MLS roundup: Lionel Messi returns in Inter Miami draw as Whitecaps, LAFC end level

[p]Two weeks after Argentina's loss to Spain in the World Cup final, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Messi[/a] was back on the pitch, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/columbus-crew-pQ8rarA7/inter-miami-0AheRyBg/?mid=hvPVkpOb"]entering in the 53rd minute[/a] to the delight of fans at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter-miami/0AheRyBg/"]Miami[/a]'s Nu Stadium.[/p][p]But Messi could not mark his return with a goal, twice shooting wide.[/p][embed guid="9be2e655-0c49-4949-bd56-3b9cc790ea64" url="https://x.com/MLS/status/2083727346465423795?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Uruguayan [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/suarez-luis/dUShzrBp/"]Luis Suarez[/a] scored his seventh goal in his last four games to put Miami 1-0 up in the 16th minute.[/p][p]Miami's former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]Manchester United[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a] midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/casemiro/Ukeq3c0b/"]Casemiro[/a] scored an own goal in the 34th minute which drew [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/columbus-crew/pQ8rarA7/"]Columbus[/a] level at 1-1.[/p][p]Suarez provided the assist for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/allen-noah/KUlXbpuK/"]Noah Allen[/a] to head Miami into a 2-1 half-time lead.[/p][embed guid="59241c04-1c36-466e-a55c-9028e37e8d23" url="https://x.com/MLS/status/2083712078741692552?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]But midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mendez-brais/Ey5XjmJt/"]Brais Mendez[/a], making his Columbus debut after arriving from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-sociedad/jNvak2f3/"]Real Sociedad[/a] in Spain, curled in a second equalizer from an 84th-minute free-kick.[/p][p]The result ended Miami's six-match winning streak and kept them in second place in the Eastern Conference behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nashville-sc/84yIDQMe/"]Nashville[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/dc-united-O6hjfSXE/nashville-sc-84yIDQMe/?mid=6NQNi6gn"]who drew 2-2[/a] at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/dc-united/O6hjfSXE/"]DC United[/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/los-angeles-fc/txUJt9AR/"]Los Angeles FC[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vancouver-whitecaps/K2dlua5N/"]Vancouver Whitecaps[/a] remain level at the top of the Western Conference [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/los-angeles-fc-txUJt9AR/vancouver-whitecaps-K2dlua5N/?mid=hd6eMTYI"]after they drew 1-1[/a] at Vancouver's BC Place.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/son-heung-min/Mgg9oPeM/"]Son Heung-min[/a] extended his scoring streak since the MLS resumed after the World Cup to four goals in four matches as he put Los Angeles ahead in the 37th minute.[/p][p]But Vancouver's German star [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chalobah-trevoh/2N61AJte/"]Thomas Mueller[/a] converted a 76th-minute penalty.[/p][p]The former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham[/a] star Son, who had shouldered much of the blame for South Korea's failure to make it to the knockout rounds of the World Cup, also earned MVP honors in the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday.[/p]