Lionel Messi endured an outing to forget as Inter Miami suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Atlanta United, sending their MLS Cup Playoff tie to a deciding third game.

Having recorded a 2-1 victory at home in Game 1, the Supporters’ Shield winners had a chance to book their place in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday.

However, they were punished for a lacklustre performance at Mercedez-Benz Stadium, only recording two shots on target throughout the match.

The Herons did take a 40th-minute lead when David Martinez scored a bizarre opener, dinking his shot into an empty net following a slip from Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

However, Derrick Williams headed a 58th-minute equaliser and Atlanta struck the decisive blow four minutes into stoppage time, Xande Silva coming off the bench to fire home from the edge of the box and prevent a penalty shoot-out.

The teams will now reconvene for a third game next week, with Messi and Miami requiring a home win to keep their campaign alive.

New York City also forced a decider in their series against FC Cincinnati, clinching a 3-1 home victory with goals from Alonso Martinez, Thiago Martins and Santiago Rodriguez.

Martinez put them ahead with a cool finish midway through the first half, with Martins adding a deserved second just before the interval, taking advantage of some poor defending to score with a free header at the far post.

Cincinnati were given hope of a comeback when Luca Orellano curled a wonderful strike into the top-left corner, but Rodriguez converted a stoppage-time penalty to ensure NYCFC kept the tie alive.

In the last of Saturday’s games, Minnesota United recorded a second penalty shoot-out win over Real Salt Lake in the space of four days to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Joseph Rosales’ placed effort gave Minnesota a second-half lead just four minutes after Brayan Vera’s deflected strike was disallowed for an offside in the build-up at the other end. 

Emeka Eneli prodded home 15 minutes from time to take the game to spot-kicks, but Real Salt Lake came up short from 12 yards once again, failing to score with three straight kicks in a 3-1 loss.

Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair repelled efforts from Diogo Goncalves and Diego Luna either side of Matt Crooks blazing over the top, allowing Jeong Sang-bin to score the decisive kick for the Loons, who will face the LA Galaxy in the next round.