A grueling travel schedule, including a White House visit on Thursday, did not seem to have any ill effect on Lionel Messi or his Inter Miami teammates, who came out inspired, took an early lead and held on to win, 2-1, over D.C. United in Baltimore on Saturday night.

A near-sellout crowd of 72,026 was on hand at M&T Bank Stadium as Messi scored the 899th goal of his career and his third goal in two games after he scored a pair during the team’s come-from-behind win against Orlando City last weekend.

The Argentine captain could join Cristiano Ronaldo with the 900-goal milestone on Wednesday when Miami plays on the road against Nashville SC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Inter Miami, the defending MLS champions, took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute on a first-class Rodrigo De Paul goal that began with a steal by a pressing German Berterame, who then passed it to Telasco Segovia, who set up De Paul for the shot.

Ten minutes later, Messi doubled the lead with a left-footed shot after receiving a perfectly weighted Mateo Silvetti through ball from the left flank. Messi had slipped behind the D.C. defense and then knocked the ball in with one touch.

D.C.’s best chance to score in the first half was thwarted by a textbook clearance by Miami midfielder Yannick Bright, who ran around Gabriel Pirani’s back and stole the ball from the Brazilian.

The second half was not so one-sided. D.C. pressed higher and Inter Miami had trouble adjusting.

“The first half went very well, we had control of the game, we generated situations,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “The second half they pressed higher, we were more insecure, it was difficult to break lines to find our attackers, who were being covered man-to-man. We couldn’t find them. But we must take away the positive, which is three games away and we won two of them.”

Tai Baribo gave D.C. reason to hope with a goal at the 75-minute mark to make it 2-1, exposing Miami in transition, an area the team has worked to improve. Jackson Hopkins took a shot and Baribo scored on the rebound with a low shot that got past Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

De Paul had a great chance to seal the win in stoppage time but shanked an open-net opportunity over the crossbar. The Argentine midfielder pulled his shirt over his head in frustration.

Miami struggled to get into the attacking third for much of the second half, leaving Messi visibly frustrated. He darted off the field toward the tunnel immediately after the final whistle.

Mascherano went with a similar starting lineup to the one he used against Orlando. The only change was Silvetti started instead of Tadeo Allende, who was not feeling 100%. Allende replaced Silvetti in the 71st minute. Defender Gonzalo Lujan went in for Segovia in the 87th minute as Miami tried desperately to hold onto its one-goal lead.

“Tadeo wasn’t feeling good, he had some discomfort, so we decided to start with Toto [Silvetti], who had finished the last match well,” Mascherano said. “It was a technical decision.”

Mascherano said with the Champions Cup starting on Wednesday and games every four days, he and the coaching staff will consider doing more lineup rotations to keep players fresh and healthy.

Miami improved to 2-1-0 and moved to third place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Asked to evaluate his team thus far, Mascherano said: “A team needs to continue improving all the time. The one thing we don’t have on our team is complacency. We try to keep getting better. The first half, the fact we were able to take the lead is something we had not done so far this season, so that was one thing we were looking for.

“Now, we have to try to close out games better. The feeling of not being in control of the game is unusual for us because we are a team that thrives on being in control and when we’re not, we are displeased. That’s something we have to improve. The second half was very difficult, we gave up too much space and didn’t create enough scoring chances.”

Miami’s next league game is Saturday on the road against Charlotte FC. Inter Miami is playing its first five games on the road as construction on Nu Stadium at Miami Freedom Park is completed. The first game at the new stadium is April 4 against Austin FC. Tickets are available at intermiamicf.com

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