Inter Miami's wait for a win at Nu Stadium goes on after they threw away a three-goal lead to lose 4-3 to local rivals Orlando City, for whom Martin Ojeda scored a hat-trick.

Miami looked to be cruising to three points when they went 3-0 up within 33 minutes on Saturday, with Lionel Messi joining Ian Fray and Telasco Segovia on the scoresheet.

Fray headed Segovia's cross beyond Maxime Crepeau in the Orlando goal after four minutes, then Miami's Venezuelan playmaker tapped into an open net in the 25th minute, following excellent link-up play from Messi and Luis Suarez on the left side of the area.

Miami were rampant, with Crepeau also making a quadruple save before Messi appeared to have put the game beyond the visitors, dancing around Iago Teodoro on the edge of the box then curling into the bottom-left corner.

However, Orlando's comeback started with Ojeda spinning and lashing a brilliant, left-footed strike past Dayne St. Clair in the 39th minute.

Another wonderful Ojeda finish made it 3-2 in the 68th minute, with the Argentine firing off the base of the post and in, and 10 minutes later, he completed his treble from the penalty spot following Maximiliano Falcon's foul on Teodoro.

Only a fine St. Clair save denied Ojeda a fourth as Miami's defence completely fell apart, and Orlando did get a winner three minutes into stoppage time as Tyrese Spicer raced through on goal to finish left-footed. 

The result lifts Orlando to 13th in the Eastern Conference with 11 points from as many games, while Miami stay third but are now four points behind leaders Nashville SC.

Data Debrief: Ojeda flips the script 

Orlando came into this game having only collected one point from their first five away games this season, conceding 20 times in those matches.

And it looked like being another miserable road trip when Miami raced into a 3-0 lead. Things could have been worse, too, given Crepeau made seven saves, all of which came in the first half.

But Ojeda's second MLS hat-trick, and his first since a 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution last May, got Orlando level, and Spicer then finished the job.

Miami ended the game with 26 shots to Orlando's 13, winning the expected goals (xG) battle by 3 to 1.91, but they still became the first team since 2017 to lose an MLS match from three goals up, with D.C. United losing to the Seattle Sounders on that occasion.