🔬 The East's Decision Day Debrief as Inter Miami set points record | OneFootball

Eastern Conference play in MLS has ended after the first half of Decision Day is in the books, with goals galore across the early evening kickoffs to bookend the 2024 regular season campaign.

Here is what went down on the final night of action across the East.

What happened

Montréal CF guaranteed passage into the MLS Cup Playoffs thanks to a 2-0 over visiting NYCFC after first-half goals from Caden Clark and Josef Martinez set them away on the night. Clark also added an assist after opening the scoring on a critical night in Quebec.

In a match that carried no measure of importance in the playoff picture, Nashville SC picked up a 3-0 on the road at Soldier Field against bottom-dwellers Chicago Fire. Goals from Alex Muyl, Sam Surridge, and Jacob Shaffelburg ended the season on a high for the Boys in Gold.

Christian Benteke’s D.C. United were unable to earn a necessary point on the final night of play after suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of visiting Charlotte FC. Pep Biel, Patrick Agyemang, and a stoppage-time goal from Liel Abada ended the capital club’s chances of squeezing into the post-season.

Credit to the aforementioned Benteke is warranted despite D.C. missing out on post-season play, however, after the former Belgian international did well to finish the season as MLS Golden Boot winner while equaling D.C. legend Raúl Díaz Arce’s single-season goal tally of 23-goals.

Inter Miami are record-breakers for the first time in their short franchise history after a 6-2 thrashing at home against former record points holders New England Revolution. Despite going tw0-nil down before half-time, star duo Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez combined for five goals and two assists to go into the post-season in red-hot form.

A swashbuckling duel between NY Red Bulls and Columbus Crew played out in Harrison, New Jersey where the second-sitting Crew edged out a 3-2 win thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Malte Amundsen. The Crew nearly let slip a two-nil lead after Red Bulls battled back to draw level, but the late win proved their Eastern Conference position is hardly a fluke.

Atlanta United got the business done on the road at Orlando City on a night where their post-season future lay in the balance. Still, a 2-1 win now sees them heading into the playoffs after early first-half goals from Saba Lobzhanidze and Jamal Thiaré were enough to get them over the line.

Finally, FC Cincinnati continued their overall rich vein of form away from home with a 2-1 win at Philadelphia Union. After going one-nil down early thanks to a Quinn Sullivan strike, Cincy’s Yamal Asad leveled matters on the stroke of halftime before a Jakob Glesnes own goal just one minute into the second half gift-wrapped all three points for Pat Noonen’s troops.

Stats of the night

A brace from Suárez sees the iconic Uruguayan forward climb to second in the goalscoring charts (20) behind likely Golden Boot winner Christian Benteke after a late brace in the first half.

Lionel Messi continues to play out a career akin to the FIFA video game after hitting a hat trick off the bench to help Inter Miami cement a new MLS single-season points record. Twenty goals, 16 assists, and a league-leading goal contributions total of 36 in just 19 appearances is, in a word, ludicrous.

Though Philadelphia’s season will not include a trip to the playoffs, fans will love the contributions of youngster Quinn Sullivan, whose goal in the opening 45 minutes against Cincinnati saw him climb to six goals and 11 assists for the 2024 campaign.

Player of the night

Lionel Messi. Nothing further to add on the matter.

Miami’s historic night also earned them a spot in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, confirmed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Saturday evening.

What this means

Wins for Miami, Columbus, and Cincinnati see the top-three clubs enter the post-season on the right foot, with Miami now unbeaten in their last five league fixtures.

A loss for Orlando means that questions remain surrounding Óscar Pareja’s men who continue to struggle against decent opposition.

Montréal and Atlanta found results on the final night of action despite backs against the wall and will enjoy an extended campaign during post-season play.

What comes next?

With the 2024 regular season now cemented, here are the post-season matchups to come in full.

Photo Credit: © Rich Storry | 2024 Oct 19