Inter Miami vs DC United: Messi scores as Miami win 2-1 before 72,026 in Baltimore

Inter Miami beat DC United 2-1 in Major League Soccer on Saturday night, with Lionel Messi scoring his third goal of the season in front of 72,026 fans at the Baltimore Ravens' stadium, the Associated Press reported in a report carried by the San Mateo Daily Journal. DC United moved the game from their own smaller Washington ground to the NFL stadium in downtown Baltimore to fit the crowd Messi draws.

"Inter Miami vs DC United" was the most searched football match in Pakistan overnight, according to Google Trends, with more than 2,000 searches.

The goals

Miami held on for the last quarter of an hour.

Where it leaves both sides

• Inter Miami are 2-1-0 (two wins, one defeat) after two straight wins that followed a 3-0 opening loss to Los Angeles FC.
• DC United are 1-2-0.
• Next for Miami: an away game at Nashville on Wednesday night in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Wednesday night in the US Eastern time zone is Thursday morning in Pakistan, nine hours ahead.

Why the crowd mattered

A crowd of 72,026 is several times what DC United draw at home. It shows again how much Messi moves tickets: home clubs have moved Miami games to bigger stadiums before when he is expected to play. For Pakistani fans, the late kick-offs mean most Inter Miami games land between 4am and 7am PKT, so the highlights on the morning after are how most people here follow him.

Football fans who keep track of transfer fees and salaries in rupees can use our dollar to rupee converter; today's rate is on the USD to PKR page.