Thunderstorms and lightning delayed the start for 90 minutes, but there were sparks aplenty on the field after with Messi, Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer and most-capped player, at the heart of the action.
Miami grabbed the lead in the 32nd minute when Brazil’s Casemiro rose to head home Messi’s corner.
READ: City stay perfect while Spurs draw another blank
Atlanta equalised three minutes later when former Newcastle forward Miguel Almiron blasted home a low shot.
Former Liverpool and Barcelona star Luis Suarez put Miami into the lead with a measured finish on the cusp of half-time after a move down the left started by Messi.
But Swiss striker Breel Embolo struck home an 87th-minute penalty to secure a share of the spoils.
In Toronto, Derrick Etienne scored two minutes into second-half stoppage time to secure a dramatic 4-4 draw in a wild eight-goal thriller against Chicago.
Josh Sargent scored a hat-trick for Toronto, but Chicago’s Maren Haile-Selassie scored twice before an own goal and Robert Lewandowski’s 63rd minute strike put the visitors 4-3 up.
Watch: Messi’s mesmerising juggling with a Jabulani
Philadelphia beat Montreal 2-0 as 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan scored in the 75th minute.
It gave the teenager four goals and seven assists this season, the most scoring contributions by a 16-year-old in a season, eclipsing the mark of 10 by Freddy Adu in 2005.
In Orlando, Antoine Griezmann’s goal in the 28th minute gave the hosts a 1-0 home victory over San Diego
Guilherme Biro scored in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to secure a 1-1 draw for Austin with San Jose.
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–AFP
Photo: Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images
