Rodrigo De Paul's Golazo and Luis Suárez Lift Inter Miami Past Real Salt Lake 2-0

For 81 minutes in Sandy, Rafael Cabral had Lionel Messi's number and a sold-out crowd believed Real Salt Lake were about to steal something. Then Rodrigo De Paul stepped up to the edge of the box and bent the night in Miami's direction.

Inter Miami CF beat Real Salt Lake 2-0 on Wednesday night at America First Field, with De Paul curling in an 82nd-minute stunner and substitute Luis Suárez adding a second in the 83rd. Back-to-back goals turned a tense, physical stalemate into a comfortable road win for the reigning MLS Cup champions.

Messi vs. Cabral, Round One

RSL came out swinging. Zavier Gozo beat his man and found Sergi Solans for a header that drifted just wide in the fourth minute, and Morgan Guilavogui tested Dayne St. Clair from distance a minute later.

Miami answered with a flurry in the 22nd minute. Tadeo Allende headed wide from close range, Messi's left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved low by Cabral, and another Messi effort was blocked moments later. A minute after that, Cabral stopped Germán Berterame from the middle of the box. The RSL captain was already doing a lot of work.

The first half got chippy late. Noah Allen, DeAndre Yedlin and Stijn Spierings all went into the referee's notebook between the 42nd minute and first-half stoppage time, and it stayed 0-0 at the break.

The Long Squeeze and the Sudden Release

The second half was a proper tug of war. Berterame dragged a shot just wide in the 50th minute. At the other end, Gozo sent a shot over on the break in the 55th, St. Clair saved from Alexandros Katranis in the 59th, and Gozo curled another just wide in the 64th. Diego Luna's free kick in the 77th flew just over the bar.

Miami's coaching staff made their move with Ian Fray on for Allen in the 71st and Suárez on for Allende in the 75th. It paid off almost immediately.

In the 81st minute Miami won back-to-back corners. From the corner routine that followed, Telasco Segovia played it short to De Paul outside the box, and the Argentine shaped a right-footed shot into the top right corner. Per the club, it was his second goal of the regular season and Segovia's fifth assist.

In the 83rd minute, Berterame fed Suárez in the box, and the substitute hit a left-footed half volley into the same top corner. One shot, one goal for the veteran off the bench. Club stats had it as his second of the regular season.

Messi spent the rest of the night trying to join the party. Cabral saved from him in the 86th, 87th and 90th minutes, the last a free kick he punched clear.

Stars of the Night

Rodrigo De Paul decided the game with one swing and was busy everywhere else, taking three shots. MLSsoccer.com framed the goal as a statement to Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni with the World Cup approaching.

Luis Suárez needed one touch in front of goal. That is the whole scouting report.

Lionel Messi fired 10 shots, put four on target and did not score. On most nights that volume ends with a goal. On this night it ran into a goalkeeper in a zone.

Rafael Cabral made five saves and kept RSL alive for more than 80 minutes. He deserved a better ending.

Dayne St. Clair made four saves for the clean sheet, including the stop on Katranis that kept it scoreless early in the second half.

Zavier Gozo was RSL's most dangerous attacker, with four shots and a constant willingness to run at Miami's back three.

Turning Point: Two Corners in the 81st Minute

The game was balanced on a knife's edge, with chances at both ends and neither goalkeeper blinking. Then Miami won two corners in quick succession, and instead of swinging the second one into a crowded box, Segovia rolled it back to De Paul. One clever set-piece choice, one perfect strike, and suddenly RSL had to open up.

That is exactly what Miami needed. Suárez's goal in the 83rd minute came with the home team suddenly chasing the game.

Miami head coach Guillermo Hoyos praised the opponent afterward. "It was a great and emotional match against a strong team that plays good football, that tries to play and impose its style," he said.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Miami 19, RSL 11. On target it was 7 to 4.
• Saves: Cabral made five, St. Clair four.
• Possession: Nearly even, 50.7 percent for Miami.
• Interceptions: Miami made 13 to RSL's four, a sign of how often they cut out RSL's buildup.
• Cards: Six yellow cards in total, three for each side.

What It Means

Miami are 5-3-1 with 18 points. The club says the win extended their unbeaten run in regular-season play to eight matches and gave them the best road record in MLS this season, at five wins, a draw and a loss. RSL's own recap listed Miami second in the East after the result. The night also carried a milestone for Allen, who, according to the club, made his 119th appearance across all competitions to become the player with the most appearances in Inter Miami history.

Hoyos spread the credit. "The players expressed themselves well, and we have to thank them for all the effort and everything they gave on the field, because they performed at a very high level," he said.

Real Salt Lake drop to 5-1-2 with 16 points, fifth in the West according to the club. Their recap noted that the loss ended a six-game unbeaten streak and a run of four straight home wins, in front of a sellout crowd of 21,512, the fourth-largest in America First Field history.

Miami host New England on Saturday. RSL close a three-match week at the LA Galaxy on Sunday.

The Closing Take

This was a magic trick, and RSL fell for the oldest one in the book. Cabral spent 81 minutes watching the most famous left foot in the sport and won almost every round. The problem with watching the magician's hand is that somebody else is doing the trick. De Paul and Suárez did it twice. RSL did plenty right. Miami just had more ways to hurt them.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by InterMiamiCF.com; additional details from RSL.com and MLSSoccer.com.