Lionel Messi scored his fifth goal and provided an assist, while Luis Suarez sealed the deal with a decisive goal in the 71st minute, leading Inter Miami to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.
The match, witnessed by 72,610 fans at Arrowhead Stadium, marked the third-largest crowd in MLS regular-season history.
Messi’s electrifying performance delighted the crowd, as he orchestrated scoring opportunities with his precise passes and even scored a spectacular goal himself. His left-footed strike from outside the penalty area gave Miami CF a 2-1 lead in the 51st minute, extending his scoring streak to four consecutive MLS games.
“It was an amazing goal,” Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi said. “He does this all the time, so it doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s normal from a guy like him.”
With Inter Miami trailing 1-0 in the 18th minute, Messi assisted on Diego Gomez’s first-touch right-footer in the middle of the box to tie it.
“The pass that Messi makes and the second goal, the ball that he hits where he hits it from, you don’t see much in MLS,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “They can punish you.”
After a defensive mistake by Sporting KC, Suarez converted Gomez’s crossing pass inside the 6-yard box for the lead. It was Suarez’s team-leading sixth of the season and tied him for the league lead.
“We lost the ball three times,” Vermes said. And they have the quality of punishing you when you do.”
Inter Miami leads MLS in goals, with 19, and in assists, with 29.
Messi had an excellent chance in the 27th minute on a left-footer from 12 yards, but it was smothered by Kansas City’s Tim Melia.
Messi’s free kick in the 41st minute from 25 yards barely missed wide right.
“He’s an unbelievable player, and he can create something out of thin air,” Sporting KC forward Daniel Salloi said. It was a great experience to play against these guys.”
Erik Thommy opened the scoring for Sporting KC (2-2-4) in the sixth minute with a 16-yard strike. He scored again in the 58th minute on a rebound off Salloi’s corner kick to tie the game at 2.
Thommy’s goals were his second and third of the season – and first since opening day.
“I had to take the risk on the corner,” Thommy said. I had the confidence and a good feeling.”
The crowd was 20,000 larger than the previous Sporting KC record set in 2010 during a friendly against Manchester United.
“The environment was out of this world fantastic,” Vermes said. “This was incredible.”
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