Messi strikes as Miami beat Sporting to advance in Champions Cup

Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a masterful strike in the 19th minute, and Inter Miami beat Sporting Kansas City 3-1 on Tuesday night in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup’s first round.

Luis Suárez and Tadeo Allende also scored as Inter Miami advanced with a 4-1 aggregate to face Jamaica Premier League champion Cavalier FC in the round of 16 on March 6. Messi also scored in Miami’s 1-0 win at Kansas City in the first leg last Wednesday.

Memo Rodríguez scored for Kansas City - the team’s first goal of 2025.

Miami scored on all three of its first-half shots despite Kansas City getting the majority of opportunities early, with six shots and three on goal.

Messi slipped a through ball to Suárez, then controlled Suárez’s pass off his chest and rifled it past John Pulskamp into the bottom right corner. Messi also started Miami’s second scoring opportunity with a perfectly placed ball into the path of Jordi Alba, who found Allende for the finish in the 45th minute.

Two minutes later, a misplayed touch by Kansas City’s Jacob Davis led to Suárez’s difficult goal that he bounced past Pulskamp.

“There is this level of quality that guys like Messi, Suarez (bring),” Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said. “They know the moments in the game. They just know them. They operate at such a different level than other players, and they’ve done it at all leagues and levels. ... If you let them get ahead of you, the game can open up because with one chance they can break you.”

The 37-year-old Messi, who played every minute in Miami’s first two matches, checked out in the 69th minute on Tuesday. Suárez and veteran Sergio Busquets each played 81 minutes.

Miami coach Javier Mascherano said he talked to his veterans about managing their minutes throughout the season to keep them healthy.

That made room for contributions from younger players like the 26-year-old Allende.

“We will try this season to push them as much as we can because we believe in them,” Mascherano said of Miami’s young players. “Obviously, I love to work with the old guys, or the big men, but I know that the young players can give us much.”

Agencies