Messi, Berterame score as Inter Miami settles for 2-2 preseason tie in Ecuador
Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the preseason, German Berterame scored his first goal in an Inter Miami uniform, but the men in pink had to settle for a 2-2 tie in a friendly match in Ecuador Saturday night against Barcelona de Guayaquil.
Inter Miami, with striker Berterame and center back Micael making their first starts, controlled possession early and created the clearest chances in the first half.
Messi got the MLS Cup champions on the scoreboard in the 31st minute, receiving a perfect pass from Ian Fray and then dribbling forward to the penalty area before cutting past a defender and blasting a left-footed shot into the net.
The Ecuadorian team evened the score with a header from Joao Rojas off a corner kick, but Messi helped Miami regain the lead by playing a perfect cross to Berterame on the edge of the area and the Argentine-Mexican forward then beat the Barcelona SC goalkeeper with a right-footed shot that went in off a slight deflection.
Berterame joined the team last week in a $15 million transfer deal from Liga MX club Monterrey and has been unable to train with his teammates on U.S. soil as he awaits his visa.
“I thought it was a fairly even match,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “They started off better, then after 15 or 20 minutes we started to manage the ball and find solutions, find Leo [Messi] in areas and situations we wanted to and generate good attacks and then Leo’s first goal came.”
Mascherano said he felt the team played well at the start of the second half, but as a result of multiple substitutions, the team lost its form a little bit. But he praised the young players who came off the bench for their efforts.
Messi was replaced by Luis Suarez at the 57-minute mark, Gonzalo Lujan went in for Fray two minutes later and Facundo Mura replaced Micael.
Miami substitute David Ayala, who went in for Yannick Bright, was shown a red card for a foul in the 87th minute and minutes later, Miami went down a man and paid the price. Barcelona SC equalized on a shot from an unmarked Tomás Martínez, who took advantage of a disorganized Miami defense.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano emptied the bench late, sending in Santi Morales, Mamadi Jiana, Kenan Hot, Alexander Shaw, and David Ruiz.
“In general, I leave the game satisfied, I feel we played a better match than the other day [a 2-1 win over Atletico Nacional in Colombia],” he said. “Sometimes the score overshadows the performance. Those of us who analyze the game and not just the result see the improvement from the last game. There is a bit of a bitter feeling because they tied the game late, but overall, we are seeing what we want to see.”
The stadium was rocking with a passionate crowd, as it had been in the first stops in Peru and Colombia.
“The atmosphere at all these games has been impressive, and speaks to all that Leo generates,” Mascherano said of the boisterous crowd. “It’s good for us to feel that external pressure.”
Bright added: “It was a really nice atmosphere, the supporters were really loud and thanks to all the people who came out. Our team has been pretty good. We’re still getting used to each other. We lost a lot of players and some guys are still not with us yet. We are still adapting. We’ve got a few weeks before our first game, so we’ve got plenty of time.”
Miami has one win, one loss and one tie through three preseason games in South America, after a 3-0 loss to Peru’s Alianza Lima and a 2-1 victory over Colombia’s Atletico Nacional last week.
The team has one last preseason test on Friday against Independiente del Valle in Puerto Rico and then kicks off the 2026 MLS season at LAFC on Feb. 21. Inter Miami will play its first five games on the road and then inaugurate the new Miami Freedom Park stadium on April 4 against Austin FC.
This story was originally published February 7, 2026 at 10:58 PM.