Lionel Messi's thunderous late goal wasn't enough as Nashville SC scored a 2-1 home win over Inter Miami on Saturday to force a decisive Game 3 of their first-round MLS playoff series.

Messi had scored twice as Miami eased to a 3-1 win in Game 1 eight days ago but it was a different story for much of the 90 minutes in Nashville. First-half goals from Sam Surridge and Josh Bauer propelled the hosts to end a 10-match winless streak against the south Florida side dating back to Messi's arrival more than two years ago.

The teams will now meet again in a week's time back in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a place in the Eastern Conference semifinals on the line.

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Miami now has no margin for error as it looks to avoid a repeat of last year's playoff exit when it beat Atlanta United in Game 1 before dropping the next two games to crash out in Round 1.

Despite the arrival of Messi, together with fellow former Barcelona stars Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Miami has yet to advance past the opening round of the playoffs in its MLS history.

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In its quest to overcome that history, Javier Mascherano's squad got off to the worst possible start Saturday at Geodis Park. Surridge ran onto a through ball over the defense and Miami goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo charged out of his goal but only succeeded in bringing the Nashville striker to the ground.

Surridge, who finished a distant second behind Messi in this season's Golden Boot race, successfully converted the opportunity from the penalty spot.

Miami soon had chances to get back level but its leading attacking threats failed to convert. First Messi shot wide of the goal after a spill from Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis, then Suárez struck the post after rounding Willis and having a clear sight of goal, albeit from a narrow angle.

Winger Tadeo Allende had a similarly golden opportunity but placed his shot wide from an Alba cross to the center of the box.

Nashville made Miami pay for that profligacy shortly before halftime. Hany Mukhtar's corner found its way through a sea of players for defender Bauer to slide in and find the net from six yards out.

Miami responded by coming out and dominating possession and territory in the second half. Still, through almost three-quarters of the game, Miami had yet to force Willis into a save.

That changed in the 66th minute when Willis made himself big at the near post to deny Suárez from point-blank range.

Nashville, though, could also have stretched its lead. Segovia was fortunate not to give Nashville a second penalty when Surridge went down over his outstretched leg in the box and shortly after Surridge skied a shot high into the stands with the goal at his mercy.

Messi had scored seven goals in his last three games, five of them against Nashville, and despite a quiet night by his standards, the Argentine star still produced a moment of brilliance.

Given a yard of space around the penalty area for the first time, Messi lashed a left-footed shot high into the Nashville net from the edge of the box. It produced an anxious last few minutes, but Nashville held on to put Miami on the brink of another early end to its season.