Inter Miami had to come from two goals behind to salvage a 2-2 draw away to Nashville in the first-leg, round of 16 CONCACAF Champions Cup tie, with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez coming to the rescue.
Two goals from Canadian forward Jacob Shaffelburg opened up a healthy 2-0 lead for Nashville, but the team was unable to hold on for the win in the face of a second-half surge from Inter Miami.
Messi halved the deficit in the 52nd minute with a trademark finish from the edge of the area, taking two touches to control the ball before curling an effort delicately into the bottom corner.
Inter Miami thought it had found the equalizer just four minutes later when Diego Gómez turned the ball into the net, but the Paraguayan was met by the linesman’s offside flag as he wheeled away to celebrate.
There was a concerning moment in the second half as Messi went down clutching his leg following a heavy challenge from Lukas MacNaughton as the defender made a clearance, but the Argentine eventually got back to his feet after lengthy treatment.
With just eight minutes remaining, Nashville looked to have put the game beyond Inter Miami when Shaquell Moore coolly slotted the ball home, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside in the build-up.
The home side must have thought it had done enough to secure the win, but Suárez appeared unmarked inside the penalty area to head home Sergio Busquets’ cross with just two minutes of the additional seven remaining to stun Geodis Park into silence.
“Knowing that we have 90 more minutes to play at home, I think that we did well,” Miami head coach Gerardo Martino said after the match, per the club.
“We were calm, we were patient, and we did it simply by playing. It leaves us in a good place for the second round of 90 minutes left to play at home.”
The CONCACAF Champions Cup is the Champions League equivalent for clubs playing in North America, Central America and Caribbean. Winning the tournament earns a spot at the 2025 Club World Cup.
Miami welcomes Nashville to Chase Stadium for the second leg on March 13.
