Inter Miami beats KC 3-1, advances in Champions Cup with goals by Messi, Allende, Suarez
The weather in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday night — clear skies and 69 degrees — was entirely different from the frigid, subzero conditions in Kansas City a week earlier, but the result was the same, another win for Inter Miami against Sporting KC in Round 1 of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
This one was more decisive.
Lionel Messi, Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez scored first-half goals and Miami won 3-1 to earn a spot in the Round of 16 after winning the first leg 1-0 on the road with a goal by Messi.
Inter Miami’s next opponent is Jamaican club Cavalier FC. The first leg is at home March 6 and the away leg is March 13 in Jamaica.
Messi got things started again on Tuesday at the 19-minute mark with a sublime left-footed volley to the bottom right corner off an assist from his trusty friend and former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez. The sequence began with Messi, who found Suarez racing down the left side, and then Suarez delivered the assist.
Allende, the Argentine winger who joined Miami on loan from Spanish club Celta Viga this season, made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time, tapping a Jordi Alba cross into the net with his right foot.
Then it was Suarez’s turn. The 38-year-old Uruguayan, known as “El Pistolero” (The Gunslinger), showed remarkable athleticism, fending off a defender and then finding the back of the net from a difficult angle while sliding shortly before the halftime whistle.
“There is a level of quality, guys like Messi, Suarez, they know the moments in the game,” said Kansas City coach Peter Vermes. “They just know, and they operate at such a different level than other players. They’ve done it all, different level than other players, different leagues, Champions League. They have an incredible professionalism in the way they approach the game when they step inside the white lines.
“If you let them get ahead of you, the game can open up. With one chance, they can break you.”
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano praised Suarez not only for his goal but for everything he brings the team.
“I was very happy for Luis, not only because he scored, as we know how important it is for strikers to convert, but also he offers a lot in helping us organize defensively, he works for the team, and sometimes maybe people don’t see it,” Mascherano said. “But we the coaches do value him a lot.”
Kansas City’s lone goal was scored by Memo Rodriguez in the 63rd minute after his shot ricocheted off the shoulder of Inter Miami defender Maxi Falcon, making his MLS debut.
Tuesday’s starting lineup included Messi, Suarez, Alba, Allende, Oscar Ustari, Ian Fray, Toto Aviles, Fede Redondo, Sergio Busquets, Telasco Segovia, and Uruguayan center back Maxi “Peluca” Falcon, whose first big play was a block from close range.
Mascherano was impressed with how Falcon played, considering he just joined the team a few weeks ago.
“Even though he isn’t in game rhythm yet because of so much time off, Maxi has shown what he is, a warrior who plays with his heart on his sleeve,” Mascherano said. “That’s why we brought him. We know what he brings.”
The coach also praised his young players such as Fray, Redondo, Segovia, and Allen.
“I love them,” Mascherano said of the youngsters. “I came from the Argentine youth teams, I love to work with young players. We will try this season to push them as much as we can because we believe in them. We know they have big potential. Obviously, I also love to work with the old guys, the big men, but I know the young players can give us a lot.”
Messi played for 68 minutes and was replaced by Benja Cremaschi. Noah Allen came in for Aviles in the 57th minute. Gonzalo Lujan went in for Falcon at the 80-minute mark. David Ruiz and Robert Taylor played the final few minutes, replacing Busquets and Suarez.
Mascharano said the coaching staff has been talking with the Big Four (Messi, Suarez, Busquets, Alba) about managing their playing time and taking rest when they can get it.
“We want them to be available for all the games,” he said. “If later there are some games we don’t need them, even better. Or, like in this game, take them out and let them rest. It is a long season. The start of the season we had three games in seven days, with travel and some injuries we didn’t expect. So, we have to manage all that and the players need to understand that rest is for their own good and we will be a stronger team for it.”
Messi and Suarez made headlines even before the game began, as the MLS Disciplinary Committee announced earlier in the day that it fined the two players an undisclosed amount for making contact with the necks of a New York City FC player and coach during their season opener on Saturday night at Chase Stadium.
The ruling was that both players violated the hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy. Suarez’s incident was during halftime of the 2-2 tie and Messi’s was after the game. It was the first disciplinary fine for Messi since he joined the league in July 2023. He also was issued a yellow card as he walked toward the tunnel following the incident.
After the final whistle blew, Messi was seen protesting to lead official Alexis Da Silva, who pulled out the yellow card. NYCFC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy seemed to say something to Messi at that point, and the Argentine player approached him, turned away, and then came back and touched the back of his neck as he said something and gestured toward the tunnel.
Suarez touched the back of the neck of NYCFC defender Birk Risa after the halftime whistle as both players argued whether New York player Strahinja Tanasijevic should have received a second yellow card and ejection for a foul on Suarez at midfield just before halftime.
Miami was playing a man down at that point after Inter Miami’s Toto Aviles was ejected in the 23rd minute for a foul.
Inter Miami returns to MLS action on the road Sunday night at 7 against the Houston Dynamo.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 9:17 PM.