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 proved once again 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 chip over a player to set himself up for a shot. Several slaloming runs through the defense.

Inter Miami beat Real Salt Lake 2-0 on the opening night of the MLS season but were far from comfortable in Florida

Fireworks light up the night sky after Robert Taylor gave Miami the lead – helped by some awful goalkeeping by Salt Lake

Taylor was played through on goal by Lionel Messi and his low finish should have been kept out but it crept into the corner

David Beckham was all smiles on the sideline as he watched his new-look Miami team claim all three points on opening night

Wednesday night’s game marked Luis Suarez’s first appearance in MLS and he helped set up Miami’s second goal of the night

Inter Miami (4-3-3): Callender, Yedlin, Aviles (Allen 77), Kryvtsov, Alba, Gressel (Mota 77), Busquets (Sunderland 84), Gomez, Messi, Suarez (Campana 90), Taylor (Ruiz 76).

Unused subs: Sailor, Dos Santos, Borgelin, Boatwright.

Goals: Taylor 39, Gomez 83

Booked: Gomez 

Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): MacMath, Eneli, Glad, Vera, Brody, Ojeda, Palacio (Barajas 66), Gomez (Julio 66), Ruiz, Luna (Caliskan 73), Arango (Hidalgo 86).

Unused subs: Oviedo, Chang, Holt, Silva, Beavers.

Goals: None

Booked: Ruiz

‘Tired’ as he may have been towards the end of the team’s arduous preseason, he certainly didn’t look it on Wednesday.

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.

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

The pink wave in the supporters’ section bounced. A couple of fans under the press box brandished an Argentina flag as the teams walked out.

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

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 that 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 Salt Lake would finally crack.

But there were no groans from the crowd, 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, Salt Lake pressed their opponents into mistakes, leaving the creaky legs of Busquets chasing the action back towards his goal.

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 MacNath 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.

RSL weren’t quite done at the other end of the field either.

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.

Still, their talent would ultimately win out, and the win was all but secured when Diego Gomez slotted home after being supplied by Suarez in the 83rd minute.

The Uruguayan will also rue a point-blank chance he shot at MacMath’s foot just three minutes later, 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.

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