Luiz Suarez’s header rescued a point for Messi’s Inter Miami, after they found themselves 2-1 down in Thursday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup opener.
Miami had beaten Nashville on penalties in the final of the Leagues Cup last season and returned for the debuts in the CONCACAF regional competition of Messi, Busquets and Suarez.
Lionel Messi had brought them back within a goal thanks to a Suarez assist, but it was not enough. He combined with another former Barca teammate, Sergio Busquets to level the game.
Canadian winger Jacob Shaffelburg had put Nashville 2-0 up with a pair of superbly taken goals before Miami’s comeback
Thanks to the away goal rule, the 2-2 draw means Miami holds the lead ahead of next week’s second leg. Nashville needs to win.
Inter Miami will take on CF Montreal this weekend, and it’ll be interesting to see how Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino manages things given his squad’s age.
After that, the CONCACAF Champions Cup will come back into focus when Miami hosts Nashville for the second leg on Thursday.
Miami coach Tata Martino was satisfied with his side’s performance.
“It leaves us in a good position for the second 90 minutes, which are going to be as tough as today and the other games we have played with Nashville,” said Martino.
“We put the game at risk at the start of the first and second half… We came in with less intensity than the opponent put in.
“There are 10 or 15 minutes in each half that could have cost us the game. For an hour we controlled the ball very well, we circulated the ball well, we had chances to score but we could also be 3-0 down seven or eight minutes into the second half,” he said.
