By Sam Kovzan – SportingKC.com
Sporting Kansas City opened the 2025 season on Wednesday with a hard-fought 1-0 home loss to Inter Miami CF in the first leg of Round One in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Lionel Messi decided the contest by striking in the 56th minute at frigid Children’s Mercy Park, giving Miami a slender aggregate lead ahead of next Tuesday’s decisive second leg in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The return fixture at Chase Stadium will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with live coverage on FS2 (English) and Vix (Spanish).
The earliest competitive match in Sporting history was also the club’s coldest on record as temperatures dipped to 5 degrees at kickoff. Manager Peter Vermes gave club debuts to two starters—namely 19-year-old Homegrown midfielder Jacob Bartlett and freshly minted Designated Player striker Dejan Joveljic, who completed a marquee move to Kansas City from the LA Galaxy earlier this month.
Miami won the MLS Supporters’ Shield with a league-record 74 points last year and wasted little time creating danger as Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, squeezed a ball into the box for veteran forward Luis Suarez to lash narrowly wide of the left post in the eighth minute. Suarez had another good look go begging near the half-hour juncture, his 18-yard curler missing the mark by a matter of inches.
Sporting forced the first of three saves from goalkeeper Oscar Ustari in the 15th minute when midfielder Memo Rodriguez bent a well-struck free kick over the wall and into the mitts of Miami’s 38-year-old gloveman. Rodriguez threatened once more a few minutes before halftime, corralling a clever diagonal pass from captain Erik Thommy and sending a long-range effort wide.
The visitors began the second half on the front foot and were rewarded for their efforts 11 minutes after the restart. Finding a pocket of space 40 yards from goal, former FC Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets lofted a high-arching service into the penalty area for his longtime teammate Messi, who settled the ball amidst traffic, cut onto his unfavored right foot and dragged a low shot across goalkeeper John Pulskamp and into the far left corner for his 35th career goal in a Miami uniform.
Vermes’ men responded positively after falling behind and could have drawn level in the 63rd minute. Forward Daniel Salloi raced onto an incisive, inch-perfect through ball from fellow Sporting KC Academy product Jake Davis and had only Ustari in front of him, but his thunderous blast on the breakaway lacked the precision to beat Miami’s keeper.
Sporting introduced three substitutes just past the hour mark as left back Logan Ndenbe, striker William Agada and newly acquired Designated Player midfielder Manu Garcia entered the freezing fray. Garcia was quick to showcase his dazzling technical quality, evading multiple tacklers and picking out passes to teammates in space.
The hosts thought they had carved out a golden opportunity in the 78th minute when Thommy latched onto Salloi’s looping cross and uncorked a shot that rattled the near post, however Salloi was flagged offside in the buildup to the play.
Prior to visiting Miami in next Tuesday’s second leg, Sporting will raise the curtains on its 2025 MLS campaign this Saturday by traveling to face Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. The Western Conference clash is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT with live broadcasts in English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
2025 Concacaf Champions Cup | Round One | Leg 1
Children’s Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 15,178
Weather: 5 degrees and clear
Sporting Kansas City 0-1 Inter Miami CF
| Score | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inter Miami CF | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Jake Davis, Dany Rosero (Joaquin Fernandez 46′), Robert Voloder, Tim Leibold (Logan Ndenbe 62′); Jacob Bartlett, Nemanja Radoja, Memo Rodriguez (Manu Garcia 62′); Daniel Salloi (Stephen Afrifa 83′), Dejan Joveljic (William Agada 62), Erik Thommy (C)
Subs Not Used: Ryan Schewe, Ian James, Jansen Miller, Zorhan Bassong, Shapi Suleymanov, Mason Toye, Alenis Vargas
Inter Miami CF: Oscar Ustari; Marcelo Weigandt, Gonzalo Lujan, Tomas Aviles, Noah Allen; Tadeo Allende (Fafa Picault 73′), Federico Redondo, Sergio Busquets, Telasco Segovia (Benjamin Cremaschi 79′); Lionel Messi (C), Luis Suarez (Robert Taylor 89′)
Subs Not Used: Rocco Rios Novo, Maximiliano Falcon, Ryan Sailor, Ian Fray, Julian Gressel, Santiago Morales, David Ruiz, Leo Afonso
Scoring Summary:
MIA — Lionel Messi 1 (Sergio Busquets 1, Noah Allen 1) 56′
Misconduct Summary:
SKC — Manu Garcia (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 74′
MIA — Federico Redondo (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 80′
Match Statistics
| STAT | SKC | MIA |
|---|---|---|
| Fouls | 8 | 12 |
| Offsides | 4 | 1 |
| Corner Kicks | 5 | 4 |
Referee: Marco Ortiz
Assistant Referee: Michel Espinoza
Assistant Referee: Jorge Sanchez
Fourth Official: Daniel Quintero
VAR: Enrique Santander
AVAR: Oscar Mejia
