Frederic Brillant scored on a rebound to complete a stunning sequence of events early in the second half and D.C. United rallied from a goal down to defeat 10-man Inter Miami 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Audi Field.
Yamil Asad also scored from the penalty spot as D.C. United (1-1-0, 3 points) picked up their first win of the season at the expense of expansion opponents who have begun with a pair of one-goal defeats on the road.
United completed their comeback during a wild eight-minute stretch that began with a video review that resulted in the disallowing of an apparent second Miami goal and the sending off of Roman Torres for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
Rodolfo Pizarro scored inside of two minutes for the first goal in the history of Inter Miami (0-2-0, 0 points). The David Beckham-owned team will play its first home game next Saturday against the team Beckham played for in MLS -- the LA Galaxy.
D.C. United's Ola Kamara and Joseph Mora, and Inter Miami's Robbie Robinson all departed before half-time due to injury.
The game changed drastically shortly after the break on a sequence in which Lewis Morgan appeared to have doubled Miami's lead on a shot that deflected off a defender and past goalkeeper Bill Hamid.
Instead, the goal was disallowed and Torres was sent off following video review showed he clearly touched the ball with his arm. In referee Rubiel Vazquez's judgment, it denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Minutes later, Victor Ulloa took down Edison Flores in the penalty area, and Asad stepped to up convert the penalty kick to level the game in the 59th minute. It was Asad's first goal in any competition since he previously played with D.C. in 2018 and after a largely inactive 2019 spent in Argentina.
Two minutes after that, Flores was in the middle again, striking the right post with a free kick earned by Felipe. Brillant reached the rebound and hammered the half volley into the net from the edge of the six-yard box.
Miami started brightly, and Pizarro had already missed a previous chance before scoring his team's first ever goal in the second minute. Rookie Robinson started the attack, driving inside the penalty area and finding Moran on the right. Morgan snuck a low pass to the back post, where Pizarro easily finished past a stranded Hamid.