Messi and Inter Miami ousted from MLS playoffs. Atlanta United upsets top seeds 3-2 in Game 3

By TIM REYNOLDS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — There will be no MLS Cup for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami this year. Atlanta United saw to that with a massive upset, sending the game’s most decorated player and biggest-spending team home earlier than anyone imagined.

Jamal Thiaré scored twice, Bartosz Slisz’s header in the 76th minute was the winner, and Atlanta United stunned Inter Miami 3-2 on Saturday night to win their best-of-three first round MLS Cup playoff series in three games.

Two free kicks by Messi in the final minutes hit the wall of Atlanta defenders, and time eventually ran out. Messi’s header — yes, header — in the 65th minute tied the match at 2-2, but the hosts never reclaimed the lead and Brad Guzan stopped almost everything that came his way in the Atlanta net to seal the upset.

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