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Lionel Messi scored his first goal since the death of his father, Jorge Messi, but Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 draw by Philadelphia Union in their Major League Soccer clash on Wednesday.
Messi put Miami ahead in the 26th minute with a trademark curling left-footed effort into the far corner, following an early goal from young American Daniel Pinter.
The Argentine celebrated quietly with his team-mates before pointing towards the sky in his familiar tribute to his late father.
Five minutes before his goal, Messi had helped create Miami’s opener after releasing Luis Suarez down the left flank. Suarez then headed the ball across for Pinter to finish from close range.
Philadelphia had taken an early lead through Indiana Vassilev in the 11th minute, while Neil Pierre equalised in the 58th minute to earn the hosts a point.
Miami manager Guillermo Hoyos admitted his side were unhappy with the result as they continue their congested schedule.
“We came to win but we couldn’t,” Hoyos said. “We’re not happy with the draw because we don’t like it, but now we need to try to rest and think about the next game, which is in less than 72 hours.”
The goal moved 39-year-old Messi to second on the MLS scoring chart with 13 goals, three behind Peter Musa, who scored twice for Dallas in their 4-3 victory over Real Salt Lake.
Messi had gone without a goal in Miami’s previous two matches after returning from Argentina following his father’s death on August 8.
Miami were eliminated from the Leagues Cup after a 3-2 defeat by Mexican side Leon before suffering a 4-1 MLS loss to Nashville, with Messi missing a penalty in the latter match.
The draw extended Miami’s winless run to four matches and left them seven points behind Eastern Conference leaders Nashville.
