Lionel Messi on target as Inter Miami advance to CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16

Lionel Messi once again demonstrated his scoring prowess as Inter Miami advanced to the last 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, securing a 3-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday, thus winning the tie 4-1 on aggregate.

Messi had already found the net in the first leg, which ended 1-0 in frigid Kansas City last week, and he needed only 19 minutes to score at the significantly warmer Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale during the return match.

His former Barcelona teammate, Luis Suarez, delivered a well-placed pass to Messi, who was afforded too much room by the Sporting defense and capitalized by slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

The visitors believed they had equalized when Dejan Joveljic, a recent acquisition from Los Angeles Galaxy, managed to score after evading Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari; however, the goal was disallowed for offside.

Inter Miami extended their lead in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Messi set Jordi Alba free down the left flank, and Alba's low cross was converted from close range by Tadeo Allende.

The home side increased their advantage to 3-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate just two minutes later, following a poorly executed clearance from Jacob Davis that ricocheted across his own penalty area, allowing Suarez to volley the bouncing ball into the corner.

Kansas City managed to pull one back in the 63rd minute when Memo Rodriguez's long-range effort took a deflection off Maximiliano Falcon and eluded the wrong-footed Ustari.

Inter Miami will next face Jamaican club Cavalier, the champions of the Caribbean Cup, with the first leg scheduled to take place in Florida during the first week of March.

SportsLigue