With only a handful of games left in the regular season, the standings are starting to fall into place before the postseason kicks in just a matter of weeks from now. Matchday 31 delivered a bit of everything: a historic unbeaten run ending in Minnesota, a Messi masterclass in Atlanta, a goal Orlando fans will be replaying for years, and a pile of playoff-race results that tightened the screws on both conferences.

Nobody saw this one coming. St. Louis City arrived in Minnesota on Saturday having gone 19 league games without defeat, a run stretching back more than five months and bolstered by dozens of goals. When they raced out to a 2-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes, it looked like business as usual.

Minnesota United had other ideas, however. The Loons had been mired in a miserable season, without a win of any kind since August and without a league victory at home since mid-April. Yet they came out of halftime transformed. Aziel Jackson, who used to wear St. Louis colors himself, pulled one back, and the comeback gathered pace from there. Young Canadian Marcus Caldeira struck late to complete a 3-2 win, and Allianz Field finally got to belt out its traditional post-victory singalong. The result stings for St. Louis, who now have to regroup quickly with a U.S. Open Cup final in Columbus coming up on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi has never been shy about holding a grudge, and Atlanta United’s Júnior Alonso found that out the hard way. Alonso had made a crucial late block on Messi when the two teams finished level last month and celebrated it with gusto — Messi took exception. On Saturday in Atlanta, Messi answered by dribbling him out of the play on the way to his second goal of the night, then reportedly had a word with him after the match.

Inter Miami took the match 3-1, their third win in a row after a five-game winless skid. Messi has now factored in a goal in 13 consecutive matches and leads the Golden Boot race with 25 goals and 15 assists, and in the process became the first player in MLS history to record at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons.

Several clubs punched their tickets this weekend, joining Dallas, New England, Miami and St. Louis, who had already clinched. That makes nine teams in and one out, with Nashville already assured of the top spot in the East and Sporting Kansas City the first club mathematically eliminated.

San Jose clinched by coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Nashville. Preston Judd’s twisting header answered Hany Mukhtar’s opener, and the point denied the Supporters’ Shield leaders a chance to celebrate. It’s a meaningful step for Bruce Arena’s side, who narrowly missed out last year.

Houston also booked a place after a wild 2-2 Texas Derby with FC Dallas. Mateusz Bogusz appeared to win it from the penalty spot in the 94th minute, but Dallas were awarded a spot-kick of their own moments later and Petar Musa converted to snatch a point. The resulting celebrations in front of the Houston supporters sparked unsavory scenes, as projectiles were thrown by the fans. Dallas forward Sam Sarver even appeared to pick up one of the projectiles and throw it back at the Houston crowd.

Chicago Fire also booked their ticket, although they tasted defeat over the weekend. They lost 1-0 at New England despite dominating the underlying numbers, with Matt Turner making a string of saves for the Revolution. Chicago’s inconsistency, even with Robert Lewandowski aboard, remains a worry heading into the stretch run.

Philadelphia and Charlotte served up one of the weekend’s most entertaining matches, a 2-2 draw in Chester. Milan Iloski kept scoring for the Union, but Charlotte hit back through Rodolfo Aloko and Idan Toklomati before Bruno Damiani leveled the score. Philly’s eight-game winning streak came to a screeching halt, though their 15-match unbeaten run continues. They sit a point behind Charlotte in a tight race for fourth place in the East, which would give them home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Vancouver stayed top of the West with a 2-1 comeback at Austin. Ryan Gauld equalized with a header before new arrival Yadaly Diaby curled in a superb winner from distance. The Whitecaps lead the conference by four points despite a wobbly second half of the season.

Elsewhere, Columbus completed the double in the Hell is Real derby series with a 2-0 win in Cincinnati on Sunday night, moving within a point of the playoff line. The loss leaves FC Cincinnati clinging to the final Eastern Conference spot on a tiebreaker, with Toronto level on points and NYCFC and D.C. United still lurking. Cincinnati play D.C. twice this week and badly need the points.

Seattle dropped two points at home in a 1-1 draw with last-place CF Montréal, a result that makes a top-four finish in the West look unlikely. Montréal, meanwhile, have a Canadian Championship final against Forge FC on Wednesday and could end the year with a trophy and a Champions Cup berth despite their poor league position.

To round it all off, LAFC managed a 1-1 draw at NYCFC. New signing Leo Walta scored a stunning long-range goal on his first outing for the club, but the team is still searching for consistency under interim coach Xavi Tamarit.