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 Major League Soccer on Wednesday.
Messi put Inter Miami ahead 2-1 in the 26th minute with a trademark curling left-footed strike into the far corner.
The Argentine star kept his celebration subdued, sharing a brief smile with his teammates before pointing towards the sky in his trademark tribute.
Messi had also played a key role in Miami’s opening goal five minutes earlier. He found Luis Suarez making a run down the left flank, with the Uruguayan forward heading the ball across for young American Daniel Pinter to finish from close range.
Philadelphia had taken the lead through Indiana Vassilev in the 11th minute before Neil Pierre equalised for the hosts in the 58th minute.
“We came to win but we couldn’t,” Miami coach Guillermo 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.”
Messi, 39, moved into second place on the MLS scoring chart with 13 goals, three behind FC Dallas forward Petar Musa, who scored twice in his side’s 4-3 win over Real Salt Lake.
The goal was Messi’s first in three matches since returning from Argentina following the death of his father on August 8. He had failed to score in Miami’s 3-2 defeat by Mexican side León, which eliminated them from the Leagues Cup, and their 4-1 MLS loss to Nashville, in which he missed a penalty.
The draw extended Miami’s winless run to four matches, leaving them seven points behind Eastern Conference leaders Nashville.
In another MLS encounter, Robert Lewandowski scored the winning penalty as Chicago Fire defeated Antoine Griezmann’s Orlando City 2-1.
The victory was Chicago’s sixth consecutive win across MLS and the Leagues Cup, although the match was delayed for more than an hour by bad weather.
Puso Dithejane gave Orlando the lead in the fourth minute before lightning forced the game to be suspended.
David Brekalo equalised for Chicago with a 52nd-minute header before Lewandowski won a penalty after being brought down in the box by Orlando defender Robin Jansson. The Polish striker converted from the spot, sending goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau the wrong way.
Griezmann came close to equalising in the 77th minute but his effort struck the post.
The victory moved Chicago Fire to third place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Inter Miami with a game in hand.
