FOXBOROUGH — Coming off two disastrous seasons, the Revolution might not have been expected to get to the playoffs, much less enter the last two games ahead of Inter Miami in the race for second place in the Eastern Conference. But they got their game going after the World Cup break, and looked like they could get the runner-up spot (and home-field advantage up to the conference final) to Nashville SC.

Then, Lionel Messi and the Herons delivered a 2-1 reality check on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. Miami (16-6-11, 59 points) can hold second place with a season-ending win against Charlotte FC on Saturday, no matter what the Revolution (18-11-4, 58 points) do that afternoon at Orlando City SC.

The Revolution seemed capable of maintaining their edge, and a crowd of 54,112 got behind them with “Revolution, Revolution” chants from the opening kickoff, despite sporting plenty of Messi shirts.

Get Starting Point

A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.

The Revolution opened the scoring, and it took Messi proving he really might have eyes in the back of his head — plus a precise finish — for Miami to overcome the disadvantage. An incredible Messi assist led to the 69th-minute equalizer, but a draw would not have been enough for Miami, trailing the Revolution in the standings on tie-breakers. Then, Messi broke through for the winner in the 83rd minute.

“When you play against arguably the best player in the game, they have those moments,” Revolution coach Marko Mitrovic said. “Players at his level can convert those situations in their favor. Before that, we had good control of Messi, if I can say that, but players like that, they need that one inspirational moment.”

Miami started the second half on the offensive, Rodrigo De Paul missing high in the 47th minute. But the Revolution remained composed and took the lead in the 53rd when Dániel Gazdag roofed a point-blank shot off a Peyton Miller cross, backheeled on by Ilay Feingold.

Germán Berterame tied the score, finishing a rare kind of Messi assist — a back header from near the goal area. Telasco Segovia lofted a pass to Messi, who was knifing into the penalty area and is rarely in position to execute headers. Outrunning the ball, he knocked it backward for a Berterame one-timer from the top of the penalty area.

Then, Messi capitalized on a defensive mixup to fire a low shot past Matt Turner. Those two plays were enough to get the crowd on Messi’s side. The Revolution appeared to score a second time when a Luca Langoni cross was headed in for an own goal by Ian Fray in the 87th minute, but a VAR review negated the score for offside.

Despite the downsides, the Revolution will remain in the top three, meaning they will open the playoffs at home the weekend of Nov. 20. And no matter the outcome of the postseason, they have proven they can compete with MLS’s best.

As for Messi and Miami, they might be finding their mojo at the right time of the season. But the Herons are not at the level they were expected to be, and do not look like a team that can challenge for a title. Should they fall short, you can expect Messi to insist on major investments in the roster, which can be tricky, due to league salary restrictions. Messi and Miami management could push for change, and MLS commissioner Larry Berg might be inclined to ditch some of the roster restrictions, along with the acronyms.

Berg, and Apple executives, might not be looking forward to having to endure, say, a Nashville-Vancouver Whitecaps final, while Messi is cooling his heels in the South Florida sun.