The first half at Chase Stadium presented a balanced 45 minutes with both sides defending stoutly and generating few opportunities in attack.
It seemed as if the match would go into the half scoreless, but the visitors were able to open the scoring late on in the half in the 44th minute through a strike by winger Saba Lobjanidze.
Atlanta was then able to extend its lead early on in the second half, with Lobjanidze tallying his second goal of the night to give the visiting team a 0-2 lead in the 59th minute.
Inter Miami, however, was able to strike 13 minutes later through a goal by captain Messi in the 62nd minute. Busquets received the ball in the center of the pitch, before laying it off to Messi. The Argentine maestro then took a touch and unleashed a left-footed, grounded strike to the far post to put Inter Miami back in the match. The goal was Messi’s 11th this MLS campaign to tie Suárez as the team’s leading scorer this regular season, and his 13th goal across all competitions in 2024, while the assist was the fifth for Busquets this regular season and his sixth overall this season. Messi has now recorded an impressive league-leading 23 goals contributions this regular season – 11 goals and 12 assists.
