Substitute Fafà Picault scored for Inter Miami CF in the 89th minute, and Lionel Messi struck for the first time in the MLS regular season in a dramatic, late 2-1 victory at Atlanta United FC on Sunday.

Miami (3-1-0) triumphed despite six saves from Atlanta's Brad Guzan, who played an integral role in his team's playoff upset of Messi's squad in a best-of-three series last fall in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Atlanta shocked the Supporters' Shield winners by winning the rubber match 3-2 on the road to eliminate Messi and Miami from the playoffs.

Messi's goal came in the 20th minute of just his second regular season appearance for Miami, which has already played eight matches because of Concacaf Champions Cup action. The World Cup winner started the game after being sidelined for three games due to muscle fatigue before coming off the bench on Thursday night in a 2-0 win at Cavalier FC of Jamaica.

"Well, Leo's goal, he's the best player in the history of this sport, there's nothing more to say," Mascherano said after the game. "He's a player who has the ability to score the most beautiful [goal] you can see. The goal from Fafa obviously makes us very happy for him. We came from three hard weeks because he had been out. We're very happy.

"He's come to contribute his experience in this league. But he's been humble, working as a team, knowing to use the moments when we need it. So we are delighted with him."

The start for Messi came on the heels of Miami manager Javier Mascherano defending the usage of his star player early in the season.

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