Messi scores again as Inter Miami advances in the CONCACAF Champions League

Inter Miami qualified for the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday after beating Sporting Kansas City 3-1 at home in the second leg of the first round.

Argentine Lionel Messi, who scored the winning goal for Miami on Kansas City last week, was once again decisive, opening the scoring at Chase Stadium in the 19th minute .

The eight-time Ballon d'Or player released Luis Suárez on the left, the Uruguayan went to the line and crossed, with Messi receiving it on his chest at the edge of the area and scoring with his left foot, placing the ball near the left post.

Fellow Argentine Tadeo Allende, in the 45+1 minute , after a pass from Messi to Jordi Alba and an assist from the Spaniard, and Luis Suárez, in the 45+3′ , after taking advantage of a faulty ball from Jake Davis , scored before half-time.

In the second half, Inter Miami relaxed - Messi left in the 68th minute, after almost scoring twice in the 51st - and the visitors reduced the deficit in the 63rd minute, through Memo Rodriguez , with the help of a deflection off Uruguayan Maximiliano Falcón .

Messi now has two goals and two assists at the start of the 2025 season, in three games , as, between the two CONCACAF Champions League games, he made two assists on his MLS debut, in a 2-2 home draw with New York City.

The Argentine, who, at the age of 37, began his third season in the United States, his second since the beginning, played his 41st match wearing the Inter Miami jersey, for which he has scored 36 goals , already being the club's top scorer in history, and provided 18 assists.

In the CONCACAF Champions League, where Inter Miami will face Jamaica's Cavaliers in the round of 16 on March 6 and 13 , Messi has scored five goals and provided two assists in five matches.

The Miami team will participate in the 2025 Club World Cup, having been drawn in Group A, in which they will face FC Porto (June 19, in Atlanta) as well as the Brazilians from Palmeiras, led by Abel Ferreira, and the Egyptians from Al Ahly.