game ended in a 1-1 tie earlier this season.
The Reds (5-13-12, 27 points) have earned points in six straight matches with six consecutive ties. Toronto’s last loss was 2-0 to Charlotte FC on July 26. A Toronto player to watch is Theo Corbeanu, who leads the team with six goals this season. The team is coached by former FIU star Robin Fraser.
“I expect a difficult game, they are a physical team in good shape now,” Mascherano said. “We watched their last three or four games and they were right there. They have improved a lot. In Miami we were under pressure against them. We couldn’t beat them in Miami, so tomorrow we must be ready from the beginning trying to do what we did against New York City. We can’t relax.”
Midfielder Telasco Segovia, returning from a yellow card suspension, agreed.
“Every other team plays the best games of their lives against us, they want to have a good showing against Inter Miami,” he said. “We will come out strong. We want to earn points. We know that we want to finish in first place in the regular season and we have five very important games left.”
Miami forward Fafa Picault has recovered from a thigh strain and could feature in the game.
Midfieder David Ruiz, meanwhile, underwent surgery this week for a longstanding issue that was causing his leg to fall asleep while running. He tried managing the condition with non-invasive treatments but finally opted for surgery.
“He tried to do another treatment to avoid surgery; it worked for a while, but the problems returned recently,” Mascherano said. “Seeing that unfortunately he had several injuries, realizing that this recovery was going to take more time, he consulted with doctors and decided to do surgery now and hopefully be ready for next season.”
How to Watch: Inter Miami vs. Toronto FC kicks off at 4:30 p.m. at BMO Field. It will air on Apple TV MLS Season Pass.
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 3:39 PM.