Messi assists on Segovia's late goal, Inter Miami ties New York City FC 2-2 in MLS season opener

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Telasco Segovia scored the tying goal on an assist by Lionel Messi in the 10th minute of stoppage time, and Inter Miami played New York City FC to a 2-2 draw in their MLS opener Saturday night.

On his second assist of the night, Messi hit a through ball to Segovia, who in his MLS debut finished with a nice shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner.

Inter Miami had played much of the second half down a goal. New York's Alonso Martínez got an easy one past Oscar Ustari after Inter Miami's Jordi Alba mistakenly made a pass directly to Martínez to put New York up 2-1 in the 55th minute.

But Messi, last season's MLS MVP, helped his team salvage a tie, showing no signs of fatigue in his second match in three days.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner made his mark early. Just 72 hours after scoring the winner against Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup’s first round, Messi took a pass from Alba in the fifth minute Saturday. Messi then fed it to Toto Aviles, who tapped it past New York's Matthew Freese to the bottom left corner of the goal to put Miami ahead 1-0.

“He’s like a kid playing, and he doesn’t want to lose,” said first-year Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano, who was hired after Gerardo “Tata” Martino stepped down in November.

Mascherano said the 37-year-old Messi's competitiveness was an advantage for Miami.

“We need to keep him with this spirit,” he said, "because it’s not just what he does on the pitch, it’s what he translates to his teammates and all that he does with his 37 years.”

Aviles drew a red card later in the first on a late sliding tackle inside the box, forcing Miami to play with 10 men the rest of the way and setting up the tying goal that Mitja Ilenic scored on a bit of trickery. On a free kick, Santi Rodriguez sent a low pass to Ilenic, who Inter Miami did not account for lined up far to the left of their defensive line.

Ilenic fired a cross-body shot to the far post, as the smattering of New York fans at Chase Stadium erupted in cheers that lasted until the waning minutes of the match.

Miami entered this season with high expectations after finishing atop the Eastern Conference last year and winning the Supporters Shield before being surprisingly eliminated by Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs.

Under Mascherano, they're hoping to repeat their dominance.

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