FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Pascal Jansen may have summed up one of the greatest challenges that New York City FC will face Saturday against Inter Miami as succinctly as potential.
“[Lionel] Messi is a league of its own, that’s clear,” he said.
That has never felt more true than this postseason run for Messi and Inter Miami, which has rolled through the Chicago Fire and toppled No. 2 seed Cincinnati FC 4-0 to attain the Eastern Conference Finals.
And Messi, extensively thought of one of soccer’s best gamers, has had six targets and six assists in 4 postseason matches, while contributing to 71 of Inter Miami’s targets in 2025 between the common season and playoffs.
Inter Miami’s use of Messi as a false 9 during the postseason has allowed Messi to seemingly be even more harmful on the pitch, positioned in the center of Tadeo Allende and Mateo Silvetti.
It has allowed Messi more freedom and has contributed to the offensive output of both Silvetti and Allende.
“I think it’s just a full team effort,” Kevin O’Toole said about shutting down Messi. “Intensity in the midfield and overlaying floor, and ensuring that he doesn’t have so much time to face ahead and look to play balls in behind us or run at us. It’s just a collective effort every time, just closing out the areas that he pops up in, and doing the greatest we can limiting him, because he’s going to have his moments all through video games. That’s inevitable.
“He has throughout his entire career, as we’ve all seen, so, yeah, it’ll take a collective to try to slow him down.”
Lionel Messi reacts during Inter Miami’s 4-0 street win over New York City FC on Sept.24, 2025. Getty Images
Inter Miami’s success goes beyond just the star energy of Messi.
Silvetti has a aim and an help since head coach Javier Mascherano opted to preserve the 19-year-old in the beginning lineup over star Luis Suárez.
Allende has discovered the back of the internet twice in the previous two matches and the Miami roster options a lot of expertise.
“A lot of people can assume it’s Messi against all these other teams, but that’s not the case. They have great players, whoever they want to play in the starting 11,” Jansen said.
Lionel Messi runs with the ball against Nicolas Fernandez (7) during Inter Miami’s win over NYCFC on Sept. 24, 2025. Getty Images
“It looks like the team is in a good place at the moment, scoring a lot of goals, slightly different game plan,” the NYCFC coach later defined. “We have to take all those things into account.”
The firepower behind Inter Miami has painted New York City FC — which fell to Miami 4-0 at Citi area in their last assembly in September — as the underdog, which is a narrative that has adopted them in the playoffs.
NYCFC have been the decrease seed all through the postseason run and being with out main aim scorer Alonso Martinez and midfielder Andrés Perea has only helped feed into that. Nevertheless, it’s not something that the team has purchased into.
“I didn’t look at us as underdogs. I don’t know who did that, but that wasn’t me or us around here,” Tayvon Grey advised The Post. “I’d like to think both teams have a chance. That’s really it, it’s up for grabs right now.”
Though the notion may be there, NYCFC has turned a lot of heads during the playoffs.
They’ve been a true definition of street warriors, having lost just one of their last 9 matches away from the 5 boroughs and NYCFC is the only club in the postseason to win thrice on the street.
“That’s not a word that I’ve been using,” Jansen said when requested about the underdog label. “That’s something that has been used by the outside world. It is what it is. I think we have earned our right to be in this final, and we’re going to give it everything we have in order to get a good result against Miami.”
Mascherano harassed NYCFC’s success to his club Friday during coaching, he advised reporters.
“We have to understand that even though we earned home-field advantage, Saturday’s game will be very difficult,” he said. “Our mentality and our vision in this next game is we must go for it from the opening minute, the way we did against Nashville and Cincinnati.”
Source hyperlink
