ShareGerman Berterame and Rodrigo De Paul were on target as Inter Miami beat New York City FC to confirm their place in the postseason.Inter Miami rubber-stamped their place in the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 2-0 victory over New York City FC at Nu Stadium.First-half goals from German Berterame and Rodrigo De Paul were enough for the Herons to get the job done on Wednesday, with Dayne St. Clair making a late penalty save to preserve their clean sheet.Lionel Messi was involved in Miami's first real opening as his superb reverse pass released Gonzalo Lujan, but from the right-back's cross, Matt Freese got down to repel a bullet header from Sergio Reguilon.Miami made their superiority count in the 20th minute, though. Messi and De Paul linked up on the edge of the area, with the latter lofting a pass towards the far post for Luis Suarez, who beautifully slid it across the face of goal to give Berterame a tap-in.Another well-worked move resulted in Messi clipping a shot over the crossbar, but he played the final pass for Miami's second goal in first-half stoppage time, picking out De Paul for a powerful finish at the end of a rapid counter-attack.The second half was more of an evenly matched affair, but Miami had several good chances to extend their lead.Freese made a smart one-v-one save to thwart Messi, then saw the frame of the goal come to his aid twice late on. He pushed De Paul's effort against his right post then saw Riquelme Fillipi strike the foot of the same upright.NYCFC had a huge chance to at least grab a consolation goal when Ian Fray tripped Talles Magno inside the area in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but Nicolas Fernandez Mercau saw his spot-kick brilliantly turned around the post by St. Clair.Messi continues goal involvement streak Miami's victory confirmed their place in the postseason for a third consecutive year, having never failed to make the playoffs since Lionel Messi's first full campaign in 2024.There was no goal for the Argentinian maestro here, but his assist for De Paul's strike did at least extend his streak of regular-season games with a direct goal involvement to 11.Both teams had 14 shots apiece, but Miami's victory was deserved as they won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.23 to 1.47, even with NYCFC's figures being boosted by their late penalty.NYCFC, who are three points outside the playoff picture, have only won one of their last 13 matches in all competitions (D4 L8) in a run dating back to early August.Since returning from the Leagues Cup group-stage break, only Real Salt Lake (six) have collected fewer points in MLS than NYCFC's seven (W1 D4 L5).German Berterame and Rodrigo De Paul were on target as Inter Miami beat New York City FC to confirm their place in the postseason.Inter Miami rubber-stamped their place in the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 2-0 victory over New York City FC at Nu Stadium.First-half goals from German Berterame and Rodrigo De Paul were enough for the Herons to get the job done on Wednesday, with Dayne St. Clair making a late penalty save to preserve their clean sheet.Lionel Messi was involved in Miami's first real opening as his superb reverse pass released Gonzalo Lujan, but from the right-back's cross, Matt Freese got down to repel a bullet header from Sergio Reguilon.Miami made their superiority count in the 20th minute, though. Messi and De Paul linked up on the edge of the area, with the latter lofting a pass towards the far post for Luis Suarez, who beautifully slid it across the face of goal to give Berterame a tap-in.Another well-worked move resulted in Messi clipping a shot over the crossbar, but he played the final pass for Miami's second goal in first-half stoppage time, picking out De Paul for a powerful finish at the end of a rapid counter-attack.The second half was more of an evenly matched affair, but Miami had several good chances to extend their lead.Freese made a smart one-v-one save to thwart Messi, then saw the frame of the goal come to his aid twice late on. He pushed De Paul's effort against his right post then saw Riquelme Fillipi strike the foot of the same upright.NYCFC had a huge chance to at least grab a consolation goal when Ian Fray tripped Talles Magno inside the area in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but Nicolas Fernandez Mercau saw his spot-kick brilliantly turned around the post by St. Clair.Messi continues goal involvement streak Miami's victory confirmed their place in the postseason for a third consecutive year, having never failed to make the playoffs since Lionel Messi's first full campaign in 2024.There was no goal for the Argentinian maestro here, but his assist for De Paul's strike did at least extend his streak of regular-season games with a direct goal involvement to 11.Both teams had 14 shots apiece, but Miami's victory was deserved as they won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.23 to 1.47, even with NYCFC's figures being boosted by their late penalty.NYCFC, who are three points outside the playoff picture, have only won one of their last 13 matches in all competitions (D4 L8) in a run dating back to early August.Since returning from the Leagues Cup group-stage break, only Real Salt Lake (six) have collected fewer points in MLS than NYCFC's seven (W1 D4 L5).