Suarez scores twice, Inter Miami beats D.C. United 3-1, proves it can win without Messi
On Saturday afternoon, Lionel Messi was not present at Audi Field. When he was in South Florida, he was recovering from a pulled hamstring. However, Inter Miami felt the influence of the Argentine great, as his colleagues defeated D.C. United 3-1 in his absence. Outside the stadium, street merchants were peddling Messi shirts, scarves, and bucket hats in both Spanish and English on every corner. The first goal by Leo Campana in the 24th minute and the second and third by Uruguayan forward Luis "El Pistolero" (The Gunslinger) Suarez, who came off the bench in the 62nd minute and proved why he is one of the most prolific goal scorers of his generation, were cheered on by thousands of fans wearing pink Messi No. 10 jerseys and No. 10 Argentina shirts.
In his first seven games wearing a Miami jersey, Suarez had six goals and five assists. Julian Gressel, a midfielder for Miami, stated, "You know the quality he has, so he obviously brings a little different dimension in the sense that you want to give him a couple of chances and he might put one away pretty quickly." When a player of his caliber enters the field, you can always sense a tiny surge of energy.
"When you talk about Luis, it's a similar situation as Leo (Messi), Busi, and Jordi," Miami coach Tata Martino remarked regarding Suarez. Nothing about it is novel. Throughout his career, he has done all of these things. He altered the game for us after we determined he would play for thirty minutes. He looks better every game, and his ability to score goals is a huge asset for us, so that makes me very happy. Despite missing Messi for two straight league games, Inter Miami leads the Eastern Conference with three victories, a tie, and a loss (10 points).
In the 14th minute, D.C. took the lead thanks to a rocket-like shot from Jared Stroud that went through Miami defenders Noah Allen and Nico Freire to the upper left corner. Ten minutes later, Campana gave Miami the equalizer with a left-footed effort from the center of the box after Fede Redondo's insidious run and ball.
In his first seven games wearing a Miami jersey, Suarez had six goals and five assists. Julian Gressel, a midfielder for Miami, stated, "You know the quality he has, so he obviously brings a little different dimension in the sense that you want to give him a couple of chances and he might put one away pretty quickly." When a player of his caliber enters the field, you can always sense a tiny surge of energy.
"When you talk about Luis, it's a similar situation as Leo (Messi), Busi, and Jordi," Miami coach Tata Martino remarked regarding Suarez. Nothing about it is novel. Throughout his career, he has done all of these things. He altered the game for us after we determined he would play for thirty minutes. He looks better every game, and his ability to score goals is a huge asset for us, so that makes me very happy. Despite missing Messi for two straight league games, Inter Miami leads the Eastern Conference with three victories, a tie, and a loss (10 points).
In the 14th minute, D.C. took the lead thanks to a rocket-like shot from Jared Stroud that went through Miami defenders Noah Allen and Nico Freire to the upper left corner. Ten minutes later, Campana gave Miami the equalizer with a left-footed effort from the center of the box after Fede Redondo's insidious run and ball.
Not just Messi was absent from Inter Miami's starting squad on Saturday. After Freire left the field hurt in the 31st minute, Sergiy Kryvtsov entered the game and Suarez and Jordi Alba came on late off the bench. It was Robert Taylor, Campana, and Gressel leading the attack instead of Messi and Suarez, with Diego Gomez, Sergio Busquets, and Rodondo in midfield. Allen replaced Alba, Freire, Tomas Aviles, and David Ruiz at left back on the back line. Drake Callender took the goal early on.
According to Martino, Messi's availability from now on will be assessed day by day. His return is anticipated on April 3, when the Mexican team Monterrey will play the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals at home.
According to Martino, Messi's availability from now on will be assessed day by day. His return is anticipated on April 3, when the Mexican team Monterrey will play the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals at home.
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