Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and David Beckham’s star-studded squad win on MLS’ opening night thanks to goals from Robert Taylor and Diego Gomez in Florida

From San Diego, Los Angeles and even Colombia, they flocked down to South Florida to watch Lionel Messi and Inter Miami begin the first full season of their still-inconceivable partnership.

And over the course of 90 frantic minutes vs Real Salt Lake, the fans at the newly-named Chase Stadium were reminded again and again why they’d made the trip. Plane, car, train – it didn’t matter.

Messi showed that he was worth the trek.

The Herons got their season off to a winning start on Wednesday night as they beat their visitors 2-0 and mostly looked the part of the MLS Cup contenders they’re being billed as.

There was no Messi goal but numerous reminders of his brilliance. An audacious Olimpico try about 15 minutes in that forced goalie Zac MacMath to tip over. A jaw-dropping nutmeg near midfield. A truly outrageous dink over a player on the ground to set himself up for a shot. Several slaloming runs through the defense.

‘Tired’ as he may have been towards the end of the team’s arduous preseason, he certainly didn’t look it on Wednesday, as Miami coach Tata Martino said his star was ‘motivated’ and ‘happy’ after the match. 

The Herons will certainly be in the mix for a championship if that remains the case. 

‘I saw [Messi] very free, very precise,’ Martino added. ‘A lot of speed. He has something that doesn’t happen with other players around the world.’

It was fair to wonder if Miami would open the season looking flat after their gratuitous preparations that saw them log thousands of air miles en route to Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan.

Still, there was optimism in the air.

Fans lined up to buy merch before the game, while others claimed free scarves and enjoyed a game of cornhole. 

Luis Suarez warmly hugged co-owner David Beckham as he was presented to the fans along with his family.

Meanwhile, the pink wave in the supporters’ section bounced and a couple of fans under the press box brandished an Argentina flag as the teams walked out for warmups.

Any opening-day doubts were quickly assuaged as the hosts looked match-fit rather than weathered from the last month’s friendlies.

‘I think we played a good game in the first half, and above all we didn’t suffer defensively,’ Martino said. ‘We could have scored one more goal and the truth is that it was a first half that was expected from the team.’

Just past the first minute mark, Suarez scooped a ball over the top to Messi near the goal. The play ended in a goal kick after Messi collided with MacMath, but it was nonetheless a harbinger for how the match would play out.

Such was the (well-founded) fear that Messi struck in his opponents that they stationed a defender on the goalline during a free kick, which he took from all of 30 yards out about 15 minutes later. That turned out to be a wise move as Justen Glad was forced to head a would-be goal over the bar.

A mad scramble in the 20th minute then saw a flurry of shots in the box – a Messi attempt blocked and Suarez wide in a sequence where it seemed like RSL would finally crack.

But there were no groans from the crowd – only encouragement – and after more saved attempts from Suarez and Diego Gomez, the fans were rewarded for their patience.

It was the 39th minute when a low Robert Taylor attempt bundled through the hands of MacMath. The sequence – started by a Sergio Busquets through ball, advanced by Messi and finished by a football journeyman in Taylor, showed exactly why Miami paid big for its four stars: It’s hard not to look at home when you’re aided by world class talent.

And it’s that sort of pedigree that has captured interest in both the local and global senses.

Miami has 16million Instagram followers – far more than any MLS club – and yet there is still something of a small-town feel around the club’s only 21,500-capacity stadium.

It’s not every day, for example, that your Lyft driver tells you he has David Beckham’s phone number.

Still, for Miami’s glittering collection of talent there are kinks to iron out.

Salt Lake didn’t quite get the better of their hosts but they flashed the blueprint on how to do so.

On several occasions early in the second half, RSL pressed their opponents into mistakes, leaving the creaky legs of Busquets chasing the action back towards his goal. 

As the second half wore on, RSL had more chances to equalize.

Andrew Brody fired over with a half volley in the 65th minute from close, Brayan Vera forced Drake Callender’s best save of the match from a set piece header and Cristian Arango later fell at the most inopportune of times as he jostled with DeAndre Yedlin on a fast break.

Miami did not quite break, but they were stretched and at times looked a little less dominant than the MLS Cup contender they’re aiming to be.

‘In the second half, we didn’t start well, we were imprecise, and we lost many balls at the start,’ Martino said. ‘I feel that from the first half, they had not been able to take the ball away from us at the start and that made the rival’s game improve.’

The visitors left those chances begging, but Miami – namely new man Julian Gressel – were profligate as well.

He missed a volley from short range off a cross and later undercooked his attempt when MacMath came off his line and left the goal early.

It’s a problem that Miami will hope not to deal with, but where will the goals come from if Messi or Suarez miss time? It’s a reasonable question to ask, even if it’s purely hypothetical at the moment.

For now, Miami fans will rightly enjoy the fruits of that partnership which was nurtured in Barcelona and now has a chance for a final flourish in MLS.

The pair looked off the pace at times in the preseason but jelled well on Wednesday, as they combined to set up Diego Gomez for the second and final goal of the match in the 83rd minute.

‘I told you in these last few weeks, when we came back from Japan, we had three and a half days off, and after that we started having training sessions together,’ Martino began. ‘It wasn’t just playing and resting like it was on the tour. We had multiple training sessions ahead of Newell’s, we had many sessions ahead of the start of the league, and truly sometimes that’s what you need. 

‘Because in every training session there’s a better understanding that’s produced [between Messi and Suarez]. In their case, it is true that they know each other very well but finding those partnerships again that also worked in Barcelona [is what they’re aiming for].’

Suarez will rue missing a point-blank chance he shot at MacMath’s foot just three minutes after his assist to Gomez, denying him a debut goal.

This, though, was a good if imperfect night for the hosts.

Before the game, one couple said that they’d be flying in from LA for every home game as season ticket holders.

They will have seen more than enough on Wednesday to send them crawling back.