Lionel Messi scored two goals in a Champions League match for Barcelona on April 8, 2009, which was two days after Adri Mehmeti was born.
Only 17 years later, they both had a say in the outcome for their teams on Saturday night.
Messi helped set up Germán Berterame for a second-half goal that gave Inter Miami its first lead in its new stadium, and Mehmeti’s first MLS goal in the 77th minute pulled the New York Red Bulls into a 2-2 tie with Messi and the defending MLS Cup champions on Saturday night.
Mateo Silvetti also scored for Inter Miami (3-1-3), which is now unbeaten in its last six MLS matches. Jorge Ruvalcaba scored for the Red Bulls (3-2-2), who have one win in their last five matches but rallied to get a point out of this one after wasting an early 1-0 lead.
Berterame’s goal looked like it would give Inter Miami some control.
There were no fewer than four defenders within a couple of yards of Messi – two of them squarely between him and the net – as he brought the ball toward the box in the 55th minute, and with all those eyeballs on him nobody seemed to be marking Berterame just to his left.
No shot, no problem. In fact, it was a bit of a bad break for the Red Bulls.
Messi had the ball knocked away but it simply rolled toward Berterame, who one-timed it with his right foot for a 2-1 lead – with the greatest player ever being the first to wrap him in a celebratory headlock after the goal. It gave Inter Miami its first lead in about 150 minutes of play over two matches in its new stadium, which opened last weekend with a draw against Austin FC.
But a pair of kids made sure the lead didn’t last.
Julian Hall, 18, set up Mehmeti for the equalizer, finding space near the goal line and putting the ball into the perfect spot.
Messi had a chance in the 49th minute from about 12 yards out. He got the ball near the top of the box, stopped on a dime as Red Bulls defender Matthew Dos Santos went sliding past, flicked the ball to his left foot and tried a shot to the near post. It went just wide as he fell to the turf.
Both teams had goals waved off by offside calls – New York’s following a review – in the second half. Messi also had a 25-yard free kick stopped by Red Bulls goalie Ethan Horvath in the 94th minute.
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