Atlanta United registered a dramatic last-minute 2-1 playoff victory against Inter Miami on Saturday, giving a big blow to Lionel Messi’s hopes of leading the Florida club to MLS Cup glory.

Portuguese winger Xande Silva blasted home a sensational winner for Atlanta in the 4th minute of stoppage time in front of 68,455 home fans at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to level the best-of-three postseason series 1-1 and set up a winner-take-all game three in Miami next Saturday.

Top seeds Miami, 2-1 winners in game one last week, had looked to be heading for a series victory after taking the lead through Paraguay international David Martinez in the 40th minute after a terrible blunder by former US goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

An end-to-end game saw both teams create chances thereafter, and Georgia international Saba Lobjanidze almost hooked in a goal for Atlanta in the 89th minute only to see his shot tipped onto the woodwork by Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender.

This might have been Messi's most poor performance since joining MLS, and that's saying a lot. He was off form almost throughout the match, missing easy chances. The biggest was in the 83rd minute when he was wide open in the box but in a rare moment shot off his right foot as opposed to his famous left. The shot went way into the stands.