Inter Miami edge Chicago Fire 3-2 as Plambeck seals late winner on Lewandowski debut

MIAMI (AP): Inter Miami defeated the Chicago Fire 3-2 on Wednesday night, with Preston Plambeck netting his maiden MLS goal in the 87th minute and Luis Suárez contributing a brace, denying Robert Lewandowski a victorious first outing for Chicago.

The result extended Miami’s winning run to five matches.

In Miami’s final fixture before the World Cup pause, Suárez had completed a hat-trick — his first in MLS since 2024 — during a 6-4 victory over Philadelphia.

On Wednesday, Suárez’s effort from the middle of the box was turned aside by Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady, and Plambeck drove in the rebound.

Chicago went ahead 1-0 in the 18th minute through an own goal by Miami keeper Rocco Ríos Novo. Defender Ian Fray rolled a soft pass back toward Ríos Novo, who tried to play it first time, only for the ball to slide between his legs and into the net.

Suárez levelled from the penalty spot in the 27th minute.

Puso Dithejane replaced Philip Zinckernagel in the 62nd minute and, five minutes later, produced his first MLS goal with a first-time finish from just inside the area to make it 2-2.

Lewandowski, 37, joined the Fire on June 29 after his MLS bow had been held up. Chicago’s meeting with Vancouver, first set for Thursday, was moved to October 6 because of poor air quality around the city.

A seven-time Bundesliga Golden Boot champion, Lewandowski struck a league-record 41 goals for Bayern Munich in 2020-21.

Chicago’s three-match winning sequence ended. Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul stayed out for Miami after their World Cup final loss to Spain on Sunday.

Hugo Cuypers, top of the MLS scoring charts with 13 goals this season, is reportedly set to leave the Fire for CF Monterrey in LIGA MX.