Messi Beats the Cold, and Inter Miami Snags a Win Against Sporting KC | OneFootball

If there’s one thing we should’ve learned by now, it’s never to doubt Lionel Messi. But, for anyone who dared to wonder how he’d handle playing in near-Arctic conditions, the answer came in pure Messi style: a touch of class, a coldness that puts the weather to shame, and a goal that might’ve sealed Sporting KC’s fate in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Inter Miami made the chilly trip to Kansas and walked away with a 1-0 win, grabbing a precious advantage for the return leg. It was a gritty, messy, physical game, the kind the MLS teams love to play when they face a more technically gifted opponent. But, in the end, the greatest player in history doesn’t let things like freezing temperatures or a rowdy crowd get to him. He just gets the job done.

Playing in that kind of cold isn’t soccer; it’s straight-up torture. The game was actually delayed by a day, showing just how far from ideal the conditions were. But for Messi? That was just a minor inconvenience, like a fly buzzing around his head.

In the 56th minute, Sergio Busquets, who knows Messi like the back of his hand, sent a long ball that only a few could even see coming. The ball came in, cold as an ice cube, and Messi didn’t blink. He trapped it with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker, adjusted it to his right foot, and struck it low, into the corner, like he was taking a stroll in his backyard. The keeper, Pulskamp? Just a privileged spectator as the legend made yet another match-winning moment.

Messi, Suárez, and Busquets are way too good for this level. The former Barcelona trio sees the game through a different lens. While their opponents are playing chess, they’re running a supercomputer, always one step ahead. Here’s a team playing away against a tough opponent, in the coldest conditions imaginable, and still looking like they’re the ones in control. 59% possession, more shots, more composure on the ball. In the second half, it was clear Sporting KC was tiring way faster than Inter Miami. They ran, tried, fought, but with Messi on their side, Inter Miami had more than just hope.

What Messi did last season was already next level. 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 games? That’s not human stats, that’s straight-up video game numbers. And now, he’s starting 2025 the same way. New York City FC better be ready for Saturday, because the machine is already purring at full throttle.