Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a masterful strike in the 19th minute, and Inter Miami beat Sporting Kansas City 3-1 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 on Tuesday night 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.