Messi’s Miami Rallies For San Jose Draw In MLS

Inter Miami and San Jose Earthquakes play out an exciting six-goal draw at a sold-out PayPal Park after Messi mania hits Bay Area.

Tadeo Allende scored twice and Inter Miami tied the San Jose Earthquakes 3-3 in Lionel Messi’s first game in the Bay Area since joining MLS.

Allende scored once in the first half and then tied the game in the 52nd minute on Wednesday night when he tapped in a pass from Baltasar Rodríguez on a play that Messi helped set up.

Maximiliano Falcon also scored for Miami, which has allowed at least three goals in three of the last four games.

Cristian Arango, Beau Leroux and Ian Harkes scored for the Earthquakes, who are unbeaten in their last three games.

Messi had a chance late for the game-winner but was stopped from in close in stoppage time in the second half by Daniel De Sousa Britto.

Messi’s debut here was played in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000 with fans lined up hours before the game for the opportunity to see the Miami star in person. His entire Bay Area stay was turned into a multiday event with a block party held on Tuesday night, and fans gathered outside of Miami’s team hotel, excited just to get a wave from the balcony from Messi.

Messi had a few good opportunities in the first half, barely missing wide left after getting a pass in the box in transition and then missing wide again on a free kick from just outside the box in the closing seconds of the half.

The game got off to an exciting start with Miami scoring about 35 seconds into the game, following a corner kick when Falcon headed in a crosser from Jordi Alba.

The Earthquakes quickly responded in the third minute with Arango converting on a pass from Cristian Espinoza about 2:05 into the game, marking just the fifth time in MLS history that both teams scored in the first three minutes of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The teams traded goals later in the half with Leroux giving San Jose the lead in the 37th minute and Allende answering about seven minutes later. The Earthquakes took a 3-2 lead at the half when Harkes scored with a left-footed shot from outside the box on an assist from Leroux in injury time.

Aljazeera.com