At home, Inter Miami welcomed Colorado with a not too strong squad with Messi Suarez, Busquets and Alba all sitting on the bench. Not having the services of a quartet of former Barca players made Miami’s game quite deadlocked against an opponent that was considered weaker.

The away team suddenly took the lead in the 44th minute of the first half. Originating from a foul by Inte Miami defender Ryan Sailor, the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Faced with a delicious situation, Rafael Navarro easily defeated goalkeeper Callender on the penalty spot, opening the score.

In the second half, before the match was deadlocked, coach Tata Martino decided to make a change by sending Messi onto the field. The appearance of Argentine striker Messi turned the situation around for the home team. In the 58th minute, Messi received a pass from the left wing. He handled it perfectly when he finished with one touch and put the ball into the far corner of Colorado’s goal, equalizing 1-1 for Miami.

Continuing the momentum, just 2 minutes later Inter Miami took the lead. Starting from Messi’s attack, the ball was circulated to David Ruiz and the midfielder had a favorable cross for Afonso to cushion the ball into the net. A few minutes later, Messi also had a volley in the penalty area, but the ball hit the post.

Continuous attacks failed to score more goals, Inter Miami had to pay the price for defensive mistakes. In the 88th minute, the home team’s defense allowed Cole Baset to escape and comfortably hit a low shot to beat goalkeeper Callender to equalize 2-2. The remaining playing time was not enough for Messi and his teammates to score more goals to win and had to accept the draw.

This result could cause Inter Miami to fall out of the top 3 on the MLS rankings when they have 12 points after 8 matches, equal points with Columbus and Cincinnati but played one more match. However, the bright spot for Miami in this match was the return of Messi after more than a month out due to injury.