Lionel Messi had a goal and assist as Inter Miami and the Philadelphia Union played to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Messi\u2019s cross was headed by Luis Suarez into the path of forward Daniel Pinter for the first Inter Miami goal in the 21st minute.<\/p>\n
Messi cut inside to his preferred left foot from 12 yards out in the 26th and curled a shot into the corner of the net for his first goal since returning to action following the death of his father.<\/p>\n
Messi has 13 goals and nine assists in 17 MLS games this season. He has six goals and four assists in six matches in all competitions against the Union.<\/p>\n
Indiana Vassilev scored on a volley in the first half to give the Union the lead, then 18-year-old defender Neil Pierre headed home his third goal in five games this season in the 58th minute to tie the score. Cavan Sullivan, the Union\u2019s 16-year-old midfielder, was credited with his seventh assist of the season on Vassilev\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n
Union forward Milan Iloski appeared to put the Union ahead in the 62nd minute, but the goal was reviewed and waved off with Pierre offside in the buildup.<\/p>\n
The game ended with a pair of red cards in stoppage time to Yannick Bright and Sullivan for a scuffle off the ball.<\/p>\n
Inter Miami (11-3-6) entered the game in second place in the Eastern Conference after losing to first-place Nashville on Saturday, 4-1. Messi played 90 minutes in that loss, in which he missed a penalty, hit the post twice and assisted on Telasco Segovia\u2019s goal. He had a game-high 11 shot attempts.<\/p>\n
Miami had lost three straight games in all competitions entering Wednesday, having lost to a pair of Mexican clubs in the Leagues Cup. The Nashville loss ended a seven-game unbeaten run in MLS (6-0-1) dating to May 9.<\/p>\n
Messi appeared as a sub in the Aug. 12 loss to Leon, playing 45 minutes. He missed the Aug. 8 match against Monterrey to travel home for the funeral of his father, Jorge, who died on Aug. 7.<\/p>\n
The Union (5-10-5) are unbeaten in five games (4-0-1) since Ryan Richter was named interim coach.<\/p>\n
Rodrigo De Paul, who like Messi was part of Argentina\u2019s runner-up team at the World Cup, was suspended Wednesday night for yellow-card accumulation.<\/p>\n
Inter Miami beat the Union, 6-4, on May 24, the last game before the World Cup break for both teams. Messi didn\u2019t have a goal, but Suarez scored a hat trick in helping Miami rally from first-half deficits for 2-0 and 3-1.<\/p>\n
Reporting by the Associated Press.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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