Minnesota United will have to come down off the high of one of their most historic wins when they visit a Houston Dynamo side stinging from yet another home defeat.

Minnesota United (6-2-4, 22 points) earned an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on Saturday afternoon, dealing the Herons their most lopsided loss with Messi in the starting lineup since his arrival in 2023.

Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Anthony Markanich and Robin Lod all scored, and Minnesota also forced a Miami own-goal from a corner kick.

The win put the Loons a point above Miami in the Supporters’ Shield standings and back into second in the Western Conference, and marked a second straight three-goal victory in league play.

And while the match clearly drew extra hype from local fans and media, Minnesota manager Eric Ramsay hopes the approach to Saturday’s clash will make moving on to Wednesday’s task easier.

“I felt it was really important that we approach the game as we would normally approach games,” Ramsay said. “I didn’t become a different coach, the staff didn’t become a different staff, and the players didn’t become different players. We won that game in the way that we’ve won most of the games we’ve won this year.”

Meanwhile, Houston (2-6-4, 10 points) sank to a 3-1 home defeat to Seattle on Saturday, their fourth at home in seven matches, but their first since mid-March.

The match turned when Dynamo defender Obafemi Awodesu was sent off late in the first half — only six minutes after heading in a game-tying goal — for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with what the referee ruled a deliberate handball.

Albert Rusnak scored twice in the opening 15 minutes of the second half to put Seattle in front for good.

“It is about forgetting this game and focusing on the next,” said Jack McGlynn, who assisted Awodesu’s leveler. “The team knows we need three points, and we know where we are in the standings. We just have to keep pushing and start focusing on Wednesday’s match.”

–Field Level Media