Lionel Messi did what he does best – delivered when it mattered most.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner curled a sublime shot from the right side of the box in the 56th minute, sealing Inter Miami’s gritty 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round on a brutally cold Wednesday night.

"There’s one guy that can turn the game over, and he did,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said.

Miami head coach Javier Mascherano kept it simple: "Fantastic.”

Both teams battled the elements as much as each other, struggling to control the ball on a hard, slick pitch in front of 15,178 bundled-up fans at Children’s Mercy Park.

The game-time temperature plummeted to 3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 16 degrees Celsius), with a biting 9 mph (14.48 kph) wind making it feel like minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit.

"I’m very proud because I think it’s impossible to play in these conditions,” Mascherano said. "It’s not human, you know. So I’m very proud because they gave me 100%.”

On his goal, Messi collected a pass from Sergio Busquets, let it fall to his feet, eluded the nearest defender and fired it past Sporting KC goalkeeper John Pulskamp.

"Maybe for the people that know him, it’s normal because he’s scored goals like this 1,000 times,” Mascherano said. "But we are very lucky to have him here.”

Vermes praised Sporting KC’s effort in slowing Miami’s attack.

"Outside of that (goal), I thought we were really good,” he said. "We had some really good opportunities. I can’t say enough about our first performance, especially with such a young group of guys on the field.”

Vermes added that Messi does things few players in history can replicate.

"It’s not just us, it’s everybody,” he said. "I mean, it’s the whole world. Nobody ever plays well against him. He can change the game himself. And there’s really not many players you can say that about in the world’s game. Over generations, there’s just not a lot of them. Two of them happen to come from Argentina – him and (Diego) Maradona.”

Sporting KC stayed on the front foot the rest of the way, pressing for an equalizer. But Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari stopped both of the team’s second-half shots on goal. The best chance came when Daniel Sallói broke free behind Miami’s defense, but his shot was straight at Ustari.

Erik Thommy nearly tied it in the 78th minute, but his shot ricocheted off the left post. The play wouldn’t have counted, though, as Sallói was ruled offside.

Inter Miami had chances to extend its lead. Luis Suarez missed wide from just inside the box early, while Tadeo Allende squandered another opportunity in the 33rd minute, misfiring off a lob from Messi.

Sporting KC nearly struck first in the 36th minute when Dany Rosero rose for a header off a corner kick, but his effort sailed left of the target.

Miami held a slight edge in the first half, taking seven shots to Sporting KC’s three and controlling 60% of possession.

The clubs meet again Tuesday in Miami for the decisive second leg.