WASHINGTON — Lionel Messi was not at Audi Field Saturday afternoon. He was resting a strained hamstring back in South Florida. But the Argentine star’s impact on Inter Miami was felt, as his teammates beat D.C. United, 3-1, without him.

Street vendors hawked Messi shirts, scarves, and bucket hats on every corner outside the stadium, in English and Spanish.

Thousands of fans in pink Messi No. 10 jerseys and No. 10 Argentina shirts roared with each of Miami’s goals, the first by Leo Campana in the 24th minute and the second and third by Uruguayan forward Luis “El Pistolero” (The Gunslinger) Suarez, who came off the bench in the 62nd minute and showed why he is one of the most prolific goal scorers of his generation.

Suarez has six goals and five assists over his first seven games in a Miami shirt.

“You know the quality he has, so he obviously brings a little different dimension in the sense that you want to give him a couple of chances and he might put one away pretty quickly,” said Miami midfielder Julian Gressel. “You can always feel a little burst of energy when a player of his quality comes on.”

Miami coach Tata Martino said of Suarez: “When you talk about Luis, it’s a similar situation as Leo (Messi), Busi, Jordi. It’s nothing new. These are things he has done during his entire career. We had decided he would play 30 minutes and he changed the game for us. It makes me very happy because every game he looks better and the facility with which he scores goals is a great asset for us.”

Inter Miami remains atop the Eastern Conference with three wins, a tie and a loss (10 points), despite playing two league games in a row without Messi.

D.C. struck first on Saturday when Jared Stroud got between Miami defenders Noah Allen and Nico Freire and ripped a rocket of a shot to the top left corner in the 14th minute. Campana scored the equalizer for Miami 10 minutes later on a left-footed shot from the center of the box that began with a penetrating run and pass from Fede Redondo.

Messi was not the only star missing from the Inter Miami starting lineup Saturday. Suarez and Jordi Alba came in late off the bench and Sergiy Kryvtsov entered in the 31st minute when Freire left the field injured.

Instead of Messi and Suarez leading the attack, it was Robert Taylor, Campana and Gressel, with Diego Gomez, Sergio Busquets and Rodondo in midfield. The back line was Allen at left back, in place of Alba, Freire, Tomas Aviles and David Ruiz. Drake Callender started in goal.

Messi’s availability going forward will be determined on a day-by-day basis, Martino said. The aim is to have him back for the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals April 3 at home against Mexican team Monterrey.

Observations from Saturday’s game …

Inter Miami can win without Messi

Miami was winless in the previous seven games Messi did not play, dating to last September, but on Saturday his teammates proved they can be formidable on their own.

That will be critical going forward during a year that includes 34 MLS games, Champions Cup, Leagues Cup and Copa America. Martino has said he will rotate the roster regularly, has done an admirable job of that so far, and teammates need to feel they can compete without Messi at their side.

“It’s important for younger guys who are going to start playing more minutes because that’s how it’s going to be throughout the summer,” Gressel said. “We’re going to have to find ways to get results if we want to be a top team in this league. (Saturday) was a good example for us to be able to do that. It gives us some confidence and belief that we can do it even when he’s not there with us.”

Campana added: “We all know how important Leo (Messi) is for this team and what he represents, but there will be times we can’t count on him, so us young players must take charge like we did against D.C.”

Suarez is as good as advertised

All the critics who suggested 37-year-old Suarez was washed up and too hobbled by sore knees when he arrived in January have probably changed their tune by now. The Uruguayan has shown that when he is around the goal, he makes special things happen. On his second goal, he saw the D.C. keeper had a good angle on him, so he lofted his shot high into the top left corner, just beyond the keepers’ reach.

“He came from the Brazilian league, one of the toughest competitions in the world, where he scored 17 goals and 10 assists, and that went on until November,” Martino said. “There was no question what he would bring the team, the confidence he brings the team. And obviously, people outside have opinions, but those people do not see what wee see day to day.”

Inter Miami a fan favorite league wide

Gressel smiled when asked if he has ever played on a team that has so many fans at away games.

“It’s definitely different,” he said. “It’s nice as an away team to not have the whole stadium against you. I noticed it when (D.C. player Pedro) Santos got the red card (in the 90th minute). I think half the stadium was cheering. I was like, 'OK, that’s interesting.’ "

Fans spent big money to buy tickets to Saturday’s game, hoping to see Messi play, but showed up in his gear anyway even though they knew he was injured. And they cheered when Miami scored.

“Of course, I wanted to see Messi, but this is still Messi’s team and I am looking forward to seeing Busquets, Alba, Suarez and the new player, Federico Redondo,” said Melvin Dulcias, who drove two and a half hours from Laurel, Del., for the game. “I started following Inter Miami when Messi arrived, and now I am a big fan, so it is exciting to be here and see them in person.”

Wilmer Martinez of Washington, D.C., also showed up in a Messi shirt, as did his 10-year-old son Dylan. They found out on the way to the stadium that Messi was injured. “We were sad, but this is Messi’s team and at least we will see his team and his teammates, so we are happy to be here.”

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