Tadeo Allende netted two goals as Inter Miami battled to a 3-3 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night, in what marked Lionel Messi’s first appearance in the Bay Area since joining Major League Soccer.
Allende found the back of the net in the first half and again in the 52nd minute, tapping in a pass from Baltasar Rodríguez on a play initiated by Messi. Maximiliano Falcón also scored for Miami, a team that has now conceded three or more goals in three of its last four matches.
Cristian Arango, Beau Leroux, and Ian Harkes were on target for San Jose, who extended their unbeaten streak to three games.
Messi had a late opportunity to secure a win for Miami, but his close-range effort during second-half stoppage time was denied by goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Britto. Moments later, Messi was brought down just outside the penalty area, but the referee let play continue without a foul. The decision sparked a heated exchange, with Messi confronting the official after the final whistle. He was shown a yellow card and had to be guided away by Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena.
“He was obviously not happy and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to get a red card,” Arena said. “I just tried to move him out of the way, because for him to get a red card at the end of the game would have been ridiculous. I just wanted to make sure we get him out of there and he’s ready to play the next game for Miami.”
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 Tuesday night and fans gathering outside of Miami's team hotel excited just to get a wave from the balcony by 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.
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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.