SSaturday night was more than just a night for soccer and MLS fans. On the one hand, Inter Miami defeated New York City FC 5-1 at Chase Stadium to become the 2025 MLS Cup Eastern Conference champions.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Whitecaps then defeated San Diego 3-1 to win the Western Conference and advance to the MLS Cup finals. The two teams will meet in the MLS Cup final, but there’s something else that’s making fans even more excited. It’s Lionel Messi facing Thomas Muller again.
Lionel Messi leads huge celebrations after Inter Miami’s historic win
Muller makes MLS Cup final exciting
The legendary 36-year-old German striker knows exactly what it’s like to play against Lionel, as this is not the first time he has faced him in his professional career.
The German faced the Argentina national team 10 times, winning seven and losing three, including historic and decisive matches against PSG and Barcelona in the World Cup and Champions League.
These include Bayern’s 8-2 victory over Barça and one of their most important victories, the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil, which they won 1-0 after extra time at the Maracanã stadium. Prior to this, he had just played for Germany in a 4-0 victory over Argentina at the 2010 World Cup.
Lionel defeated Thomas in two international friendlies in 2010 and 2012 (1-0 and 3-1 respectively), and once in the Champions League semi-finals against Barcelona in 2015, 3-0.
Now they will face off again for the MLS title. Despite the hype, Muller himself brought reality to this matchup. “It’s not Messi vs. Thomas Muller, it’s Miami vs. the Whitecaps,” he told reporters after the Vancouver win. “Maybe they’re relying on him a little bit more than us, because we’re a very good group… you know what I mean?”
He also admitted that he enjoyed watching Messi play and that Inter Miami proved they were a “strong” team by defeating New York. “This is the finals I wanted. I think it’s important for everyone…The good thing is not only that you’re playing against the best players that have ever played and continue to play in our sport, but I think when you have a matchup like this, more people look at you.”
“This is an MLS Cup final, but when you play with these great players and names in world football, it’s going to be a little more exciting for a lot more people around the world. So it’s a perfect situation for everyone involved,” he said.
Muller joined MLS in August of this year and was aiming to lead Team Canada to the top, so winning another title will not be a failure.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami will be playing in the MLS Cup final for the first time in their history, and with Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets both announcing their retirements at the end of this season, the Florida club will likely be fighting hard.
The match will take place on Saturday, December 6th at Chase Stadium, with both teams looking to win the MLS Cup Final.
