Lionel Messi and Inter Miami recorded the greatest regular season in MLS history, losing just four of 34 matches. But over the course of a week, culminating with a 3-2 defeat Saturday, the Eastern Conference’s top seed fell twice against Atlanta United and crashed out of the playoffs.
Bartosz Slisz, who scored just once in the regular season, broke a tie in the 76th minute as ninth-seeded Atlanta stunned the sellout crowd in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and won the quarterfinal series, two games to one.