Luis Suarez came off the bench to score twice as Inter Miami defeated D.C. United 3-1 in Major League Soccer on Saturday, with Lionel Messi absent due to injury.
Suarez continued his prolific start to life in MLS with his sixth goal in seven games in all competitions for the South Florida club.
Miami had failed to win their last seven games without Messi, a run dating to September, but despite that record, coach Gerardo Martino left Suarez and Jordi Alba on the bench.
Then Diego Gomez, Miami’s powerful Paraguayan midfielder, won the ball in the center of the field and broke forward, finding Suarez, whose route to goal was initially blocked.
But Suarez was able to find space for a chip that Bono clawed at but was unable to stop crossing the line.
Martino said Suarez’s performance had gone perfectly according to his plan.
“We had talked about him having half an hour and he defined the game,” said the Argentine coach.
“One of the coach’s tasks, with these players, is to convince them when to stop, when to allow themselves a break and not risk injury.
“I try to get them to make a contribution not only when they play 90 minutes but less, and boy, did he do that today.”
Martino said Messi’s rear-leg injury was being dealt with “week to week” and he refused to be drawn on his potential involvement in Argentina’s upcoming friendlies.
“It is clear that with him there is an objective that he can play in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. We’re not going to take any risks,” he said.
