Lionel Messi found the net once again as Inter Miami secured a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last 16 with a 3-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday, sealing a 4-1 aggregate win.
Messi, who had already scored in the first-leg 1-0 win in freezing Kansas City last week, wasted no time in making an impact at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. In the 19th minute, former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez chipped the ball across to Messi, who was left unmarked by the Kansas City defense. The Argentine maestro took full advantage, slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
Sporting Kansas City thought they had equalized when new signing Dejan Joveljic found the net after rounding Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, but the goal was ruled offside.
Inter Miami doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time. Messi set up Jordi Alba down the left flank, and the Spanish defender delivered a low cross that Tadeo Allende turned in from close range. Just two minutes later, Miami extended their dominance to 3-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate. A poor clearance from Kansas City’s Jacob Davis led to a fortunate chance for Suarez, who reacted quickly to hook the bouncing ball into the net.
Kansas City managed to pull a goal back in the 63rd minute when Memo Rodriguez’s long-range effort took a heavy deflection off Maximiliano Falcon, wrong-footing Ustari and ending in the back of the net.
With this victory, Inter Miami advanced to the next round, where they will face Jamaican club Cavalier, the reigning Caribbean Cup champions. The first leg of the tie is scheduled to take place in Florida in the first week of March.
