Luis Suarez netted a double and Preston Plambeck scored a late winner as Inter Miami overcame Lionel Messi's absence to beat the Chicago Fire 3-2.

Robert Lewandowski made his MLS debut for the Fire, though he was limited to just one shot and four touches in Miami's box at Nu Stadium.

Instead, it was another former Barcelona superstar, Suarez, who stole the headlines as Miami picked up where they left off before the World Cup break and made it five straight MLS wins, despite falling behind to a remarkable own goal.

With Messi and Rodrigo De Paul absent after their exploits for Argentina, and new signing Casemiro not ready to feature, a patched-up Miami side had to do the job on Wednesday.

Miami had to do it the hard way, after stand-in goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo made a howler in the 18th minute, failing to control a simple pass back and instead just helping it into the back of his own net.

Yet Miami were back level within nine minutes. David Ruiz was fouled in the Chicago box by Jack Elliott, and Suarez made no mistake from the resulting penalty.

Suarez put Miami ahead in magnificent fashion six minutes into the second half, brilliantly exchanging passes with German Berterame before finishing off a sweeping move, but Chicago equalised through substitute Puso Dithejane.

However, it was Miami substitute Plambeck who had the final say, as he was on hand to score on the rebound in the 87th minute after Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady parried out Suarez's shot.

Suarez steps up as Miami get over the line without Messi

Messi leads the way for Miami for goal involvements in MLS this season (20 - 12 goals, eight assists), but the Herons had to handle the 39-year-old's absence here.

And Messi's old friend Suarez was the one to deliver the goods as Miami moved up to second in the overall MLS standings.

In Miami's final match prior to the break, Suarez netted a hat-trick in a win over the Philadelphia Union, becoming only the second player, after Messi, to record multiple regular-season hat-tricks for the club.

The veteran striker played a key role in all three of Miami's goals this time out, leading the game for shots (five) and shots on target (three), while his fellow forward Berterame carried the creative burden, creating a team-leading four chances.

Miami tallied up chances worth a combined 2.32 expected goals to Chicago's 1.85 xG, as Lewandowski had a frantic introduction to life in MLS during his 62 minutes on the field.

This result continued the run of goal-laden encounters between these teams. Five of the 11 meetings between Miami and Chicago have now featured at least five goals.