Lionel Messi's Inter Miami advances to Round of 16 in CONCACAF Champions Cup after dominating Sporting Kansas City over two legs

Inter Miami defeated Sporting Kansas City 3-1 (4-1 on aggregate) in leg two of their CONCACAF Champions Cup tie Tuesday evening. Round 1 of the competition saw the Herons win both legs, home and away, as they advanced to the Round of 16 in the competition.

It was a dominant performance from Javier Mascherano's men, with Lionel Messi himself opening the scoring. The Argentine banged in a rather stupendous volley, hitting home a Luis Suarez cross just 19 minutes into the match.

Two more goals followed in quick succession, with Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez scoring in first half stoppage-time to give them a four-goal lead on aggregate at the break, putting the tie to bed before the second half even began.

Sporting did gain a goal back in the second half, with MLS veteran Memo Rodriguez finding the back of the net via a wicked deflection off defender Maximiliano Falcon. However, it was not the spark they were hoping it would be down four goals and another goal never arrived.

Sporting's attempt at a comeback was stalled by some stellar midfield play from the Herons, but ultimately, they fell flat and played uninspired as the whistle closed in on them. It was Sporting's fourth-straight Champions Cup loss across all years of participation in the tournament.

In the next round of the competition, Inter Miami will take on Jamaican Premier League side Cavalier SC. The island club has won their domestic title three times in club history, with their win in the 2023-24 season being their latest achievement. They were also victors of the 2023-24 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup.

Lionel Messi:

In cup competitions, you need your stars to have moments where they lift the team. Messi did that in both games in this series.
He scored the winner in Leg 1 and followed it up with the opening strike -- a brilliant volley -- in Leg 2 to give them all the momentum needed to advance.

That's what a captain, and a star, does.

Onto the next round.

Peter Vermes:

After a big offseason where the club recruited MLS Cup-winning striker Dejan Joveljic, and brought in a high-profile attacking Designated Player in Manu Garcia, their attack was rather lifeless across both legs.

Both central defenders in Robert Voloder and Daniel Rosero were picked apart by the Miami attack, but if Sporting's stars were able to standout and compete at all, things may have ended differently.

Ultimately, though, this one is on Vermes. He didn't get the tactics right and failed to get the most out of his shiny new attackers.

The Herons are back in action this weekend when Matchday 2 of the MLS campaign arrives. Miami will take to the road on Sunday when they travel to take on the Houston Dynamo.