Inter Miami has won a narrow 1-0 away victory in the freezing cold in Kansas – the man of the match was Lionel Messi.
Miami captain Lionel Messi got off to a successful start to the season with Inter Miami. The Argentinian world champion scored the golden goal in the CONCACAF Champions Cup at Sporting Kansas City in the 1-0 win, despite the extreme conditions at minus 17 degrees.
Messi skillfully stopped a chip ball from his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets with his chest, turned around two opponents and shot with his right foot from ten meters into the far corner (56′). Before that, however, the Florida team had shown little accuracy in their offensive play, and their processes, especially in offense, still had plenty of room for improvement at the start of the competition.
Luis Suarez and Kansas substitute Salloi miss chances
Messi, who like almost all the players protected himself from the extreme temperatures with gloves and leggings, had a few shots before scoring, but showed little accuracy. Veteran forward Luis Suarez also missed two good opportunities, but in the end the narrow lead was enough in the evenly matched game. Kansas Joker Daniel Salloi was stopped by Miami keeper Oscar Ustari in a one-on-one situation, shooting the ball into the keeper’s waiting arms.
The game was postponed by 24 hours due to an arctic snowstorm. The away win puts Miami in a very good position for the second leg next Tuesday, when they will be playing in Florida for a place in the last 16.
In Major League Soccer (MLS), Miami play their first game of the season against New York City FC on Saturday. In the preseason, Messi’s team won the regular season, but then failed in the first playoff game.
