Inter Miami got the exact night they needed from Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. Both scored braces as Miami beat DC United 4-0 at Nu Stadium, ending a five-game run without a win and giving some force back to a side that had badly needed it. Messi's two goals also kept up a striking 2026 return, with 8 goals and 4 assists in 8 appearances across all competitions.

The numbers that carried Miami

The scoreline itself comes with a slight caveat, because the match details come from the reporting around the game rather than an independently verified fixture list here. Still, every source cited the same outcome, and the bigger point is straightforward enough: Miami's biggest names dragged them out of a poor run.

Suárez set the tone early, scoring in the third minute and again in the 39th. Messi took over after the break, finding the net in the 47th minute and then adding another in the 60th, with Rodrigo De Paul assisting the second of those.

That is exactly the kind of spread Miami wanted from its two veterans. Messi has now produced 8 goals and 4 assists in 8 appearances in 2026 all competitions. Suárez's season return stands at 7 goals in 8 appearances, so his brace was hardly out of nowhere.

There was support around them too. German Berterame assisted both of Suárez's first-half goals, and Miami controlled the game with 62% possession while limiting DC United to only two shots on target.

Messi's level was no one-off

Messi was playing his first club match after his Argentina farewell four days earlier, and he dropped straight back into decisive form. A Bola, in comments translated from Portuguese, quoted Inter Miami's club account as saying: "The star returned to club competition after and signed a brace in the rout against DC United (4-0), which allowed the Florida team to end a run of five games without a win".

The wording is clumsy because it comes through translation, but the substance fits the night. Miami had won only 2 of their previous 11 MLS matches before this result, so they needed more than a routine home win. They got a game shaped almost entirely by their most proven forwards.

Messi's recent scoring run backs that up. He has scored in all five of his listed recent matches, which lines up with the sense that this was part of a sustained burst rather than an isolated showpiece. SPORT1, quoted in German, summed it up like this: "The Argentine superstar leads Inter Miami to victory with two goals. Vancouver slip up again without Thomas Müller."

That second line about T. Müller and Vancouver belongs to the wider MLS roundup rather than this match, and it says enough about the framing elsewhere too. Messi remained the central figure, but this result also needed Suárez to be clinical from the start.

The table detail is less clear than the result

There is less certainty around Miami's exact conference points total after the win. One report said they were second in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Chicago Fire. BBC's version placed them second but 14 points behind leaders Nashville FC. Without a verified points line to settle it, the safer move is to leave the table arithmetic alone.

What is clear is that Miami stopped the slide. They had gone five games without a win, then put four past DC United with Messi and Suárez scoring all of them. When a team is wobbling, that sort of reminder from its star pair still changes the mood quickly.

Miami's last 11-match MLS stretch before this had produced only 2 wins. Against DC United at Nu Stadium, Messi and Suárez turned that into a 4-0 reset.

FAQ

Why did Inter Miami's win over DC United feel so important?

Because it ended a five-game run without a win and did it in emphatic fashion. Inter Miami beat DC United 4-0 at Nu Stadium, with Luis Suarez scoring in the third and 39th minutes before Lionel Messi added goals in the 47th and 60th.

Is Lionel Messi still scoring regularly for Inter Miami in 2026?

Yes. Messi's two-goal display against DC United took him to 8 goals and 4 assists in 8 appearances in 2026 all competitions. He has also scored in all five of his listed recent matches, so this was part of a sustained run rather than a one-off night.

How strong has Luis Suarez been for Inter Miami this season?

Suarez has been highly productive. His brace against DC United fit a strong return of 7 goals in 8 appearances across the 2026 all-competitions aggregate. He opened the scoring in the third minute and struck again in the 39th minute.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →