When Toronto FC lost a late goal to Miami and failed to advance to the playoffs, fans cheered for Messi at BMO Field.

Leo Campana’s stoppage-time goal gave Inter Miami a 1-0 win and put Toronto FC’s playoff hopes in jeopardy on Saturday.

D.C. United’s 2-1 win in New England later that day sealed Toronto’s fate, eliminating TFC from post-season contention.

Toronto needed help from others to beat Miami in the regular season finale and stay in the playoff race. And despite Miami having stars like Lionel Messi in reserve until their time comes, TFC have been unable to take advantage.

Toronto (11-19-4, 37 points) entered the weekend ranked 9th in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference. The eighth- and ninth-place clubs will meet in the wild-card playoffs, with the winner facing East Miami, the conference’s top seed, in a best-of-three first-round matchup.

The win in New England gave D.C. United (10-13-10, 40 points) a win over Toronto, and the Oct. 19 bye means they will have to watch the league’s final regular season game from the sidelines. And while the 2024 season will be a step up from last year’s 4-2-10 debacle, TFC will come to regret the missed opportunity.

While other teams are picking up the pace at home, Toronto has collected one point out of a possible 15 in its last five games (0-4-1), including three at home.

And while Toronto led for most of Saturday’s game, it lacked a cutting edge. Throughout the season, Messi and Luis Suarez arrived with 35 goals in the league, five fewer than Toronto’s total this season.

“We’re not as ruthless or cold-hearted as other teams,” Toronto coach John Herdman said. “We saw Miami get that big opportunity and they took it.”

And how.

Campana opened the play by beating Toronto midfielder Alonso Coello. Luis Suarez controlled a well-fed ball from Campana with his legs as he found space between defenders in the Toronto penalty box, then swerved and fired a shot past goalkeeper Sean Johnson for the highlight-reel winner in the 93rd minute. It was his eighth goal. of the season.

Despite Federico Bernardeschi being suspended and Lorenzo Insigne playing in an 11-minute cameo, Toronto outshot Miami 15-4 (7-2 shots on target).

“I thought our guys did everything except score. … It’s the same old story,” Herdman lamented.

Young pitch invader takes selfie with Messi

Messi showed off his charm by finally appearing in the 61st minute and turning up the volume, chanting Messi, Messi. The 37-year-old Argentina captain drew cheers in the 86th minute when he paused to allow the young pitch invader to take a selfie with him. Older fans didn’t get the same welcome when they ran onto the pitch seconds later.

“It was a really wild night… it felt like a circus,” Herdman candidly assessed.

Miami (21-4-8) was on a roll with a 3-2 midweek win over Columbus, clinching the Supporters’ Shield to the team with the league’s best regular season record.

Saturday’s win means Miami, with 71 points and one game remaining, is still on track to set the league single-season point record of 73 points, set by New England in 2021.

Miami joins the New York Red Bulls (71 points in 2018), Los Angeles FC (72 points in 2019) and New England as the only 70-point teams in MLS history. Miami recorded its 11th away win of the season, tying CF Montreal (11 wins in 2022) for the most away wins in a single season after a penalty shootout.

Miami, undefeated (7-0-3) in 10 league games, lost 6-1 to Cincinnati on July 6.

Miami made 10 changes to the starting lineup that beat Columbus in a key game.

Having already secured first place in the East, Miami coach Tata Martino decided to keep Messi, Suarez, fellow stars Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and goalkeeper Drake Callender as starters. With a combined salary of about $33 million, they are Miami’s highest-paid bench players.

However, Messi’s pink Miami jersey, blue Argentina jersey, and FC Barcelona jerseys were also on display in the stands. And when the players came out, all eyes were on Miami’s bench rather than the starting pitchers.

The BMO Field crowd stood up and cheered in the 48th minute as Messi came off the bench to warm up with other Miami substitutes.

Messi and Busquets cheered more together. Suarez entered the game 10 minutes later, in the 71st minute.

Messi’s every touch drew a reaction from the announced crowd of 30,217 (though his blocked shot in the 68th minute was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa _)’) .

Messi, who has appeared in the last five games after returning from injury, will join Argentina for their World Cup qualifier against Venezuela during next week’s FIFA World Cup international break.

Herdman, missing injured defensemen Kevin Long (concussion) and Kosi Thompson (knee), made five changes to his starting lineup, including Kobe Franklin, Nicksoen Gomis, Sigurd Rosted, Matty Longstaff and Coello.