The first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs are kicking off with quite a compelling match as Inter Miami will host Atlanta United in the first game in their best-of-three series. The Five Stripes are one of the few teams to actually defeat Miami at home although it was a very different team at that stage featuring Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis,

As Lionel Messi and Inter Miami prepare for the MLS Cup playoffs, the synergy around Messi as a marketing machine continues to flourish.

Inter Miami, which set the MLS records for most points and best winning percentage in the regular season, gets a big challenge right out of the gate in the playoffs by facing an Atlanta team in a best-of-three Eastern Conference first-round series. Messi is coming off a hat trick in the regular-season finale, a 6-2 romp past New England.