Messi sets MLS assist mark as Nashville clinches East, Spirit and Wave move in NWSL

Messi makes MLS history in Atlanta rout

Lionel Messi became the first player in MLS history with 15 assists in three straight seasons, delivering a brace and an assist as Inter Miami beat Atlanta United 3-1.

Nashville clinches first-ever Eastern Conference title

Nashville SC earned a 1-1 draw at San Jose to clinch first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in club history. Hany Mukhtar scored in the 34th minute, his sixth goal in five matches, before Preston Judd equalized for San Jose in the 70th. Nashville sits atop MLS by 12 points with four matches left and has conceded the fewest road goals in the league with 11.

The result extended Nashville's unbeaten run to six matches. The club travels to CF Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Chicago clinches playoff berth despite road loss

Chicago Fire fell 1-0 to New England on the road, with Matt Polster scoring off a Carles Gil assist, but the Fire still clinched a playoff berth for the second straight season with 48 points. Chicago next faces Atlanta United on Oct. 24.

Elsewhere in MLS, Houston and Dallas drew 2-2 after Hector Herrera equalized early in the second half and Mateusz Bogusz put Houston ahead on a stoppage-time penalty, only for Petar Musa to equalize for Dallas in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time. Houston still clinched a Western Conference playoff spot.

In Orlando, Antoine Griezmann scored twice and Martin Ojeda added a scorpion-kick goal in a 4-1 win over D.C. United.

Spirit beat Gotham to clinch playoff spot, Wave close Shield gap

Washington Spirit beat Gotham FC 1-0 on a 70th-minute goal from Lucia Di Guglielmo, her first NWSL goal, clinching a playoff spot and denying Gotham a chance to seal the Shield. It was Washington's first win over Gotham since June 2024.

San Diego beat North Carolina 2-1, with Melanie Barcenas and Trinity Byars scoring. Barcenas broke the league's single-season record for goals by a teenager, and the win clinched San Diego a top-four seed while trimming its Shield deficit behind Gotham to one point with two matches left. North Carolina has lost four of its last five matches.

Angel City came back to beat Denver Summit 3-2, and Kansas City shut out Utah 2-0 behind a Haley Hopkins brace.

Gotham defender Leila Ouahabi made her debut for the club on Saturday after her contract was terminated by the Chicago Stars.

San Diego hosts Boston Legacy on Sunday, Oct. 25 at Snapdragon Stadium, still chasing the Shield, while Utah hosts Seattle Reign on Friday, Oct. 23.

Reyna scores again for Strasbourg in defeat to PSG

Gio Reyna scored in the 17th minute for Strasbourg against Paris Saint-Germain, intercepting a pass on the right wing before finishing left-footed past goalkeeper Matvey Safonov. It was his second Ligue 1 goal of the season. Strasbourg led at halftime, but PSG scored three second-half goals, including one from Ousmane Dembele, to win 3-1.

Reyna has now made seven league appearances for Strasbourg since joining from Borussia Monchengladbach in the offseason, having scored in a 6-2 win at Troyes last month. Strasbourg has lost three straight and sits 12th in Ligue 1, with a trip to Rennes set for Oct. 25.

Reyna said the team should use the performance against PSG as a standard. "We just have to keep going and put the last two games that maybe weren't as good behind us and use this mentality and the way we played today as the standard of what we should do every week," he said. He also started all four games for the U.S. men's national team in the recent international break, contributing two assists.