BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — The Chicago Fire are off to a perfect start in Leagues Cup. The Men in Red returned to SeatGeek Stadium with a dominant performance over Liga MX club Necaxa, who were overwhelmed from start to finish en route to a 2-0 outcome.
Gregg Berhalter opted to return to a standard 4-3-3 shape, owing in part to the absences of Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Joel Waterman that left the team dramatically thin at center back and necessitated an altered approach. Arguably the biggest story of the night came before kickoff as Berhalter confirmed that Mbokazi would be out for the season. The switch to a 4-3-3 opened up space for Sergio Oregel to return to the lineup for the first time in several months.
From the opening whistle it was clear that the Fire were the better team as they proved dominant with early chances. Robert Lewandowski made his presence felt and was involved in several of them, flashing a shot wide for one of the game’s first big opportunities. Chris Brady also made numerous solid saves, though most were directed straight at him.
The breakthrough came just before the half, and from an unlikely source. Anton Salétros and Sergio Oregel combined well in the final third, and Jonathan Dean popped up on the far side to blast in the opening goal. It was Dean’s third Fire goal, and first of the season.
In the second half, Necaxa looked better, but Brady ensured that the Fire’s lead was preserved. The closest Necaxa came to scoring was when Lorenzo Faravelli rattled the woodwork from close range, but after that chance bounced the wrong way, their influence on the game dropped off quickly.
Shortly after Lewandowski was withdrawn from the match in the 64th minute, the Fire pulled away. Oregel progressed the ball all the way up the field, laying the ball off to Salétros just outside the penalty box. The Sweden moved with possession into open space, waiting for the perfect moment to dink the ball into the six-yard box for an on-rushing Andrew Gutman. Gutman finished off a beautiful sequence, doubling the home team’s advantage.
The result positions the Fire well heading into Game 2 of the first phase of Leagues Cup; MLS teams likely need at least 7 points (though ideally more) from three games to advance to the knockout stage, which will comprise of the top four MLS teams and top four Liga MX teams after the end of the first phase. The Fire will face Santos Laguna on Sunday and tournament favorites Cruz Azul next Thursday.
Starting XI (4-3-3) – Brady (8); Gutman (8.5), Elliott (6.5), Rogers (6), Dean (8); D'Avilla (7.5), Salétros (8.5), Oregel Jr. (7.5); Dithejane (6), Lewandowski (8), Zinckernagel (6.5)
Substitutes – Lod (7), Bamba (6.5), Pineda (NR), Haile-Selassie (NR), Poreba (NR)
