DC United coach Troy Lesesne has praised the home fans efforts to put Inter Miami off their game despite losing 3-1 to the Herons.
The Florida franchise traveled to the US capital on Saturday without Lionel Messi in a game that was billed as a huge test for Inter Miami with the star player out on the injury table.
Despite going a goal down, Tata Martino’s side fought back to win 3-1 with Leonardo Campagna and Luis Suarez the heroes of the afternoon for Inter Miami, who made DC United look ordinary.
DC United manager praises fans for trying to intimidate Inter Miami
And speaking to MLS’s official website after the loss, DC United manager Lesesne praised the home support for trying to intimidate Inter Miami, even if the plan didn’t work out at all.
Lesesne said when asked about the impact the fans made against Inter Miami: “Clearly this was a different match, because it’s more of an international brand you’re going against.
“Regardless of [whether] Messi’s here or not, Inter Miami has so many big names, so that’s exciting. But probably more important than that is how our supporters tried to combat that.
“They were trying to make as much noise as possible to not let Inter Miami feel like they were the ones that were dictating the atmosphere at Audi Field. And that to me is special, that means they care about our club in a completely different way.”
Inter Miami passed a huge test without Lionel Messi
Inter Miami’s record with and without Messi makes for grim reading for any supporter, which is what makes yesterday’s win in the capital such a massive result for the Herons.
Suarez is again proving critics wrong with two well-taken goals as Campagna showed that he is an ideal backup for Messi after finding the back of the net on the road.
Indeed, DC United fans made the game hard for Inter Miami, yet the Florida franchise showed that they can win big games without Messi, and more wins could be on the horizon without the Argentine.