Messi scores off bench but Inter Miami held by Colorado

-Inter Miami vs Colorado: ‘Messi felt good’ –

While Inter Miami were disappointed to have the let two points slip from their grasp against Colorado, the return to the field of Messi was a boost for Martino ahead of the trip to Monterrey.

“What Leo did is the usual for him, what he provokes in our team, in his teammates, in the people. The most important thing is that he felt comfortable, he felt good, he felt loose,” said the coach.

“This will help him to be more confident, especially with regard to the injury, for the second leg in Monterrey,” he added.

But Martino was disappointed with the way his team had given up the late goal.

“It is a shame to give up two points (…) but I think we continue to make mistakes that really make us drop points along the way.

“In the 87th minute, leading 2-1, to be caught on the counterattack is not usual, it is typical of not having a good reading of the match, of the moment, of not having people looking in front of them, we surely struggle with that,” he said.

In the Los Angeles derby — LAFC beat the LA Galaxy 2-1 after a controversial penalty from Denis Bouanga.

Timothy Tillman put LAFC in front in the fourth minute, bundling the ball home from close range after a corner.

The Galaxy pulled level in the 29th minute through Argentine Julian Aude who saw a shot strike the post but pounced on the rebound, had another shot blocked before drilling home at the third attempt.

But the outcome was decided by a questionable penalty award when French-born forward Bouanga went down under challenge from the Galaxy’s Japanese defender Miki Yamane.

Bouanga looked to have dragged his own foot and then drawn some slight contact and the VAR sent referee Jon Freemon to the pitchside monitor but surprisingly he opted to stick with his decision.

Bouanga, last season’s top scorer in MLS, converted the spot kick to earn LAFC the three points.

Defending champions Columbus Crew had to battle back with 10 men to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to D.C. United.

Belgian forward Christian Benteke put D.C. ahead in the 61st minute with a close range finish before the Crew’s Colombian striker Cucho Hernandez, returning after a three-match absence, was sent off for lashing out at Christopher McVey.

But three minutes from the end, Aidan Morris levelled for Columbus with a thundering strike from 25 yards out.

Messi scores off bench but Inter Miami held by Colorado