Inter Miami's perfect preseason comes to an end as Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi fall flat to Orlando City in draw

Inter Miami dropped points for the first time in preseason as in-state rivals Orlando City SC shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

Orlando City struck first, a well-worked counterattack giving Martin Ojeda a clean look on goal - which he made the most of with a dink over the goalkeeper. Miami responded soon after, a quick interchange between Tadeo Allende and Suarez crafting an easy chance for the Argentine, who slotted into the far corner. Orlando should have made it two after 39 minutes, but a tidy save from Oscar Ustari denied Marco Pasalic's effort.

Orlando came alive after the break. A Hector Martinez blunder handed the Lions their second, the center back miscontrolling a long ball, which Orlando dutifully crafted into an easy chance for Ramiro Enrique - who buried from close range. Fafa Picault saved Miami's blushes with a tidy finish in the 93rd minute.

Messi, for his part, was exciting in moments, but couldn't quite make the difference. He put two free kicks narrowly wide and looked bright for brief spells. However, the magic never quite came off for him.

The Herons had won four straight in the preseason before Friday, with all wins coming against Mexican and Central American opposition. MLS opponents, it seems, will offer much more of a challenge.

This was always going to be a strange game for Orlando to approach. Miami, of course, likes to have possession, and have the kind of technical quality on the ball to be relatively press-resistant. The Lions, then, were always going to have to pick their moments to strike, and be opportunistic on the break.

Ojeda embodied that outlook in full. He scored one, assisted another, and picked up all sorts of pockets of space around Sergio Busquets - making life uncomfortable for Miami throughout. The best 10 on the pitch Friday night wasn't wearing Miami black...

It isn't quite coming off for Suarez at the moment. The Uruguayan is doing all of the basics right here. He gets into good positions, makes the right runs, and pulls off the usual slew of dinks and flicks around the box. But that killer moment that has defined his game over the course of his 20-year career was missing in Miami's preseason finale.

He was a little unlucky here and had a wonderful goal ruled out for a dubious offside. Still, there were one or two half chances that a usual Suarez might bury that went awry. He will surely find a rhythm soon, but this hasn't been the best preseason after Miami elected to bring him back for another year.

Miami has a quick turnaround and will play its first competitive fixture Tuesday evening against Sporting KC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Orlando, meanwhile, opens its season by hosting Philadelphia Union at Inter & Co Stadium next Saturday.