Hours before kickoff, it was clear from the vibe around the stadium that this was going to be a spicy match. One young Inter Miami fan carried a poster that read: “Our goat: (photo of Messi). Your goat: (photo of Mickey Mouse).”

Here are some things we learned from Miami’s thrashing of Orlando.

Suarez is still 'El Pistolero'

Yes, he is 37. Yes, he has been battling knee inflammation for quite some time. But if the ball is delivered to him in the right place, at the right time, El Pistolero (The Gunslinger) still has a lethal shot.

He scored two goals in the span of seven minutes Saturday, and both were textbook finishes that ejected fans from their seats.

Suarez also unselfishly set up Taylor for his goal and found Messi’s forehead for the fifth goal later in the game.

“From an individual standpoint, I am happy to be able to help the team,” Suarez said. “A striker and professional soccer player has to be accustomed to living with daily criticism. People in soccer do not have memory so in that sense I am very used to it. I have been playing professional soccer for almost 20 years, so I do not worry about things that people might be saying.”

Martino was correct when he said after the game that the criticism of Suarez was premature.

“I said last week that to analyze a player when the team did not play a good game is unjust,” Martino said. “The reality is the team played very well and Luis shined in all his splendor, not only as a goal-scorer but also with his assists.”

Gressel said of Suarez: “He left it all on the field without talking, and it is obviously very nice and it gives the whole group a good feeling when he is doing that type of stuff. Two goals, two assists, and an unbelievable assist as well where he is on a hat-trick in the first half and (instead) squares the ball to Robert (Taylor). I think that shows who he is, that shows what he does for this team, and how important he is. To have a guy like him on the team with that individual quality, I think we saw it today. That is something that is certainly good to have moving forward.”

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