Veteran Uruguayan Luis Suarez led his team Inter Miami to a 3-2 victory over visiting Chicago Fire on Wednesday, in the absence of Argentine star Lionel Messi, spoiling the debut of Polish Robert Lewandowski in the American Major League Soccer (MLS).

Messi, the 2026 World Cup runner-up, and his teammate Rodrigo De Paul did not play for Inter Miami, four days after losing the North American World Cup final to Spain 1-0.

Lewandowski, the 37-year-old Polish striker, played his first MLS match after joining from Barcelona, following the Catalan club's La Liga title triumph.

Lewandowski, who started for Chicago and played 63 minutes, said: 'After only 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. If we defend better, we can win this match next time.'

Lewandowski is one of the most prominent goalscorers in world football, having excelled with German Bayern Munich between 2014 and 2022, and has more than 700 goals for clubs and country.

Inter Miami's win was not easy, as they initially fell behind with an own goal scored by Argentine Rocco Novo Ríos (18'), before Suarez equalized from a penalty (27') and added a second himself (51'). After Lewandowski's substitution, South African substitute Boso Ditjejiani equalized (67'), but on the other side, substitute Preston Blompik, aged 20, snatched the win for Inter Miami (87').

The win raised Miami's tally to 34 points in second place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Nashville, while Argentine coach Guillermo Hoyos confirmed there is no rush for Messi and De Paul to return.

He said: 'The World Cup is a huge event, and there is physical and mental fatigue; they deserve to have their space.' He added: 'We will wait for them until they can return and be in the right condition to be here.'", "); googletag.cmd.push(function() { onDvtagReady(function () { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-3341368-4'); }); }); }