MLS Roundup: St. Louis CITY SC's impressive unbeaten streak ends, Lionel Messi saves Inter Miami Miami again, and the Philadelphia Union keep ticking along

Nashville SC failed to secure the Supporters' Shield, but Orlando City were frighteningly good in a memorable win over DC United

There’s another weekend of MLS (almost) sorted, then. And there was lots of good stuff. Inter Miami remain unconvincing, but Lionel Messi is doing Lionel Messi things. Nashville SC were on the verge of securing the Supporters’ Shield but conceded late against a solid San Jose team and could have few complaints about a 1-1 draw. Robert Lewandowski and the Chicago Fire, meanwhile, had reason to celebrate despite a frustrating night in front of goal, securing a playoff spot even after a 1-0 loss to New England.

Out West, things got a bit weird. St. Louis CITY saw their unbeaten streak end against the unlikeliest of opponents. Seattle dropped points to a very bad Montreal side. And then LAFC and NYCFC settled for the strangest draw of the season so far - and pretty much nobody walked away happy.

GOAL rounds up all of the MLS action from Saturday night...

Messi, Messi, Messi

Well, he was always going to be good, right? Even in the post-Argentina world, Messi is too talented, too effortless at this level to sort of drift through a season. Inter Miami need him, too. Things aren't perfect in South Beach, and even if Luis Suarez has surprisingly sprung into life, Messi remains a crucial element to this team. And so it was against Atlanta, who have shown a bit more fight of late under Tata Martino. They are not going to make the playoffs, but they are a tough beat. And Miami made it hard for themselves. The stats, in isolation, make for grim reading. They were outshot, 21-7. If xG means anything, then Atlanta battered Miami. But the stuff that counts - Miami three goals, Atlanta one - is all that's really worth knowing. Messi scored two - both lovely strikes - in a win that all-but clinches home-field advantage for at least one round of the playoffs.

Orlando put on a clinic

This kind of thing has been loading for a while. Orlando's defense may be the worst in the league, but their attacking talent - basically just Antoine Griezmann - should be enough to fire them into playoff contention. And so it proved Saturday night, when they put four past a beleaguered DC United. Griezmann scored two, and he also assisted this:

Puskás-worthy? TBD. But there will not be a better goal in MLS this season.

St. Louis' streak comes to an end

St. Louis have been on a truly remarkable run. None of this really makes all that much sense. They burnt it down this offseason, hiring a new Sporting Director and Head Coach. And then, with the loss of a couple of key pieces, it seemed that they could be in for another season of disappointment.

So much for that. St. Louis got hot at the right time, and spent a little money, too. It amounted to a 21-game unbeaten run - a new MLS record. And it seemed mightily deserved, too. But these things have to come to an end at some point. Minnesota United delivered the fatal blow, in the end, winning 3-2 Saturday night. It was a weird one, too. Minnesota haven't won a game since August but pulled it off. Maybe that's the most appropriate way for these things to happen...

Philly save a point once more

Cavan Sullivan made a lot of Philly Union fans happy last week when he admitted he hadn't played very well against Chicago. And he was right. Sullivan may be breaking records, but his form has dropped slightly. That is, of course, allowed for a 17-year-old still cutting his teeth in football with grown men.

But Philly, whose winning streak is approaching 20 games, need other heroes now. Among them is Milan Iloski, who was a fine piece of business when he arrived from San Diego last year. He has 19 goals to his name this season, and has become something of a ruthless finisher with plenty of service coming his way. And he bagged on Saturday, converting from the spot to seal a tidy 2-2 with Charlotte. The Union cannot win every game from here. They are imperfect. But sometimes there's nothing wrong with a hard-earned point.