Lionel Messi does it again for Inter Miami! Argentine superstar nets stoppage-time equalizer in draw vs LA Galaxy

It was the Los Angeles Galaxy show all evening, but then there's Lionel Messi. You can never, ever count him out. He is an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner for a reason, and just when nobody expected it, he showed why in clutch fashion.

The Argentine equalized the match in stoppage time off a brilliant assist from longtime friend and former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba. Their brilliant chemistry was put on display to save the Herons a point after a 90-minute showing where they were outclassed in every sense.

The Galaxy could have opened the scoring early in the match, when they were handed a penalty kick after a Sergio Busquets foul on Joseph Paintsil, but USMNT shot-stopper Drake Callender denied Riqui Puig from the spot. Their dominant performance finally saw them rewarded with a goal in the 75th minute from Dejan Jovelic, but it all came crashing down with minutes to spare.

The Galaxy controlled the entire contest, from defense to midfield into the final third across the pitch, but in one moment - and that's all Inter Miami needed - things changed.

Inter Miami's ex-Barcelona quartet of Busquets, Messi, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez all played with LA Galaxy's Puig at the Catalan club in 2018. An unlikely reunion of sorts!

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Riqui Puig: Sure, he missed an early penalty. Sure, it was a tough one to take so early in the match. However, the ex-Barcelona star was sublime all evening. He ran the midfield show, orchestrated the tempo of the match and was absolutely brilliant for the Galaxy on both ends of the pitch.

It's hard to describe how genuinely terrific Puig was, but the best way to say it may be that he was the best ex-Barcelona player on the pitch all evening. That comes even with Messi's stoppage-time equalizer. Puig was phenomenal.

Sergio Busquets: The Inter Miami midfielder had one of the roughest games of his Inter Miami career on Sunday evening. First, he was at fault for the early penalty kick to the Galaxy. Luckily though, he was bailed out by Callender in net. However, that was just the first of a plethora of errors for the Herons from their veteran midfielder.

The biggest, and arguably the most important, came on the Galaxy's 78th-minute opening goal. He was caught in the midfield, out of position and way too far behind the play when Marco Delgado found Jovelic. In moments like those, it's a scenario where the veteran of the game saw his age creep up on him.

He was a step behind all night, and it proved costly.

The Herons have a big rivalry match awaiting them in week two of the MLS season, where they will take on South Florida's other MLS team, Orlando City. The Lions will look to earn their first three points of the season while Inter Miami will be searching for their second home win of the season.