Lionel Messi had a brace and two assists on Saturday night against Nashville SC. / CHANDAN KHANNA/Getty Images

Lionel Messi continued to make history for Inter Miami on Saturday night, racking up his 400th career assist as he led the Herons past the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs with a Game 3 win over Nashville SC.

Miami prevailed 4-0 in the deciding game of the best-of-three series, and Messi starred like nobody else with two goals and as many assists. In total, the 38-year-old recorded five goals and three assists over the three games, having involvement in every goal his side scored.

Lionel Messi continued to make history for Inter Miami on Saturday night, racking up his 400th career assist as he led the Herons past the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs with a Game 3 win over Nashville SC.

Miami prevailed 4-0 in the deciding game of the best-of-three series, and Messi starred like nobody else with two goals and as many assists. In total, the 38-year-old recorded five goals and three assists over the three games, having involvement in every goal his side scored.

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When it comes to assists, Messi has spread his output across every club and with his senior national team. With FC Barcelona, he recorded 303 assists, while posting 35 with Paris Saint-Germain and 39 with Inter Miami. Additionally, he has 63 assists with Argentina.

With his five goals in the playoffs so far, Messi also became just the 13th player in MLS history to score that many in a single postseason. Should Miami make a deep run, which could be as many as three more matches, he could chase Carlos Ruiz`s record of eight goals scored with the LA Galaxy in 2002.

Having advanced past Nashville in the first round, Messi and third-seed Miami now prepare for a single-knockout Eastern Conference semifinal against second-seed FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium, with hopes of advancing to face either the Philadelphia Union or New York City FC in the Eastern Conference Final.

With the win, they also dispelled any doubts after crashing out in the first round of the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, despite outstanding performances from Messi and others.