Lionel Messi and Inter Miami suffered a shock elimination in the first round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs on Saturday, losing 3-2 to No. 9 seed Atlanta United on home soil in the best-of-three series decider.

Disbelief dawned upon more than 20,000 fans at Chase Stadium on Saturday night when the referee blew the final whistle and ended Inter Miami's 2024 MLS season. The favorites to win MLS Cup crashed out of the playoffs in the first round,

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Fireworks shot out from the rafters of Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium on Saturday night, but there was nothing for the home team to celebrate. When the final whistle blew in Fort Lauderdale, Inter Miami had been beaten 3-2 by Atlanta United and eliminated from the MLS playoffs.

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.

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Inter Miami has played Atlanta five times this year, and won just once, 2-1 in the playoff opener at home. Atlanta beat Miami 3-1 back in May, they tied 2-2 in September, and Atlanta stunned Miami on Saturday to force Game 3 with an extra-time game winner by Xande Silva before a crowd of 68,455 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.