A sensational Tadeo Allende hat trick helped Inter Miami to defeat New York City FC 5-1 and claim the MLS Eastern Conference in emphatic fashion at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday evening.
Allende took advantage of some uncharacteristically slack NYCFC defending to score twice in the opening 24 minutes before adding his third late on after Mateo Silvetti and Telasco Segovia had put the game out of reach. Justin Haak had responded for the visitors late in the first half in a game that was a lot closer than the final scoreline suggested.
Just like in their regular-season meeting in September, however, Inter Miami scored three times in a short second-half spell to pull away and record a convincing four-goal victory.
Pascal Jansen’s side had done reasonably well throughout, containing a subdued Lionel Messi and restricting Miami to relatively few clear-cut chances.
But just as the visitors had gained the momentum and appeared likely to find a route back into the tie, Messi provided an assist for Segovia to give Miami breathing space and kill off the NYCFC fightback midway through the second half.
Jansen accused his side of showing “naivety” chasing the game in the second half, stating that the visitors left themselves too vulnerable to Miami counter-attacks at 2-1 down.
“I said to my guys after the game that this is not something I recognize in my team,” Jansen said in a post-match press conference. “These transitions were just handed over. That’s based on being very naive.”
NYCFC captain Thiago Martins similarly believes that his side made uncharacteristic defensive mistakes throughout the game on Saturday.
“It’s not easy to play against them,” Martins said. “We need to be more ready. We conceded five goals and that’s not normal for us.”
The victory represents a maiden Eastern Conference championship for Inter Miami, who will now host the Western Conference champions in next Saturday’s MLS Cup final. It also marks the end of the road for NYCFC after a promising debut campaign for Jansen.
All eyes were on Messi after the Argentinian maestro scored six goals in Inter Miami’s four MLS Cup games to date, but it was his compatriot Allende who set the first half alight with two sublime finishes in a scintillating 10-minute spell.
In a stop-start half of few chances, the hosts should have taken the lead on 13 minutes when Silvetti headed straight at Matt Freese after a clipped Messi freekick had found him unmarked inside the penalty area.
It mattered little, however, as Allende broke the deadlock 60 seconds later after racing onto a long ball from Sergio Busquets and slamming past Freese at his near post.
NYCFC boasted the best defensive record in the play-offs coming into Saturday’s Eastern Conference final, but they were caught flat-footed defending what was a relatively straightforward ball forward for the opener. They were caught out again ten minutes later as Allende capitalized on some slack marking to double his and Miami’s tally on 24 minutes.
The visitors left Jordi Alba in acres of space on the left wing following a lengthy delay, giving the veteran full-back time to pick out Allende with an outswinging cross. Allende applied the finishing touch with a glorious flicked header that beat Freese all ends up from around 16 yards out.
NYCFC had failed to create any chance of note in a disappointing opening 35 minutes, but Haak handed the visitors a lifeline when he thumped a header past Rocco Rios Novo from a Maxi Moralez free kick with nine minutes remaining in the half.
Hannes Wolf, introduced as a half-time substitute for Jonny Shore, swung the pendulum further toward the visitors and almost made an instant impact when he intercepted a sloppy Rios Novo pass three minutes into the half to tee up Moralez unmarked in the Miami penalty area.
Moralez, however, took too long, and the chance went begging.
All the momentum was with the visitors and they should have tied the game up on 66 minutes when Nico Fernandez raced to the byline and picked out Julian Fernandez with an exquisite pullback. But the latter’s first-time shot was scuffed, allowing Rios Novo to make a finger tip save.
They were made to pay less than a minute later when Messi picked out Silvetti in the New York penalty area, with Silvetti slamming past Freese from just inside the box.
That goal knocked the wind out of the New York sails, and Miami put the result beyond all doubt with seven minutes of normal time remaining when Alba produced a sensational backheel to tee up Segovia from close range following a clinical counter-attack.
Allende then put the icing on top of the cake, sealing his hat-trick in the 89th minute with a deft chip over the onrushing Freese after a Yannick Bright pass had split the New York defense in two.
Jansen said the defeat represents a chance for his young squad to gain experience going into the 2026 campaign, stating that he intends to improve on a place in the Eastern Conference finals next year.
“This tells us that we have a few more lessons to learn,” Jansen said.
He said the manner of the defeat has taught his players a lesson in how to deal with difficult situations against top-quality opponents.
“Being that naive – and how we conceded our goals today – playing against a team like Miami, you know you will get punished,” he said. “It’s very hard to get back into the game, but we did.
“But to open up like we did is very naive.”
