The extreme cold at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Ks., did not deter soccer superstar Lionel Messi and Inter Miami from scorching Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup first round.

Messi’s goal came in the 56th minute, when the Argentine striker controlled a lofty pass into the penalty area by Sergio Busquets, then sent a low shot past Sporting keeper John Pulskamp into goal. Sporting had two opportunities to equalize, but Daniel Salloi’s blast in the 63rd minute was offline, while a shot attempt from Erik Thommy 15 minutes later hit the near post. Temperature at kickoff was just 5°F, with a wind chill of -8 recorded around halftime.

Sporting and Miami will face off Tuesday night in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. for the second leg. Sporting will need to overcome a one-goal deficit in aggregate score if they wish to advance to the next round. Before then, KC will start the Major League Soccer regular season this Saturday at Austin.