Two or Europe‘s greatest club players took center stage in one of the United States’ most iconic American football stadiums on Wednesday — and a record crowd came out to watch.
Inter Miami CF and Lionel Messi rallied from a goal down at Soldier Field in Chicago for a 1-1 draw against Robert Lewandowski and the Fire in front of 63,094 fans, besting the club’s home attendance record set last season in the same matchup.
Ex-Bayern Munich and Barcelona star Lewandowski scored a trademark acrobatic goal in the 10th minute to give the Fire an early lead at the NFL home of the Chicago Bears.
But Inter Miami drew level shortly after halftime when Casemiro, another of the game’s stars with a long history of playing in Europe before moving to MLS, headed home a Messi cross from a corner kick to make it 1-1.
With league-leaders Nashville SC losing to Toronto FC earlier in the day, the chance was there for either Miami or Chicago to cut into the lead at the top of the table, but some stellar goalkeeping from home goalkeeper Chris Brady down the stretch saw the game end in a draw.
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Inter Miami, who are in second place, trail its Saturday opponent Nashville by nine points, while the Fire have the chance to leapfrog the New England Revolution from fourth into third in their head-to-head matchup this weekend.
