Luis Suarez scored his first two MLS goals for Inter Miami on Saturday with a quick first-half brace, and Lionel Messi added two more in the second half (one with his chest and one with his head) as Inter Miami raced to a 5-0 rout of in-state rivals Orlando City on Saturday.
2024 Major League Soccer
5-0
Match Report
Luis Suarez scored the first two goals of his Major League Soccer career as Inter Miami beat Orlando City 5-0 on a record-breaking night in Florida.
Lionel Messi also netted twice at Chase Stadium and Robert Taylor got the other goal in what was Inter Miami's biggest win since the club played its first game in January 2020.
As well as scoring twice, 37-year-old Suarez provided two assists against the team that finished second in last season's Eastern Conference - 29 points ahead of Miami.
Prior to Saturday's thrashing of Orlando, Miami had won a game by a four-goal margin on four occasions but never by five.
Suarez opened the scoring on Saturday inside four minutes with a brilliant one-touch finish following a pacy low cross from Julian Gressel.
The same two players combined again as Miami went 2-0 up in the 11th minute before Suarez teed up Taylor to tap home goal no.3.
Suarez was then denied a hat-trick by a tight offside call.
Messi's first goal of the night was scored using his chest after a spectacular defensive clearance had prevented Jordi Alba from finding the net.
Suarez was substituted off in the 67th minute but not before providing his second assist of the game with a cross that was headed in by Messi.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
4' GOAL! Inter Miami CF 1-0 Orlando City (Luis Suárez)
7' Highlight from Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
10' GOAL! Inter Miami CF 2-0 Orlando City (Luis Suárez)
25' Highlight from Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
28' GOAL! Inter Miami CF 3-0 Orlando City (Robert Taylor)
34' Highlight from Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
44' Match Event for Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
48' Match Event for Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
54' Highlight from Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
56' Match Event for Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
57' GOAL! Inter Miami CF 4-0 Orlando City (L. Messi)
62' GOAL! Inter Miami CF 5-0 Orlando City (L. Messi)
76' Highlight from Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City
Line-ups
Inter Miami CF XI: Messi, Suarez, Alba, Busquets, Robert Taylor, Yedlin, Nicolás Freire, Julian Gressel, Drake Callender, Diego Gómez, Tomás Avilés
Subs: Sergiy Kryvtsov, Jean Mota, CJ dos Santos, Shanyder Borgelin, Campana, Lawson Sunderland, Noah Allen, Ryan Sailor, David Ruíz
Orlando City XI: P. Gallese, Robin Jansson, W. Cartagena, Martín Ojeda, Rodrigo Schlegel, Iván Angulo, Rafael Santos, Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, Facundo Torres, César Araújo, Duncan McGuire
Subs: Nicolás Lodeiro, Felipe Martins, Muriel, Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, David Brekalo, Michael Halliday, Ramiro Enrique, Jeorgio Kocevski