Luis Suarez scored twice before 20-year-old Preston Plambeck struck late to give Inter Miami a 3-2 victory over Chicago Fire on Wednesday, spoiling Robert Lewandowski’s Major League Soccer (MLS) debut.
Miami were without captain Lionel Messi and fellow Argentine Rodrigo De Paul, who were both given time to recover after Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final four days earlier.
In their absence, veteran Uruguayan forward Suarez wore the captain’s armband and played a key role in securing all three points for Miami.
Lewandowski Makes MLS Debut
The match marked the MLS debut of Lewandowski, who joined Chicago Fire from Barcelona after helping the Spanish club win the domestic league title.
The 37-year-old Poland international started the game but was substituted after 63 minutes as Chicago suffered defeat in front of their home supporters.
Despite the loss, Lewandowski admitted that he did not expect everything to go perfectly after only two days with his new teammates.
“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 than today in defence.
“If we defend better, we can win this match next time,” added the striker, who has scored more than 700 goals for club and country during a career that has also seen him play for Bayern Munich between 2014 and 2022.
Chicago took the lead in the 18th minute in bizarre circumstances after Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo made a costly mistake.
Rios Novo, who was starting in place of Canada World Cup goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, attempted to clear a routine back pass from Ian Fray but completely missed his kick.
The ball rolled into the unguarded net to give Chicago an unexpected advantage.
Lewandowski had earlier come close to scoring in the 14th minute, but his effort was blocked.
Miami, however, quickly recovered from the setback.
Suarez Fires Back
Suarez brought Miami level from the penalty spot in the 27th minute before completing his brace in the 51st minute.
The Uruguayan striker fired Miami ahead after receiving a brilliant backheel pass from German forward Berterame.
Chicago refused to give up and were rewarded for their efforts when South African forward Puso Dithejane equalised in the 67th minute.
The game appeared to be heading for a draw until Plambeck emerged as the unlikely hero.
The 20-year-old, who came through Miami’s youth system, came off the bench and scored the winning goal in the 87th minute.
Plambeck followed up after Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady had parried a close-range effort from Suarez, volleying the rebound into the net to score his first goal for Miami.
The late strike secured a dramatic 3-2 victory for the visitors and handed Chicago and Lewandowski a disappointing start to their MLS campaign.
Naija News reports that the victory moved Miami to second place in the Eastern Conference with 34 points, five points behind leaders Nashville.
However, Miami head coach Guillermo Hoyos said there was no pressure on Messi and De Paul to return immediately following 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.”
