Luis Suárez scored twice and substitute Preston Plambeck struck a late winner as Inter Miami, without Lionel Messi, defeated Chicago Fire 3-2 on Wednesday to spoil Robert Lewandowski’s Major League Soccer debut.
The Uruguayan forward captained Miami in the absence of Messi and fellow Argentine Rodrigo De Paul, who were given time to recover just four days after Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain in the World Cup final.
Lewandowski, 37, made his MLS debut for Chicago after joining the club from Barcelona, where he helped the Catalan side secure the Spanish league title.
The Polish striker started the match and played 63 minutes but was unable to mark his first appearance with a goal.
“After just two days with my new team, I didn’t expect everything to work perfectly in my first game,” Lewandowski said.
“I also need a bit more time, and I’m sure that next time we’ll play with fewer mistakes, especially in defence. If we defend better, we can win this match next time.”
The prolific striker, who enjoyed a successful spell with Bayern Munich from 2014 to 2022 and has scored more than 700 goals for club and country, said he was confident Chicago would improve with more time together.
Inter Miami fell behind in the 18th minute after goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo gifted Chicago the opening goal. The substitute goalkeeper, standing in for Canada’s World Cup keeper Dayne St. Clair, missed a routine attempt to clear a back pass from Ian Fray, allowing the ball to roll into his own net.
Suárez restored parity in the 27th minute, converting a penalty before putting Miami ahead six minutes after the restart.
The 37-year-old striker finished off a fine move after German forward Berterame created the chance with a clever backheel assist.
Chicago responded through South African forward Puso Dithejane, who levelled the contest in the 67th minute.
However, Miami secured all three points in the 87th minute when Plambeck, a 20-year-old product of the club’s academy, smashed home the rebound after Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady had saved Suárez’s close-range effort.
The victory moved Miami to second place in the Eastern Conference with 34 points, five behind leaders Nashville.
Coach Guillermo Hoyos said there was no pressure on Messi and De Paul to return immediately, acknowledging the physical and mental demands of their World Cup campaign.
“A World Cup is something immense, and there’s physical and mental wear and tear, and they deserve their space,” Hoyos said.
“We’ll be waiting for them whenever they can come back and are in the right condition to be here.”
AFP
