Messi-less Miami beat Fire 3-2 to spoil Lewandowski's MLS debut

MIAMI: Luis Suarez scored twice and Preston Plambeck grabbed a late winner as Inter Miami, without Lionel Messi, beat Chicago Fire 3-2 on Wednesday to spoil Robert Lewandowski’s Major League Soccer debut.

Uruguayan veteran Suarez captained Miami with Messi and fellow Argentine Rodrigo de Paul missing four days after Argentina lost 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final.

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The 37-year-old Poland striker Lewandowski was making his MLS debut having signed from Barcelona after they were crowned Spanish champions.

“After just two days with my new team, I didn’t expect everything to work perfectly in my first game,” said Lewandowski, who started for Chicago and played 63 minutes.

“I also need a bit more time, and I’m sure that next time we’ll play with fewer mistakes than today in defense.

“If we defend better, we can win this match next time,” added Lewandowski, a prolific goalscorer who also starred for Bayern Munich from 2014-2022 and has more than 700 goals for club and country.

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It was 20-year-old Plambeck, a product of Miami’s youth system, who emerged as the unlikely hero, coming off the bench to score the 87th-minute winner.

Lewandowski had an attempt blocked in the 14th minute, but the Fire got on the board four minutes later through a calamitous own goal.

Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo, starting in place of Canada World Cup keeper Dayne St. Clair, took a swing at a routine pass back from Ian Fray only to miss and see the ball roll into the net.

Suarez levelled from the penalty spot in the 27th minute and put Miami ahead in the 51st, firing home after being set-up by a brilliant backheel from German Berterame.

Chicago’s South African Puso Dithejane made it 2-2 in the 67th minute only for Plambeck to have the final say by volleying home the rebound for his first Miami goal after goalkeeper Chris Brady had parried Suarez’s close-range shot.

The victory left Miami second in the Eastern Conference with 34 points, five behind Nashville, and coach Guillermo Hoyos said there was no rush for Messi and De Paul to return.

“A World Cup is something immense, and there’s physical and mental wear and tear, and they deserve their space,” he said.

“We’ll be waiting for them whenever they can come back and are in the right condition to be here.”