The Chicago Fire will have to wait at least another few days to clinch a 2026 playoff spot.
A crushing 3-1 home defeat against the Philadelphia Union meant the 10 Men in Red missed out on the opportunity to secure their berth at home. It will now almost certainly come on the road.
Philadelphia provide a tricky tactical matchup for the Fire, so their pressing 4-4-2 required Gregg Berhalter to shift the Fire to a similar shape. Djé D’Avilla’s suspension led Mauricio Pineda to start in midfield alongside Anton Salétros, who made the XI despite fitness concerns. Johan Gómez also came in, replacing Philip Zinckernagel to add more output out of possession.
Jonathan Bamba, who has finally been finding his form again and scored against Vancouver last week, was at the center of two of the Fire’s early chances. Poor decision-making killed both of them, as he missed two potentially killer passes that could have opened the scoring early.
Noah Allen, reinstated at left back for Leo Barroso, was tasked with man-marking Cavan Sullivan – U.S. Soccer’s brightest young star, who has lit up MLS since the World Cup. He was largely contained in the first half, despite a few flashes, though the two-striker setup of Bruno Damiani and Milan Iloski occupied the Fire’s center backs Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Jack Elliott well; both received yellows.
Maren Haile-Selassie struck again, continuing his hot streak, scoring in the 44th minute. Allen provided the assist, rewarding Berhalter for his trust ahead of an in-form Barroso and a seemingly out-of-favor Andrew Gutman.
However, the optimism was short-lived. Within moments of the restart, Elliott was sent off against his former club, picking up a second yellow card for a late tackle. It’s the second straight game that the Fire have received a second yellow after D’Avilla in a similar late-first-half moment last week.
From there, it was predictable. Andreas Hanche-Olsen was introduced at halftime, with Bamba sacrificed, but there was no stopping this red-hot Union attack.
Almost instantly, Iloski tied the game. Chris Brady made a great save, but seconds later, Iloski broke the Fire’s four-minute resistance.
In the 55th minute, the Union had their lead. Sullivan provided the assist, becoming the reocrdholder for teenage goal contributions in MLS, and Damiani added the finish. The Fire’s hopes of clinching a playoff spot on Wednesday faded quickly, despite favorable results elsewhere meaning they would only need a draw against the Union.
However, Damiani struck again, adding his third goal contribution of the game in the 67th minute. This put things beyond all doubt, although the Fire, to their credit, did not roll over and die.
Puso Dithejane added some life to the attack after he was introduced following the goal. The South African winger brought energy to the left wing, but ultimately, the shorthanded Fire could not handle the Union team that hasn’t lost in MLS since May.
