MIAMI — Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates were considered locks to advance from the opening round of the MLS playoffs. They had secured the Supporters’ Shield in record-breaking form, racking up more points than any team in league history. Their 79 goals were the most in the league, by far.

Messi was coming off back-to-back hat tricks for country and club, including an 11-minute hat trick in the regular-season finale against New England.

And yet, Miami finds itself on the brink of elimination, its historic season one loss from ending prematurely against a ninth-place Atlanta United team that barely made the playoffs.

Miami and Atlanta are tied 1-1 heading into the decisive Game 3 on Saturday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The winner plays Orlando City or Charlotte FC in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It is a win-or-go-home situation for both teams, but Miami has so much at stake, while Atlanta has nothing to lose.

A Miami loss would render this season a failure by most fans, even though the team had the best record over the course of the 34-game season with 22 wins, four losses and eight ties. Inter Miami boasts the most expensive payroll in the league by far at $41.7 million, and the roster includes Messi and his former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

The league, Apple TV, adidas and all of Messi’s sponsors surely are banking on Inter Miami making a deep playoff run and competing for its first MLS Cup trophy.

Standing in the way is a gutsy Atlanta team, led by interim coach Rob Valentino.

Inter Miami has played Atlanta United four times this season and won just once, 2-1 in the playoff opener at home. Atlanta beat Miami 3-1 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.

“We make things interesting, don’t we?” Valentino said, smiling, after the game.

Atlanta midfielder Dax McCarty added: “Let’s get down to Miami and let’s see what happens. Man, we’re obviously, we’re in a good mood right now. We’re in a good run of form. We’re playing with no fear. We’re playing like we have nothing to lose, and I love that.”

Atlanta’s defense, led by former U.S. national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan, has kept Messi scoreless through the first two games of the playoffs.

On the other end of the field, Atlanta has the speed to be dangerous on the counterattack against a Miami team that is sometimes vulnerable defensively. Messi and Suarez scored 40 goals between them this season, but they are both 37 years old and not expected to race back on defense, leaving gaps for their teammates to fill on counters.

Other Miami players have to step up. Last game, the team was missing Busquets, the legendary defensive midfielder, due to illness. He is like an assistant coach on the field, making smart decisions and directing others to do the same. His leadership was missing.

Busquets’ absence was even more noticeable in the second half, after Yannick Bright, one of the team’s most reliable defensive-minded midfielders, left the game with a hamstring injury.

Neither Busquets nor Bright was at the open-media training session Wednesday morning and their availability for Saturday’s game is unknown. Whether they play or not, their teammates vow to win at home and move on to the next round.

“The beautiful thing about soccer is that it doesn’t matter what happened in the past; you have to win in the present,” midfielder Federico Redondo said. “Everything we did in the past is for naught if we don’t win this week. I hope Saturday we play like we did the first game and are able to win and advance.”

Redondo was asked why Atlanta is such a tough matchup.

He said: “They’re always a difficult opponent, they are very tough, we have to go at them, and they have a goalkeeper [Brad Guzan] who in these past two games has played great between the posts.”

Center back David Martinez, who scored the lone goal for Miami in Game 2, said the team remains calm and confident heading into the clinching game at home.

Redondo added that the loss of Bright was a big one.

“Yannick is an extraordinary player who helps us so much defensively, he is a tireless worker on the ball, very disciplined,” Redondo said. “Having him on the field next to you makes you better. We would miss him if he can’t play this weekend.”

Heading into the game Saturday, Inter Miami players are motivated to live up to expectations and keep their playoff run alive.

“MLS is a very unique league because any team can beat any other team,” Redondo said. “We are seeing that with Atlanta, They barely got into the playoffs while we came in as the top team, we had been the best all season, and they are making this series very complicated for us. I think that’s a good thing about this league, that any team can pull off a surprise.”

How to Watch Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United

Game 3 of the Round 1 playoff series is Saturday at 8 p.m. at Chase Stadium. Tickets are available through TicketMaster and other online ticket outlets. The game will be broadcast on Apple TV.

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.