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The road they had to walk was winding, but the Chicago Fire recorded a dramatic win at Minnesota to earn three points in their Leagues Cup opener.
A thrilling rollercoaster of a second half ultimately ended in a victory for the Fire, who are among the hottest teams in Major League Soccer, and have looked like a team reborn in recent weeks.
The new-look competition provided an opportunity for a little bit of rotation, and with next Monday’s match against Puebla the more important game in the group, Frank Klopas opted to make some changes from the Fire’s best eleven. In goal, backup Spencer Richey got the start over standout Chris Brady, and Carlos Terán returned to the XI as he works his way back from injury. Xherdan Shaqiri was also rested, allowing Brian Gutiérrez to start centrally as a #10, and both Jairo Torres and Kacper Przybyłko returned to the lineup for the first time in weeks.
The opening period was extremely uneventful, but the hosts were clearly the better team. Without Shaqiri from the start, the Fire were missing one of their two main creative forces, and with Przybyłko as the starting forward, they benefited very little from their #9 off the ball. Minnesota were dominant for the whole first half, but Emanuel Reynoso, Teemu Pukki, and Co. were unable to capitalize.
One bright spot in the first half was Gutiérrez, who continued to thrive when playing in a central role, pulling the strings. His individual brilliance in tight spaces was on display and he was difficult to contain, though it couldn’t result in many big chances for his teammates.
17 minutes into the second half, the Loons’ superiority paid off as Chicago continually struggled to gain a foothold in the game. Bongokuhle Hlongwane, fresh off of a two-goal game last week against Puebla, found the breakthrough when he was left with too much space in the box. The goal prompted Klopas to make a triple substitution, bringing on Shaqiri and Kei Kamara, as well as new DP Ousmane Doubmia for his Fire debut. Torres, Przybyłko, and Fabian Herbers made way.
The three were all instant upgrades upon entering the match, and Gutiérrez looked like a man reborn as well. The attack immediately looked much more dynamic, and just a few minutes after the changes were made, Guti danced through four defenders before he was fouled by Wil Trapp. This presented a penalty kick opportunity for Shaqiri, who, after a war of mind games with Dayne St. Clair, buried his kick in the bottom left corner.
Just three minutes later, though, Hlongwane reinstated Minnesota’s lead. It was the fourth goal in two Leagues Cup matches for the South African, and appeared to be a big blow just moments after the Fire had clawed their way back into the game.
Under Klopas, though, this Fire team is not one which rolls over easily. Even with their backs against the wall – down a goal away from home with less than a quarter of an hour to play – the Men in Red weren’t done yet, and once against showed fight and determination to push on.
Ultimately it was a somewhat bizarre sequence that resulted in the Fire’s 79th minute equalizer. An attacking run from in-form left back Miguel Ángel Navarro saw him advance to the byline inside the penalty box, and drill a hopeful ball across the goal. It didn’t reach a Fire target in front of the net, but it was also out of reach for St. Clair, so it found an advanced Arnaud Souquet on the far side. The French full back managed to redirect the ball into the goal, despite the efforts of St. Clair, whose blunders further compounded his misery after earlier attempts at gamesmanship backfired.
The dagger came a mere four minutes later. Substitute Mauricio Pineda, who has been in the form of his life over the last few months, put in a cross which found Kamara, who headed the ball past St. Clair and into the back of the net. The Fire players wheeled away in celebration, and in a moment that will be remembered for years, the 38-year-old Kamara ran to the sideline and posed for photos with some of the home supporters. From looking like they were hopelessly rolling towards an unfortunate defeat to suddenly being on top, it was an incredibly quick turnaround for the Fire.
Once the celebrations had concluded, though, the referees immediately put a halt to the action. Stormy weather in the St. Paul area forced a 30-minute delay, and this may have been a good thing. Not only did it give everyone time to process what had just happened, but it ensured that the fast-paced momentum of the match stopped with the Fire in front. The final six minutes of regulation, plus four minutes of stoppage time, were played out, and Chicago held on to claim an important win.
With the final match of the group stage coming up on Monday at SeatGeek Stadium, the Fire must now simply avoid defeat in 90 minutes to finish in first place. Klopas' team remains on fire and will be looking to continue their hot form against Liga MX opposition Puebla next week.
