Lionel Messi, Inter Miami knock Sporting Kansas City out of Concacaf Champions Cup
Sporting Kansas City went toe to toe with Inter Miami for the majority of the first half in Tuesday night’s Concacaf Champions Cup first-round match.
In the second leg, Sporting needed to win by one or more to advance. Lionel Messi scored an unstoppable goal again for Miami in the 19th minute. But Sporting still out-chanced Miami and put the home side under immense pressure in an eventual 3-1 loss.
In fact, Sporting outshot Miami 8-1 with three shots testing the goalkeeper by first-half stoppage time. That included a shot from Dejan Joveljic saved off the lie. But after not converting any of those chances under pressure, it felt like Sporting might later rue those missed opportunities.
It happened much quicker than that, as Inter Miami scored twice in first-half stoppage time to push the lead to 3-0 — effectively putting the match to bed.
“We had a three-minute spell there at the end of the half that just changes the game,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said after the match. “Outside of that, I think we deserved more in the game.”
Memo Rodriguez pulled one back in the second half to make the final score 3-1. But Miami comfortably won the series 4-1 on aggregate.
“It’s a great lesson for our team to learn especially this early on in the year,” Vermes said. “But (the match) also proved to themselves that they can play at a good, quality level.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re out, but there are some really good things that I haven’t seen in the team yet, which is really good.”
Messi’s goal, again, was a thing of beauty. Luis Suarez took the ball to the end line at Chase Stadium while Sporting’s back line was preoccupied with another run in the box. Suarez blasted a pass out to the top of the box to a wide-open Messi. He ripped a volley into the net.
Tadeo Allende nabbed a tap-in after an excellent pass from Jordi Alba for Miami’s second goal, which came in the first minute of stoppage time.
Two minutes later, Jake Davis misplayed a defensive clearance, which looped behind the Sporting back line to Luis Suarez. Robert Voloder never got between Suarez and the ball, and the legendary striker ripped a shot past goalkeeper John Pulskamp to make it 3-0.
Those moments looked similar to certain times last season, when mistakes and goals conceded snowballed out of control. Vermes doesn’t think that’s something that will continue to be a trend this year.
“I think two guys had difficulties in that time period,” Vermes said. “And believe me, that’s something that was addressed, will be addressed, and they have to be better for it.”
Things might have gone differently if Sporting KC had cashed in on its dominance over a 25-minute stretch prior. Joveljic, Shapi Suleymanov and Manu Garcia all started and played 60 minutes for Sporting KC. Tuesday marked the only time the trio of offseason acquisitions have shared the field so far this season.
Joveljic was dangerous in the box and integral in the progression of the ball to the penalty area at times. Suleymanov was excellent in possession and showed off his passing vision while also knowing when to set up his shot and when to pass.
And Garcia? Well, he was the glue to it all. And Miami didn’t have an answer for the way he controlled play at times.
“If you look at Manu,” Vermes said, “(he’s) very new to the team, no time in the preseason with us. For him to come in and already adapt and adjust into the team as fast as he has, those are all good signs. Those guys are all just going to get better from here, and their understanding of each other is only going to get better.”
But Sporting never could find the back of the net Tuesday — until it was too late.
It was clear there are still some growing pains to come with the new group of attackers. However, they showed a spark and creativity that seldom appeared in 2024.
Up next: Attention turns to Sporting’s MLS home opener Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. Central.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 9:44 PM.