Inter Miami failed to score for the first time since Lionel Messi joined the team, playing a goalless draw with Nashville.

Messi failed to convert two free kick attempts in his first Major League Soccer match at home, and it was the first time during his Inter Miami tenure that he was kept off the score sheet.

Inter Miami still earned a point in the standings as they look to make a late-season playoff push. Miami entered the game 11 points shy of the MLS playoff line and needing to move up from 14th to ninth place to make the playoffs with 11 regular-season matches left.

Miami had won their previous nine matches as Messi's addition gave the team an immediate boost. He has scored 11 goals, including three multi-goal performances.

Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said despite their success, the team is still gelling after undergoing so many changes over the past two months.

Miami hired Martino in June, weeks after firing Phil Neville. Miami had the worst record of the 15 Eastern Conference teams at the time, but with Messi won all seven of their Leagues Cup matches and their US Open Cup semi-final match. Since Messi's arrival, the club also signed his former Barcelona teammates, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

“We really haven't had a full week working with this team,” Martino said. “Even with the evolution of this team through Leagues Cup and Open Cup, the fact that we play every four days hasn't allowed us enough time, the necessary time, to train and continue building this group. But what we've been able to do is correct through videos and see the improvements through the games.”

Messi started the game along with Busquets after the two entered Miami's previous match against the New York Red Bulls in the 60th minute.

Miami had no shots on goal through the first 60 minutes as the team struggled to break through Nashville's defence.

Messi attempted a free-kick in the 61st minute after drawing a foul on Nashville's Dax McCarty, but the shot to the bottom-left corner was stopped by Elliot Panicco.

Still, Inter Miami fans took out their phones to record the free-kick, just in case the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner delivered another goal similar to the one on his debut — a 94th-minute strike to give Miami a win over Mexico's Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup opener.

Messi got another chance in the 83rd minute, but the shot bounced off the wall of defenders.