Lionel Messi scored his first goal since the death of his father, but Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 Major League Soccer draw by the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
The Argentine superstar put Miami ahead 2-1 in the 26th minute with a trademark curling left-footed strike into the far corner.
Messi kept his celebration subdued, sharing a brief smile with his teammates before pointing toward the sky in his familiar tribute to his late father.
Messi was instrumental in Miami's first goal five minutes earlier, picking up a run down the left flank from Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez, who headed the ball across for a close-range finish by young American Daniel Pinter.
Philadelphia secured a point with goals from Indiana Vassilev in the 11th minute and Neil Pierre in the 58th.
"We came to win, but we couldn't," Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos said. "We're not happy with the draw because we don't like it, but now we need to try to rest and think about the next game, which is in less than 72 hours."
Hoyos was referring to Saturday's meeting with Toronto FC.
Messi, 39, moved into second place on the league's scoring chart with 13 goals, three behind Croatian Peter Musa, who scored twice for Dallas in a 4-3 victory over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.
Miami's talisman had failed to find the net in the two matches since returning from Argentina following the death of his father, Jorge, on Aug. 8.
In those two games, Miami lost 3-2 to Mexican club Leon to be eliminated from the Leagues Cup before suffering a 4-1 MLS defeat to Nashville, in which Messi missed a penalty.
Miami have now gone four matches without a victory and are seven points behind Eastern Conference-leading Nashville.
In another MLS matchup involving two high-profile newcomers, Robert Lewandowski converted the winning penalty in Chicago Fire's 2-1 victory over Antoine Griezmann's Orlando City.
The Fire recorded their sixth straight win, including three in Leagues Cup play, in a match that was delayed for more than an hour by severe weather.
Puso Dithejane put the visitors ahead in the fourth minute, and that remained the score when lightning halted play.
David Brekalo pulled Orlando level with a 52nd-minute header, but Polish star Lewandowski, who signed with Chicago in June, won a penalty after being brought down in the box by Swedish center back Robin Jansson. Lewandowski converted from the spot, sending Maxime Crepeau the wrong way.
Griezmann had a chance to equalize in the 77th minute on a counterattack but hit the post.
The victory moved Chicago into third place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Miami with a game in hand.
