Lionel Messi scored his first goal since the death of his father, but Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 draw by the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer on Wednesday.
The Argentine star put Miami ahead 2-1 in the 26th minute with a trademark curling left-footed strike into the far corner.
Messi marked the goal with a restrained celebration alongside his teammates before briefly smiling and pointing toward the sky.
The 39-year-old had also played a key role in Miami’s opening goal five minutes earlier, making a run down the left before Luis Suarez headed the ball across for young American Daniel Pinter to finish from close range.
Philadelphia had taken the lead in the 11th minute through Indiana Vassilev before Neil Pierre equalised for the hosts in the 58th minute to secure a point.
“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,” he added, referring to Saturday’s meeting with Toronto FC.
Messi moved into second place in the MLS scoring chart with 13 goals, three behind Croatian forward Peter Musa, who scored twice for Dallas in a 4-3 victory over Real Salt Lake.
The Inter Miami captain had failed to score in his two previous matches after returning from Argentina following the death of his father, Jorge, on August 8.
Miami lost 3-2 to Mexican side Leon and were eliminated from the Leagues Cup before suffering a 4-1 MLS defeat to Nashville, a match in which Messi missed a penalty.
The draw extended Miami’s winless run to four matches, leaving them seven points behind Eastern Conference leaders Nashville.
Elsewhere, the New York Red Bulls beat Miami 1-0 on Wednesday.
In another MLS clash, Robert Lewandowski scored the winning penalty as Chicago Fire defeated Antoine Griezmann’s Orlando City 2-1.
The match was halted for more than an hour because of inclement weather after Puso Dithejane gave Chicago an early lead in the fourth minute.
David Brekalo equalised for Orlando with a 52nd-minute header before Lewandowski won and converted a penalty after being brought down by Swedish centre-back Robin Jansson.
Griezmann had a chance to level the score in the 77th minute but saw his effort hit the post.
The victory was Chicago’s sixth straight win, including three in Leagues Cup competition, and moved the club into third place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Miami with a game in hand.
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