ATLANTA (AP) — Another big Atlanta crowd finally got a chance to see Lionel Messi in an MLS match.
They nearly watched United pull out a much-needed win over league-leading Inter Miami.
Alexey Miranchuk scored with a booming shot in the 84th minute and the home team pressed hard for the winning goal in stoppage time, only to settle for a 2-2 tie with Messi's Miami club before an announced crowd of 67,795 on Wednesday night.
After making a triumphant return to the Miami lineup with two goals and an assist last weekend, Messi started this game on the bench. Coach Gerardo Martino wanted to manage the minutes of his 37-year-old Argentine star, who is coming back from national team duties and an ankle injury with the club in the midst of a busy stretch.
Messi trotted on the field in the 61st to a big roar, shortly after Leo Campana scored off a deflected free kick to put the Herons in front. But the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner couldn't find the net in his limited time on the field, drawing plenty of attention from the United defenders.
“You've gotta keep an eye on him,” Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan said with a wry smile.
In June, Messi made an Atlanta appearance for Argentina in the opening game of the Copa America. But he didn’t play a year ago when Miami visited Atlanta, disappointing a crowd of 71,635.
He made the trip this time around, thrilling the crowd simply by warming up with three teammates shortly into the second half. Fans in the lower deck whipped out their phones and began snapping pictures.
Miami moved to 19-4-6 for 63 points with five matches remaining in the regular season. The Herons are eight points ahead of Cincinnati and LA Galaxy in the race for the Supporters' Shield and home-field advantage throughout the MLS playoffs.
Messi showed flashes. most notably with a point-blank shot that was swatted away by Guzan. Luis Suárez, who also came off the bench, collected the rebound with an open goal in front of him, only to be blocked at the line by Atlanta defender Pedro Amador.
In stoppage time, Messi dribbled around three players in the penalty area but failed to get off a shot. Finally, he threw up his arms in frustration when a pass was intercepted by Atlanta.
“Whoever plays, we try to support each other,” Miami defender Franco Negri said through a translator. “We know what Leo means, the importance he has.”
Martino was suspended for the match due to an accumulation of staff cautions, leaving assistant coach Javier Morales to run the team.
“I think we had a good performance,” Morales said. “But of course, Atlanta is at home. They're going to push. They had a big crowd, and this was the kind of game we were expecting.”
With the home team trailing 2-1, Miranchuk unleashed a left-footed shot from 20 meters out that found the top left corner of the goal.
United had been waiting for a moment like this from the Russian player who joined the club during the summer transfer window for reported $13 million fee, one of the highest ever for an incoming player to MLS. It was his first goal in four league matches.
“There’s not many goalkeepers in the world that are gonna save that one,” Guzan said. “That’s a glimpse of his quality and what he can do with the ball at his feet. We're trying to encourage him to do that more often.”
Both teams pressed forward in the closing minutes, with Atlanta creating the bulk of the chances, but neither could break through.
It was a discouraging result for Atlanta, which is 11th in the Eastern Conference and one point of out a playoff berth.
“We need three points,” Guzan said. “You have as many chances as we had, we should be coming away with three points.”
Miami grabbed the lead on David Ruiz’s goal in the 29th off another deflection. Negri’s pass hit someone just outside the area, somehow got through three other players and wound up going right to Ruiz, who was all alone between two Atlanta defenders and slid the shot past Guzan.
United tied it in the 56th when Saba Lobjanidze’s header slipped between the legs of Miami keeper Drake Callender.
Campana put the Herons ahead with a free kick that was intended for the right corner of the Atlanta goal. But the ball deflected off Dax McCarty and ricocheted into the net on the left side. Guzan, diving the other way, never had a chance.
Two minutes later, Messi came on for Julian Gressel.
UP NEXT
Inter Miami: Faces New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
Atlanta United: Travels to New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
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