Despite missing Lionel Messi, Inter Miami moved within six points of the playoff positions in Major League Soccer with a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.

Messi was one of eight Inter Miami players away on international duty, but Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s team showed their strength in depth as they extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 games.

With Miami battling to rise from their pre-Messi position at the bottom of the Eastern Conference into the top nine, they know they have little room for error but their night began poorly.

Goalkeeper Drake Callender failed to hold on to a drive from Felipe Gutierrez and Daniel Salloi slotted home the loose ball.

Miami drew level though in the 25th minute through a Leonardo Campana penalty after the Ecuadoran forward was flattened by Kansas City keeper Tim Melia as they challenged for a high ball.

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.