Messi's Miami held to 2-2 draw by San Diego

Inter Miami’s hopes of closing the gap on Nashville at the top of the MLS Eastern Conference suffered another setback on Sunday (September 20) as San Diego fought back twice to secure a 2-2 draw in Florida.

Anders Dreyer scored both goals for San Diego, while Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were on target for Miami in a thrilling contest at Nu Stadium.

San Diego stunned the home side after just 12 minutes when Dreyer raced onto Jeppe Tverskov’s through ball and calmly chipped goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

Miami responded in the 24th minute when Messi curled a free-kick from the edge of the area through a crowded box and inside the post for his 101st goal for the club.

Miami dominated possession and created several chances after the break, with Messi, Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul all coming close.

The pressure finally paid off in the 74th minute when De Paul slipped a clever pass to Suarez, who fired home to put Miami 2-1 ahead.

But San Diego refused to surrender. Tverskov again picked out Dreyer with a precise pass over the defence, and the Danish forward coolly finished to level the match in the 81st minute.

San Diego nearly snatched all three points in stoppage time, but St. Clair denied Kieran Sargeant on a counterattack.

The draw leaves Miami 11 points behind Nashville with eight regular-season games remaining.