What we learned as Suarez, Messi salvage Champions Cup tie for Inter Miami vs. Nashville

One of Inter Miami’s fab four was missing from the lineup Thursday night, but the other three shined when it mattered most and helped salvage a 2-2 tie on the road against Nashville SC in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16.

Luis Suarez headed home the equalizer in the fifth minute of stoppage time on a perfectly placed cross from his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, the second time this season Miami pulled out a tie on the road in the dying minutes.

“They don’t call him ‘El Pistolero’ (The Gunslinger) for nothing,” teammate David Ruiz said of Suarez.

Lionel Messi scored Miami’s first goal shortly after halftime, a clinical finish on an assist from the left side from Suarez.

Miami remains unbeaten through four games and heads home for the second leg of the Champions Cup Round of 16 with an edge in the aggregate tiebreaker, as away goals count more than home goals in this tournament. The winner of the Cup earns a $5 million prize and a spot in the 2025 Club World Cup.

Left back Jordi Alba was battling a bad cold and missed the game, but his former Barcelona teammates made up for his absence.

“We see first hand again the exceptional qualities, a completely different level of intelligence from the likes of Messi and Busquets and Suarez,” said Nashville coach Gary Smith. “Completely different level. And for the most part, I thought our guys did a wonderful job.”

The Nashville coach said playing against Messi and his famous Miami teammates brings out the best in his team. Last summer on that same field at GEODIS Park, Miami and Nashville battled to a thrilling 1-1 tie in the Leagues Cup final and Miami won 10-9 on penalty kicks to clinch the trophy.

“If you look at that final, why wouldn’t you be inspired,” Smith said. “The first final this team ever had in front of a sellout crowd in front of the best player that’s ever walked the planet. If that doesn’t inspire you, then nothing will. And maybe we can say the same about tonight.

“The crowd turns out, which they do on most occasions here anyway, but I think there’s a slightly different edge and feel to the atmosphere when Lionel Messi is in town. He’s the show and an exceptional individual. It squeezes a little bit more, of course, it’s not always easy to get to those heights and in these one-off occasions, in such a prestigious tournament, the guys have left everything out there.”

Inter Miami coach Tata Martino was not satisfied with the game, particularly the slow starts to both halves, but was relieved his players found a way to earn a result.

“Here, as well as at L.A., when it seemed hopeless, the team doesn’t let down, keeps looking for the goal and we got the prize, which was deserved because we did enough not to lose,” Martino said. “This is a 180-minute game...we have 90 minutes more to play at home.”

Forward Leo Campana, who had been coming off the bench, was not available as he injured his left leg in training Wednesday.

Newly signed Argentine midfielder Federico Redondo, son of former Real Madrid great Fernando Redondo, made his MLS debut alongside Sergio Busquets and Diego Gomez. He struggled at times as he tried to get integrated with his new teammates after arriving less than a week ago.

Messi and Suarez, who combined for four goals in a 5-0 win over Orlando City last weekend, started side by side up top. The back line was Noah Allen, replacing Alba, Nico Freire, Sergiy Kryvtsov, Tomas Aviles and Julian Gressel, playing right back in place of DeAndre Yedlin, who was traded to FC Cincinnati last week.

Drake Callender started in goal. The bench included: CJ Dos Santos, Cole Jensen, Ryan Sailor, Israel Boatwright, David Ruiz, Lawson Sunerland, Robert Taylor, and Shanyder Borgelin.

Watch game highlights here.

What we learned from the game:

Slow Starts a Concern

Jacob Shaffelburg got behind the Miami defense and scored in the fourth minute to give Nashville the early lead. He scored again in the 46^th minute. Nashville seemed to take a 3-1 lead in the 83^rd minute, but Shaq Moore’s goal was waved off for being offside.

It was not the first time Miami fell behind early, and Martino suggested Nashville came out with more intensity than his team did.

“We put the game at risk in the early stages of the first half and the second half,” Martino said. “There were 10 or 15 minutes in each half that could have cost us the game. For about an hour we controlled the ball well and had chances, but we also could have been down 3-0 seven or eight minutes into the second half.”

Messi Might Need a Break Soon

Martino said Messi was tired after the match, and required leg massages, and that is natural considering how hard he has been playing. Messi, 36, has played the full 90 minutes in all four games this season, three league and Thursday’s cup game.

He went down briefly after a kick to the calf, but returned to the field and finished the game.

With the deciding leg of the Champions Cup Round of 16 at home against Nashville next Wednesday it will be interesting to see if Messi takes a bit of a break on Sunday when Miami plays at home against Montreal in a league match (5 p.m., Apple TV).

Redondo Held His Own

Redondo was beaten in transition on a few occasions in his debut, but gave energy to the midfield alongside the older Busquets, gave Anibal Godoy trouble, and disrupted some of Nashville’s passing lanes.

“I think Fede played correctly, he was meticulous with the ball, gave us intensity in the middle of the field and helped us build from the back next to Sergio,” Martino said. “For it being his first game in such an important cup, he had a good start.”