D.C. United did not have to contend with Lionel Messi on Saturday, an injury absence that figured to provide Troy Lesesne’s ambitious MLS team with a clear advantage at sold-out Audi Field.
But Inter Miami also employs Luis Suárez, Messi’s former running mate at FC Barcelona. And in a second half in which the visitors did not seem to miss their Argentine mastermind, Suárez scored twice as a substitute during a 3-1 victory that delighted hundreds of spectators donning Barcelona, Argentina and Miami Messi shirts.
Suárez, the 37-year-old Uruguayan superstar in his first Miami season, does not move as well as he once did, but he knows where to go and what to do with the ball.