The points were shared at Soldier Field on Saturday afternoon as the Chicago Fire drew 0-0 at home to Atlanta United.
An eventful 0-0, to be fair, both teams had chances throughout. Thiago Almada could have put the Five Stripes ahead right before the break, and then Chris Mueller bottled a chance of his own midway through the second half. Those were just the most notable openings, and there was plenty of action when all was said and done. However, there were no goals.
As a result, the Eastern Conference rivals had to settle for a point each, which doesn’t really help either too much in terms of the postseason picture.
Story of the match
The opening half hour was quite tame, with Atlanta controlling the tempo of the contest and creating a few half-chances along the way.
Chicago had two close calls at that stage, both coming via low crosses from Xherdan Shaqiri. The first got to Jairo Torres, but he was put off by a defender and wasn’t able to get a shot off as a result. The second went just by Torres, and no one was able to pounce on the ball at the far post, so the opportunity went begging.
Torres was involved once again minutes later. Another pass made it’s way to him on the right wing, and he did well to get a quick shot off. However, defender Caleb Wiley did better, coming across to make a key block.
There really should have been a goal right before the break, as excellent work from Thiago Almada led to him getting the ball back in a great area. He couldn’t finish the move off, though, curling a shot wide of the target.
The second half started with an audacious bicycle-kick attempt from Josef Martínez. It went miles over the crossbar.
A giveaway from Atlanta allowed Chicago to hit on the counter, and Jairo Torres picked up the ball on the right-hand side going forward. He blasted the ball towards the near post, and even though the effort did come close, it hit the wrong side of the side netting.
The deadlock was seemingly broken 10 minutes into the start of the second half. A cross from Miguel Navarro somehow went all the way to Shaqiri at the back post, and the Designated Player did the rest, settling the ball before rifling a low shot into the back of the net. However, the goal was called off following a VAR review since the player was quite clearly offside.
Things opened up soon after, and Mueller had a great chance to make it 1-0. Played into space down the wing, he blew by a defender with a smart cut inside, and he was stood in front of goal with the whole frame to aim at. He bottled it, though, skying a shot from close range.
Atlanta then had a break of their own, and the ball eventually fell to Luiz Araújo on the edge of the area. He tried to pick the corner, but instead he rolled a weak shot right at the goalkeeper.
Carlos Terán had to go off injured with about 15 minutes to go, and he was fighting back tears as he left the field. Hopefully he won’t be out for too long, but his reaction to things was not a promising sign.
Both teams did push forward on occasion, but there wouldn’t be any more major opportunities before the day was done. As a result, the points were split.
Takeaways
The Fire really have to get a stadium of their own. The pitch at Soldier Field looked like a mess, and there were patches absolutely everywhere. It’s not even like the Bears are playing at the moment, so the conditions will only get worse once their campaign begins. Being in the city is nice, sure, but Chicago absolutely needs a soccer-specific stadium that belongs to them in the future.
I know players can wear whatever jersey number they want, but seeing Matheus Rossetto, a midfielder, in the #9 kit was really strange. Not a fan, personally. Things only got worse when Dom Dwyer subbed in at striker wearing the #4 jersey.
It was nice to have Tyler Terens back in the commentary booth alongside Tony Meola.
Jairo Torres looked good on his return to the starting lineup. Really tidy in possession, there were a few nice moments where he was able to link up with Xherdan Shaqiri in the final third. It was a solid showing from the Mexican, and now the team will just hope that he can stay healthy.
In terms of the playoff picture, this result keeps both teams close, but it doesn’t really help them out too much. We go again next week, I guess.
Man of the match - Everyone!
There are some games where every player on the pitch drops a stinker, which leads to a horrific contest and makes naming a man of the match an impossible task.
This wasn’t one of those matches. Instead, everyone did pretty well when all was said and done. There were a few highlights from certain players, sure, but no one stood substantially above the rest.
That’s why everyone gets the nod here! Why not, at this stage? It was a relatively complete performance from both sides, so all involved should be celebrated.