Despite his victorious comeback, the Argentine couldn’t stop a late collapse at home.
Lionel Messi is capable of covering up a lot on his own. Even at this stage of his fitness, he is capable of doing a great deal on the field. The very fact that he is on the field alters both the moments that define games and the way they are played.
Messi is limited to 45 minutes of play off the bench after being injured for almost a month, so he can’t do it all.
With his quick comeback from injury, he scored in just 12 minutes. This Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rapids marks his first in more than three weeks. It appeared as though the Herons would score three points, with Messi leading the attack.
Two minutes after the Argentine found his goal, they took the lead thanks to a Leo Afonso finish, and it appeared like they would coast from there. But their intentions were derailed by a late collapse, as the Rapids leveled the score in the 88th minute.
The equalizer for the Rapids felt avoidable. Miami was unable to thwart the counterattack that followed. On a night they will feel they earned three, Miami only managed one point when Cole Bassett applied the final touch.
Herons are accustomed to this theme, but the good news is that Messi is back and will be able to influence games just like he did on Saturday night when he was totally healthy. The bad news is that there is still much work to be done, and this squad is still incredibly flawed.
(Goal)
