Lionel Messi scored, but it wasn’t enough as Inter Miami dropped points for the third straight match in a 1-1 draw against Charlotte FC.

An opportunistic Charlotte side has largely found a way to keep Miami’s stars at bay in a match where both teams will be disappointed if they don’t get three points.

The herons were silent and largely ineffective for an hour, while Charlotte was quite wasteful. In the end, a draw seemed like a fair outcome, even though Miami’s hopes of setting an MLS points record are slipping further and further away.

Both teams exchanged chances in the first half. Messi shot narrowly wide from the top of the penalty area. Karol Swiderski’s clever lob attempt ended up on the roof of the net.

Charlotte took the lead in the 56th minute, with Swiderski deflecting Brandt Bronico’s shot past a wrong-footed Drake Callender. However, Messi provided the necessary moment of magic just minutes later when the Argentine finished with a curling effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

The game was stretched shortly afterwards. Miami had a penalty ruled out by VAR. Charlotte put the ball in the net, but saw in the build-up that the ball was disallowed for offside. However, Luis Suarez came closest and fired one goal over goal from close range in the last kick of the match.

There will be some frustration here in Florida. Miami has now dropped points in three straight games and is limping quite a way to the Supporters Shield. The team has three games left in which it has the best record in MLS, but has somewhat opened the door for the Columbus Crew, who have one game in hand.

GOAL rates the Inter Miami players from Chase Stadium…