Inter Miami defeats Fire and spoils Lewandowski's start

Miami - AFP - Veteran Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez led his team, Inter Miami, to a 3-2 victory over visitors Chicago Fire, in the absence of Argentine star Lionel Messi, spoiling the debut of Polish forward Robert Lewandowski in Major League Soccer.

Messi, the runner-up in the 2026 World Cup, and his teammate Rodrigo de Paul did not play for Inter Miami after their loss in the North American World Cup final to Spain 0-1.

Lewandowski (37) played his first MLS match after joining from Barcelona, following the Catalan club’s title win in the Spanish league.

Lewandowski, who started the match and played 63 minutes, said: “After just two days with my new team, I didn’t expect everything to go perfectly in my first match.”

He added: “I also need more time, and I am confident that we will make fewer defensive mistakes in the next match.”

Inter Miami’s victory was not easy, as they fell behind to an own goal by Argentine Rocco Novoa Rios (18th minute), before Suarez equalized from a penalty kick (27th minute) and then added a second goal (51st minute).

After Lewandowski’s exit, South African substitute Boso Ditegiani leveled for Chicago (67th minute), but Inter Miami substitute Preston Jipson stole the win (87th minute) for Miami, which moved to 34 points in second place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Nashville.