Inter Miami vs Sporting KC HIGHLIGHTS, CONCACAF Champions ...

Lionel Messi proves to be the point of difference as his goal gives Inter Miami a 1-0 win against Sporting Kansas City in the first-leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup first-round clash at the Children’s Mercy Park Stadium. 

The Herons start their season with a win and take a crucial away goal to the second-leg which will be played at the Chase Stadium on February 26. 

Picault has time and space in the final third and takes a shot from distance but fails to hit the target. 

Three minutes added at the end of the second-half!

Inter Miami sub: IN- Taylor OUT- Suarez

A loose pass allows Messi to get the ball in midfield. He rolls the ball to Suarez to his left after making his way to the edge of the Kansas box. Suarez lifts the ball towards the far post but none of the Miami players could intercept that and the attack comes to an end. 

Kansas players are slowly pushing up the pitch and the urgency of the home team to bag an equaliser is evident right now. 

Inter Miami booking: Redondo is the latest player to get a yellow card

Inter Miami sub: IN- Cremaschi OUT - Segovia

Messi sends a perfectly-weighted pass to Picault on the right side of the box. The second-haf substitute takes a shot at goal but it takes a deflection and goes out of play. 

Sporting Kansas booking: Manu Garcia shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Redondo.

Inter Miami sub: IN- Picault OUT- Allende

A chance for Sporting Kansas as Salloi makes his way inside the box and takes a shot at goal but the effort is straight at Ustari who makes a good save and manages to hold onto the ball. 

Sporting KC sub: IN - Garcia, Ndenbe, Agada OUT - Rodriguez, Leibold, Joveljic

Busquets spots Messi inside the box and finds his captain with an excellent aerial ball. Messi controls the ball with a pristine first touch and takes the ball away from his marker. Then he goes for a shot across the face of the goal with his weaker right foot and manages to find the far-corner.

Also, with the away goals rule applicable in this competition, that might turn out to be a precious goal for Messi and his Miami side. 

WATCH: Messi scores with a wonderful finish in Inter Miami vs Sporting Kansas City Champions Cup clash

Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi scored with a wonderful finish in the 56th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead against Sporting Kansas City FC.

Kansas stitches a good attack, which ends with Salloi attempting a low cross from the left but Allen does well to make a block. 

Inter Miami with a good spell of pressure in and around the Sporting box early in the second-half but the home team’s defence remains composed. 

The match is goalless as the second-half gets undereway at the Children’s Mercy Park Stadium.

No stoppage tim as the referee blows his whistle for half-time. Scores level at the break!

Thommy sends a searching cross inside the box and almost finds Salloi with his delivery but Miami’s defence is quick to react and get the ball to safety. 

Sporting Kansas’ Rodriguez takes a shot from outside the box but wayward effort does not trouble Ustari who watches the ball go out of play. 

Messi takes a shot after making his way inside the Sporting box. The shot takes a deflection and goes out for a corner. 

Suarez has a go this time - he cuts to his right and takes a venomous shot from the edge of the box, aiming for the far corner. His effort misses the target but not by much. 

Messi curls a cross inside the box after Miami works out a short freekick. Allende gets at the end of the cross and heads the ball towards goal, but fails to keep the effort on target. 

Messi has his first sight at goal - he gets the ball in the final third and with some time and space at his disposal, he goes for a shot from distance. But the ball kept rising from the moment it left his boot. 

Salloi makes a darting run down the left flank and tries to find Thommy in the middle of the box but the cross is weak and Ustari collects the ball with ease. 

Till now, we have mainly seen Messi operating in the No. 10 role, trying to split the defence and make chances, especially for Suarez, who is leading the Miami attack. But Sporting has done well to keep a compact defence. 

Messi’s corner goes straight to Allen at the edge of the Sporting box. His first-time volley does not come off but he gets another chance on the rebound. This time, the connection is better but the shot is way off target. 

Thommy wins Sporting a corner just outside the Miami box after going down due to a foul. 

Memo Rodriguez takes the freekick. He keeps his effort on target but it is an easy catch for Ustari. 

Joveljic wins Sporting, its first corner of the match as his cross from the left flank is intercepted and the ball is sent out of play. 

The followiing corner is easy for Inter Miami’s debutant keeper, Oscar Ustari to deal with.

Messi gets the ball in the final third and threads a good pass to Suarez. The Uruguayan opens the face of his body and tries to roll it into the far corner but fails to keep his effort on target. This duo will be key for the Herons in getting a positive result. 

By the looks of it, home team Sporting KC is going for the early press. The Inter Miami players are mostly chasing the ball. We are yet to see Messi get involved in the thick of things. 

An early foul on Luis Suarez as he tries to make a run down the left flank. Players will take some time to get into rhythm and the conditions will not make it any easier. 

The first-half of the Champions Cup first-round clash (first-leg) between Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City is underway at the Children’s Mercy Park Stadium. We have sub-zero temperatures at kick-off here. 

Various reports suggested ahead of the match that Lionel Messi will choose to sit out for the clash given the harsh weather conditions but closer to the game, Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano confirmed that the Argentine will feature in the match. 

With extremely, chilly conditions at the Children’s Mercy Park Stadium in Kansas, Messi is surely set to play in one of the coldest – if not, the coldest – games of his football career.

The harsh weather conditions forced the authorities to postpone this clash, which was scheduled to be played a day earlier.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will clash against Sporting Kansas City in a first-round match of the CONCACAF Champions Cup at the Children’s Mercy Park Stadium on Wednesday (Thursday according to IST). 

The match, originally scheduled to take place a day earlier, was postponed due to extreme weather. The United States National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the region, which includes parts of east-central and northeastern Kansas and central and west-central Missouri.

“The decision to postpone the match at Children’s Mercy Park was made with the safety of the players and fans as a priority and in consultation with the two clubs involved and local authorities,” CONCACAF said in a statement.

The sports governing body added that the postponement was also prompted by the possibility of snow accumulating on the pitch.

Inter Miami debuted in the competition last year. It started the tournament from the Round of 16 stage and made it to the quarterfinals, before falling to C.F. Monterrey.

When is the Sporting Kansas City vs Inter Miami Champions Cup match?

The CONCACAF Champions Cup match between Sporting Kansas City and Inter Miami will kick-off on Thursday, February 20, at 6:30 am IST (Wednesday, February 19, 8 pm ET) at the Children’s Mercy Park. 

Where to watch the Sporting Kansas City vs Inter Miami Champions Cup match LIVE?

The match will be streamed live by the Fox Sports 2 channel in English, and by ViX+ in Spanish. It will also be streamed live by the CONCACAF YouTube channel. Moreover, you can stay tuned to Sportstar’s website and app for the latest updates from the match.