There was some midweek MLS magic on Wednesday night as the Chicago Fire beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0 at Soldier Field.
Despite being at opposite ends of the Eastern Conference standings, it was the team at the bottom of the table who were better on the night. They made the most of their advantage when Federico Navarro rifled home midway through the second half, and Chicago were ultimately able to hold on to secure a clean sheet, the win, and three vital points.
Story of the match
Xherdan Shaqiri, who returned to the side after missing the last two games, created two early chances for Chicago. He first played Kacper Przybyłko through on goal, but the striker made a mess of the opportunity, failing to even get a shot off.
Then, when a corner came back to him, Shaqiri whipped in an excellent cross towards the backpost. Rafael Czichos settled the ball well, but his shot from close range went just wide.
The Fire did have the ball in the back of the opposing net midway through the half when Chris Mueller dinked a bouncing ball over Andre Blake. However, the referee had already blown the play dead due to a foul committed by Mueller, so the finish didn’t matter.
Chicago were simply the better side in the first half, and they carved out two openings a bit before the break. Both Przybyłko’s and Mueller’s shots were turned away, though, so the contest stayed scoreless.
They absolutely should have jumped in front at the very end of the half. Mueller was played through by Przybyłko, and he had plenty of time to pick his spot, but his attempted near-post strike was blocked by an outstretched leg from Blake. There was a chance the attacker was offside, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
Things seemingly flipped minutes after the break. A dream cross from Kai Wagner went right to Cory Burke, but his header was denied by Gabriel Slonina, who pushed the ball onto the post before corralling it off the rebound.
There was then an extended period of nothing, but that ended in the blink of an eye when Federico Navarro gave Chicago the lead. Some excellent work from Mueller got the ball into a dangerous area, and Boris Sekulić eventually laid it off to Navarro on the edge of the area. He went for a first-time shot, and it took a slight deflection before barely squeaking by Blake and in.
Things got even better for the hosts as the Union went down a man shortly after. José Martínez, who was on a yellow card, pulled the jersey of a Fire player on the counter. It was clearly a foul, and it was clearly a second yellow, so the midfielder was correctly sent off.
The contest was nearly settled a little later on. The ball was lofted towards Przybyłko at the back post, but he couldn’t finish from just a few yards out, as his header smashed the crossbar before being cleared away.
That miss was almost vital since Philadelphia had a chance of their own afterwards. Chris Donovan was picked out in a good position, and he rose highest to win the aerial duel, but his header went right to Slonina.
Just when it seemed like Chicago were set to secure the victory, they potentially caught a very lucky break. It certainly looked like Jonathan Bornstein took down Burke in the penalty area, but the referee never went to the monitor following the challenge, so nothing was given.
As a result, the hosts ended the night with all three points.
Takeaways
This was Xherdan Shaqiri’s best game in a Fire kit. Active throughout, he got on the ball in a number of different positions. His passing was practically perfect, and he had several dimes throughout the course of the contest. He may not have been able to create a goal when all was said and done, but it’s not like he didn’t try.
Most of the games played at Soldier Field are quite ugly. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as pragmatic football can be successful, but it’s clear that Chicago doesn't plan on putting on a show when playing at home. It worked on this occasion, and they’ll hope that continues in the future.
Was this result just a fluke, or will the Fire actually be able to build upon this? Only time will tell.
Man of the match - Chris Mueller
He may not have scored the matchwinning goal, but he pretty much created it, so that’s good enough.
With the scores locked at 0-0, Chris Mueller carved out a moment of magic from out of nowhere. He put his marker on a mixtape, cutting inside before going back the other way with a lovely nutmeg. His pass then picked out Boris Sekulić, and he went on to assist Federico Navarro’s eventual strike.
That was the marquee moment, but Mueller’s performance went beyond that isolated incident. He linked up well with Xherdan Shaqiri, and he was just as good when he decided to dribble himself. He also drew a number of fouls, which was key in terms of killing time near the end of the game.
The recent arrival has been huge for Chicago, and the club will hope he can continue this wonderful run of form into the future.