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A stunning long-range strike from Lionel Messi helped Inter Miami to a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City in front of a record crowd of 72,610 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday.
Making his first MLS start since March 2 after overcoming a hamstring injury, Messi let fly from 25 yards with his famed left foot to give Miami the lead six minutes into the second half.
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The home team, cheered on by minority owner and three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, played its part in an entertaining evening. And Erik Thommy, who also gave his team the lead after six minutes, equalized seven minutes after Messi’s strike.
But Miami avoided a sixth straight match without a win in all competitions courtesy of a close-range finish from Messi’s ex-Barcelona teammate Luis Suárez following an SKC defensive mishap.
The attendance was the biggest for Sporting Kansas City in its 28-year history and also a record for any soccer match in the state of Missouri. It was the fourth-highest attendance for a single match in MLS history.
SKC regularly plays its home matches at the 18,500-capacity Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas.
Messi also had an assist on Miami’s first-half leveler from Diego Gómez. Messi’s previous MLS start came in a 5-0 win over Orlando City at the start of March, before he went down injured in a March 13 Champions Cup game against Nashville SC.
The Argentine forward played the entirety of the second leg of the Champions Cup quarterfinal defeat against CF Monterrey on Wednesday, completing the 90 minutes of a match for the first time since March 7.
Miami’s win, which took the team to 15 points from nine MLS games, was marred by an apparent hamstring injury that forced Jordi Alba off in the second half.