Messi Leads Inter Miami To Victory Over Kansas City

Children’s Mercy Park – Lionel Messi led Inter Miami CF to victory over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup matchup. Messi’s majestic goal in the 56th minute was enough for the Herons to fly out of freezing Kansas City with an important 1-0 win. Head Coach Javier Mascherano’s inaugural lineup saw three newcomers make their official debuts with the Herons, Tadeo Allende, Gonzalo Lujan, and Telasco Segovia. The debutants each had performances worth watching, including Mascherano.

Lionel #Messi magic!! The GOAT 🐐 controls the pass with his chest turns & finishes with his right foot… #InterMiamiCF 1- Sporting KC 0…#MLS #ConcaChampions

pic.twitter.com/DRPJPBqg6Y

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) February 20, 2025

Tadeo Allende

Tadeo Allende played as if he had been a starter for Inter Miami for a long time, not a player making his official debut with the team. From the onset, he was aggressively going at defenders and took some good shots on goal, even scoring once on a crossing right-footed blast last week vs. Orlando City. The best characteristics I noticed were his confidence and lack of deference. Tadeo does not defer automatically to Messi or Suarez if he feels he has an opportunity for himself. Immediately, he looks like a player that will be productive and important for Miami.

Tadeo Allende had a formidable debut with #InterMiamiCF 🆚 Sporting KC… He gives the feel of a player that’s waiting to elevate his game to new heights…#MLS #SKCvMIA #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/PDS7Iie9CJ

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) February 20, 2025

Gonzalo Lujan

Gonzalo Lujan didn’t have a particularly great game in his preseason start versus Orlando City where he played center-back. He looked a tad slow on many plays and was directly involved in one of Orlando’s goals. In the Concacaf Champions Lujan was much improved, he was solid with no big mistakes. His improvement from one game to the next is a positive sign for the young defender because it shows mental fortitude. Defenders must have short memories of mistakes and not let negativity linger, this is true of every position on the pitch, but even more so for defenders. Lujan looks like he will be a good, versatile defender for Inter Miami in 2025.

Lujan has not fit in as nicely as Segovia so far in the match…The center-back was toasted on a pass right through the middle that ended with a spectacular save from Ustari… pic.twitter.com/hPIaNdkPyr

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) February 15, 2025

Telasco Segovia

Telasco Segovia ideally will make fans forget about Diego Gomez this season with stellar play. The Venezuelan international has fit right into the Miami midfield. Messi had several passing sequences with Segovia where they moved the ball around quickly in tight spaces. Lionel recognized that Telasco has the technique and awareness to be a close ally in the midfield. Telasco wasn’t out of this world against Kansas City, but he was good and looks like a very promising prospect.

Telasco Segovia, has shown some nice technique & ability to hide the ball ⚽️ from defenders while also threading passes to teammates… pic.twitter.com/uT4oCKyAst

— Xavier Guerrero (@XGLAVOZ) February 15, 2025

Javier Mascherano

Mascherano put out an interesting Starting XI for Inter Miami’s match versus Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. He had three young players make their Inter Miami debuts in an away match under extreme weather conditions, a bit of a gamble. The gamble paid off because all three played well enough for Miami to get an important win. Allende was really good on the attacking frontline with Messi and Suarez. Telasco Segovia played well in the midfield with Sergio Busquets and Federico Redondo. Gonzalo Lujan did a good job defensively at center-back helping secure the clean sheet. Masch picked a good lineup that got the result and made some good substitutions. Unlike his predecessor, Masch didn’t overthink it or wait way too long to make moves.

Bienvenido, Jefe 🇦🇷✍️

Argentina and FC Barcelona legend Javier @Mascherano has been named as our new head coach! Welcome to the Miami dream 🩷🖤.

More details: https://t.co/iICOZxaFw7 pic.twitter.com/Boc6Ix32yC

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) November 26, 2024

Mascherano made his official coaching debut with an important win in Kansas City. His decision to play three young players making their debut with Miami played out perfectly for him, validating his inaugural game plan. This will be an on-the-job training season for him along with so many newcomers to the team, and if the Kansas City game was any indication, the Herons will be just fine.