CHESTER, Pa. — Lionel Messi had a goal and assist as Inter Miami CF and the Philadelphia Union played to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night in an intense match that ended with two players being sent off.
Messi’s cross was headed by Luis Suarez into the path of forward Daniel Pinter for the first Inter Miami goal in the 21st minute at Subaru Park.
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 Jorge Messi.
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, who lost 6-4 to Miami earlier in the season.
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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’s 16-year-old midfielder, was credited with his seventh assist of the season on Vassilev’s goal.
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.
The game ended with a pair of red cards in stoppage time to Yannick Bright and Sullivan for a scuffle off the ball.
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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’s goal. He had a game-high 11 shot attempts.
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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.
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, who died on Aug. 7.
The Union (5-10-5) are unbeaten in five games (4-0-1) since Ryan Richter was named interim coach.
Rodrigo De Paul, who like Messi was part of Argentina‘s runner-up team at the World Cup, was suspended Wednesday night for yellow-card accumulation.
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Suarez scored a hat trick in Miami’s last game against the Union, helping his team rally from first-half deficits for 2-0 and 3-1.
The Union are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 20 points from 20 games in the 34-match MLS regular season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
