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Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez Braces Thrill MLS Fans as Inter Miami Crush Orlando City

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVMarch 2, 2024

Inter Miami Uruguayan forward #9 Luis Suarez and and Argentine forward #10 Lionel Messi celebrate a goal during the MLS football match between Orlando City and Inter Miami FC at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 2, 2024. (Photo by Chris ARJOON / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS ARJOON/AFP via Getty Images)
CHRIS ARJOON/AFP via Getty Images

Florida belongs to Inter Miami.

Led by Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez braces, Inter Miami annihilated Orlando City, 5-0 on Saturday.

It was quite a night for Suárez, who opened his MLS account and added two assists on the evening, while Messi was up to his usual tricks:

Major League Soccer @MLS

FIRST MLS GOAL FOR LUIS SUAREZ<br><br>What a finish! 💥 <a href="https://t.co/Zj6XkA35mI">pic.twitter.com/Zj6XkA35mI</a>

Major League Soccer @MLS

SUAREZ SCORES AGAIN!!<br><br>That's a brace in the first 11 minutes. ⚽⚽ <a href="https://t.co/y5dsShfiYS">pic.twitter.com/y5dsShfiYS</a>

Major League Soccer @MLS

Suarez —&gt; Taylor<a href="https://twitter.com/InterMiamiCF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@InterMiamiCF</a> flying up 3-0.<br><br>📺 Free with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLSSeasonPass?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLSSeasonPass</a>: <a href="https://t.co/SLYFesMDv6">https://t.co/SLYFesMDv6</a> <a href="https://t.co/8FVgFjpL7W">pic.twitter.com/8FVgFjpL7W</a>

Major League Soccer @MLS

MESSIIIII<br><br>This game is crazy. <a href="https://twitter.com/InterMiamiCF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@InterMiamiCF</a> up 4-0. <a href="https://t.co/2lL8Bt6q3h">pic.twitter.com/2lL8Bt6q3h</a>

Major League Soccer @MLS

Suarez —&gt; Messi<br><br>It's 5-0 in South Florida. 😳 <a href="https://t.co/qQjuWINB2W">pic.twitter.com/qQjuWINB2W</a>

When the club brought Messi's former Barcelona teammate to South Beach, this was the type of performance it was surely envisioning, and the duo didn't disappoint.

That had MLS fans and pundits alike more than a little impressed on social media:

Nico Cantor @Nicocantor1

Luis Suárez MOTM: 2 goals, 2 assists.<br><br>The first goal is absolutely vintage Luis Suárez. Notice how the finish is perfectly in stride with his run. Doesn't need any extra steps to hit it. Sensationally elite.<br><br>The second is just magic. Bad defending but El Pistolero don't care <a href="https://t.co/IGTG2qhfwt">pic.twitter.com/IGTG2qhfwt</a>

Neal 🇦🇺 @NealGardner_

Messi, Alba and Suarez are out here trying to invent new ways to score a goal, lol.

ShraffyDuck @ShraffyDuck

Suarez boutta feast in the MLS yall thought Messi first season was crazy

🌴 @brangadang

Messi and Suarez linking up in MLS is beautiful

𝓞𝓓𝓙𝓛𝓒𝓕𝓒🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🦊 @ODJLovesFooty

Messi and Suarez loving life here😂

Taylor @SeelTeam6

It's wild how easy Suarez and Messi make soccer look

Toro @Toro_LFC

Suarez and Messi just doing whatever the heck they want in against Orlando 😂😭

𝖏𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 ‎✪ @jon_negron_

Messi and Suarez toying with Orlando I fear

The duo will face far tougher competition in league play this year, certainly, but one of the fears regarding Suárez was that the 37-year-old may have understandably lost a step or two.

That's likely the case, but it sure didn't matter on Saturday, and even if he doesn't have the legs of yesteryear, he's still a dangerous finisher. Blowout wins also allow Inter Miami to cut his evening short, as they did after 67 minutes.

Messi, meanwhile, went the full 90. Not too shabby for the 36-year-old.

In all, this was a dismantling of epic proportions. Inter Miami actually conceded the majority of possession, holding 47.4 percent, but was devastating on the counter-attack. That led to an 11-9 advantage on shots (6-3 advantage on shots and goals), though Orlando City did scrounge together five corners to just one for Miami.

None of that particularly mattered, because the moment Suárez and Messi found any pocket of space—and Orlando City provided plenty of them—they pounced. Make it two wins, a draw and seven points for Inter Miami out of three games, while Orlando City remains without a point after two contests.