One of Inter Miami’s fab four was missing from the lineup Thursday night, but the other three shined when it mattered most and helped salvage a 2-2 tie on the road against Nashville SC in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16.

Luis Suarez headed home the equalizer in the fifth minute of stoppage time on a perfectly placed cross from his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, the second time this season Miami pulled out a tie on the road in the dying minutes.

“They don’t call him ‘El Pistolero’ (The Gunslinger) for nothing,” teammate David Ruiz said of Suarez.

Lionel Messi scored Miami’s first goal shortly after halftime, a clinical finish on an assist from the left side from Suarez.

Miami remains unbeaten through four games and heads home for the second leg of the Champions Cup Round of 16 with an edge in the aggregate tiebreaker, as away goals count more than home goals in this tournament. The winner of the Cup earns a $5 million prize and a spot in the 2025 Club World Cup.

Left back Jordi Alba was battling a bad cold and missed the game, but his former Barcelona teammates made up for his absence.

“We see first hand again the exceptional qualities, a completely different level of intelligence from the likes of Messi and Busquets and Suarez,” said Nashville coach Gary Smith. “Completely different level. And for the most part, I thought our guys did a wonderful job.”

The Nashville coach said playing against Messi and his famous Miami teammates brings out the best in his team. Last summer on that same field at GEODIS Park, Miami and Nashville battled to a thrilling 1-1 tie in the Leagues Cup final and Miami won 10-9 on penalty kicks to clinch the trophy.

“If you look at that final, why wouldn’t you be inspired,” Smith said. “The first final this team ever had in front of a sellout crowd in front of the best player that’s ever walked the planet. If that doesn’t inspire you, then nothing will. And maybe we can say the same about tonight.

“The crowd turns out, which they do on most occasions here anyway, but I think there’s a slightly different edge and feel to the atmosphere when Lionel Messi is in town. He’s the show and an exceptional individual. It squeezes a little bit more, of course, it’s not always easy to get to those heights and in these one-off occasions, in such a prestigious tournament, the guys have left everything out there.”

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