Messi Scores Inter Miami's First Goal at Nu Stadium as Suárez Salvages 2-2 Draw With Austin FC

Inter Miami CF waited years for a home of its own in Miami. Austin FC spent most of opening night trying to ruin the housewarming.

The defending MLS champions christened Nu Stadium with a 2-2 draw against Austin on Saturday night. Lionel Messi headed home the first Inter Miami goal ever scored at the new venue, Luis Suárez came off the bench to equalize in the 81st minute, and the Herons twice had to climb out of a hole in front of 26,412 fans. Nobody took the three points, but nobody in pink will forget the night.

Austin Crashes the Party Early

Guilherme Biro made sure the first line of Nu Stadium history was written by the visitors. Myrto Uzuni had already rattled the left post with a 3rd-minute free kick, and three minutes later Biro rose in the middle of the box to head Facundo Torres' corner into the top right corner. The AP noted it was the first goal ever scored at Nu Stadium. Not exactly the script for opening night.

It took Messi four minutes to fix the vibe. In the 10th minute, he headed into the top right corner from the center of the box, and MLSsoccer.com reported that it lifted him to a club-best five goals this season. Of course it was him. The building already has a stand named after him and a crowd that chants his name; now it has his header in the record books.

Austin did not back off. Biro nearly scored again from another Torres corner in the 20th minute, Uzuni curled one just over in the 21st, and Torres smacked the right post in the 40th. Brad Stuver stopped two Mateo Silvetti efforts in between, Dayne St. Clair saved a Brendan Hines-Ike header right before the break, and the teams went in level at 1-1.

Nelson Strikes, Suárez Answers

Austin's halftime change paid off. Jayden Nelson replaced Torres at the break, and eight minutes into the second half he broke clear and beat St. Clair with a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. The AP described the finish kissing off the inside of the post, and it pointed out that Nelson played for Vancouver against Inter Miami in last season's MLS Cup final. Petty? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

Then Miami went into full siege mode. Silvetti and Tadeo Allende were both stopped from inside the box in the 64th minute, Messi forced Stuver into another save in the 67th, and Messi missed narrowly in the 75th. Head coach Javier Mascherano sent on Suárez for Telasco Segovia in the 73rd minute, and the veteran striker needed eight minutes to deliver. Off a corner in the 81st, Germán Berterame teed up Suárez on the right side of the six-yard box, and he lashed a left-footed finish into the roof of the net.

Mascherano was honest about the gamble. "Today, it's clear that for the last 20 to 25 minutes, we took a lot of risks," he told reporters, according to MLSsoccer.com.

Messi's Night Under the New Lights

Messi was everywhere. He fired 11 shots, put 3 on target and scored the header that got Miami off the canvas. In the 90th minute he smashed a free kick off the bar, and the AP reported that Suárez thought he had scored the winner on that sequence before it was ruled offside. Messi then had one more look from the middle of the box three minutes into stoppage time, and Stuver dove to keep it out.

That save capped a huge night for Stuver, who made six of them. Austin was outshot 28 to 9 and still left with a point, which is the most goalkeeper sentence ever written.

Nelson deserves his roses too. He came on at halftime, scored with his only shot and gave Austin the lead for most of the second half. On the other side, Berterame entered in the 58th minute and set up the equalizer, while Maximiliano Falcón had three late chances in stoppage time without finding the target.

"We're a little bitter about not taking all three points because we know we're a strong team," Falcón told MLSsoccer.com.

The Turning Point

The 73rd-minute substitution. Miami had dominated the ball and peppered the box for 20 minutes without an equalizer, and Austin was beginning to look like it might steal the opener. Suárez changed the geometry in the box. Eight minutes after he came on, he was in the right place at the right time off a corner, and the whole building exhaled.

"We pushed for the winner as well, and we felt that the crowd was really with us and pushing and kind of suffocating them," St. Clair said, per MLSsoccer.com.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Inter Miami 28, Austin 9. On target, it was 8 to 3.
• Possession: Miami controlled 65.6% of the ball and attempted 595 passes to Austin's 317.
• Saves: Stuver made 6 saves; St. Clair made 1.
• Messi's volume: 11 shots by himself, 2 more than the entire Austin team.
• Corners: Miami earned 7 corners to Austin's 3, and both clubs scored from one.

What It Means

Miami moves to 3-2-1 with 11 points and, per the AP, is unbeaten in its last five MLS matches. Miami's first five matches of the season all came on the road, so finally playing at home was always going to be an emotional reset. New York Red Bulls visit Nu Stadium next on April 11.

Austin sits at 1-3-2 with 6 points, and the AP noted the draw extended its winless run to four matches. Still, a road point at a sold-out stadium opener is a result to build on before Austin hosts the LA Galaxy on April 11.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber was in the building, and he was not holding back. "They've done the unthinkable. The stadium is spectacular, it's breathtaking," he said, per MLSsoccer.com.

Closing Take

Every great venue needs an origin story, and Nu Stadium got a messy, loud, two-comeback one. Austin wrote the first sentence, Messi wrote the headline, and Suárez made sure the night ended with a point instead of a letdown. As Garber put it in the AP's report: "I think our best days are still ahead." For Miami's new home, the opening act was a pretty good trailer.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by the AP and MLSsoccer.com.