Lionel Messi scored his first goal since the death of his father, but his effort was not enough to earn Inter Miami all three points as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer on Thursday morning, Bangladesh time.
Miami fell behind early but responded with two goals in quick succession to turn the match around. Daniel Pintar restored parity before Messi produced a superb individual finish to put the visitors ahead. Philadelphia, however, fought back after the break and eventually secured a share of the points.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Indiana Vassilev finished from Francis Westfield’s assist to give Philadelphia an early advantage. Their lead lasted only 10 minutes, with Pintar converting a chance created by Luis Suárez to bring Miami level.
Five minutes later, Miami completed the turnaround through their captain. Ian Fray found Messi on the right side of the penalty area, where the Argentine showed his trademark close control to evade three Philadelphia defenders. He then curled a left-footed effort beyond the goalkeeper, giving Miami a 2-1 lead.
The goal was Messi’s 13th in the league this season and his first since the death of his father, Jorge Messi. It also underlined his continued importance to Miami’s attacking play as the club competes near the top end of the league standings.
Miami continued to look for another goal after taking the lead, but Philadelphia gradually increased the pressure. The hosts created a series of attacking situations and kept Miami’s defence occupied for long spells.
Their persistence paid off in the 58th minute when Neil Pierre headed home to make it 2-2. Philadelphia briefly appeared to have completed the comeback just three minutes later, but the goal was ruled out because Pierre had been in an offside position during the build-up.
The home side continued to threaten. Cavan Sullivan delivered an excellent pass to create a clear opportunity, but a Philadelphia player failed to beat the goalkeeper despite finding himself in a promising position. Sullivan later tried to finish an opportunity himself, but he was also unable to restore Philadelphia’s lead.
The match ended in further controversy during the closing stages. Quinn Sullivan was fouled inside the penalty area, leading to a confrontation with a Miami player. His brother, Cavan Sullivan, became involved as tensions escalated.
Once the confrontation was brought under control, referee showed red cards to Cavan Sullivan and Miami’s Yannick Bright. Quinn Sullivan was booked with a yellow card. The incident added a dramatic ending to an otherwise closely contested match.
The draw leaves Miami seven points behind leaders Nashville in the standings. After 20 matches, Miami have 39 points from 11 victories and six draws, while Nashville have collected 46 points from the same number of games.
For Messi, the night brought a significant personal milestone with his first goal since losing his father. For Miami, however, the result represented another missed opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table.
