Messi comes off bench in Miami draw at Atlanta

Lionel Messi was limited to a second-half appearance as a substitute as Inter Miami drew 2-2 at Atlanta United on Wednesday night.

With the Herons playing their second of three games within a week, Messi began the match on the bench. Coach Gerardo Martino had said he didn’t want to overwork his star player, who is coming back from an injury with the club in the midst of a busy stretch.

To the delight of many of the 67,795 fans in attendance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Messi came onto the field to join the action in the 61st minute, replacing Julian Gressel.

Just two minutes earlier, Miami had retaken the lead through Leonardo Campana‘s deflected strike shortly after Atlanta’s Saba Lobjanidze had canceled out David Ruiz‘s opener for the visitors from South Florida.

Messi had a shot saved with a chance to extend his side’s lead but a spectacular late equalizer from Atlanta’s Russia international Aleksei Miranchuk meant Miami’s run of five-straight MLS victories came to an end.

“Messi always looks good, and tonight was no exception,” Miami assistant coach Javier Morales said after the game.

“He played almost 30 minutes, where he looked active. He had chances at goal, so like always his performance was positive for the team.”

Martino made several changes to his lineup for the midweek game in Atlanta, with Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba joining Messi in starting from the bench before coming on in the second half.

“We have three games this week and various players suspended so for this game Tata Martino and the coaching staff thought this was the perfect team to face Atlanta. I thought it was a good decision, since we almost took home the three points,” Morales added.

Miami remains with the best record in Major League Soccer and is trying to lock up the Supporters’ Shield and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The 37-year-old Messi made a mesmerizing return to Miami’s lineup this past Saturday after a lengthy absence, scoring two goals and assisting on the third in a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union.

He didn’t play a year ago when Inter Miami visited Atlanta, disappointing a crowd of 71,635.

The Argentine star and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had not played with Inter Miami since June 1 because of national team commitments and a right ankle injury sustained in a 1-0 victory over Colombia in the Copa America final on July 14.

Messi has 14 goals and 14 assists in league play, despite playing just 14 matches.

Inter Miami next visits New York City FC on Saturday.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.