Football

Atlanta United's dramatic 2-1 victory over Inter Miami on Saturday has reignited their MLS Cup hopes and dashed Lionel Messi's aspirations of leading the Florida club to glory.In a thrilling playoff encounter at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta fought back from a 1-0 deficit to level the best-of-three series 1-1. Portuguese winger Xande Silva emerged as the hero, scoring a sensational winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.The match began with Inter Miami taking the lead through David Martinez in the 40th minute. A blunder by former US goalkeeper Brad Guzan allowed Federico Redondo to set up Martinez for an easy finish.Atlanta responded with a furious second-half onslaught, equalizing through Derrick Williams' header in the 58th minute. The game remained end-to-end, with both teams creating chances.In the dying moments, Atlanta launched a desperate attack. Aleksey Miranchuk found Silva, who buried a winner into the top corner."Words can't describe it," said Atlanta coach Rob Valentino. "They're such a resilient group. I said to the team before the game it's everybody together, it's not going to be one person. And then a substitute comes on and wins us the game."In other MLS playoff action, New York City FC defeated FC Cincinnati 3-1 to force a decisive game three in their first-round series. Alonso Martinez, Thiago Martins, and Santiago Rodriguez scored for New York, while Luca Orellano netted for Cincinnati.The winner-take-all game three between Atlanta United and Inter Miami will take place in Miami next Saturday. New York City FC will host FC Cincinnati in the decisive game of their series on the same day.