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The Chicago Fire get their first midweek home game, the bad news is that the top of the table leading Philadelphia Union are the opponent. The Fire have been dragon slayers this year, notching victories over top teams. This will be a real midseason test against Philly.
Philly controlling the possession early on. The pressure paid-off, the Fire get called for a penalty in the box. A confident penalty kick to the left corner, keeper Jeff Gal didn’t even move an inch on it. Union leads 1-0, less than 10 minutes into the match.
Fire try to respond with a couple chances, both times with Hugo Cuypers off the mark. Zinckernagel had a chance also, but hit the side of the net. Nothing threatening for the Union keeper.
Right before the half Gal makes a good save from a rocket volley kick. Philly had another shot that sailed over the goal. That was it for the half.
Shaky start and early goal given up by the Fire, but they remained composed and that was all the damage from the Union. Fire need a lot more offense in the second half to get back in this game. Just didn’t seem aggressive enough in the first half. Let Philly dictate the half.
The Fire came out in the second half with more juice. Controlling possession and more offensive minded. More opportunities created, but still lacking dangerous shots on goal. Coach Berhalter noticing the lack of finish in the final third, makes three substitutions.
The Union lacking sharpness on the night also. They have had several shots on target, but majority have sailed over the goal. They seem content holding onto the lead and seeing this game out. To highlight the night for the Fire, Tom Barlow, who entered in the second half, has a throw in on the opposing sideline and throws it out of bounds and doesn’t even get it in play. Sloppy.
Overall, the Fire were not able to do enough on the night to create chances and put pressure on Philly. The Union holds on to a 1-0 win. The Fire’s home struggles continue. Two losses in a row at home. They will have the chance to redeem themselves in three days. Philly, even on a night they weren’t sharp, proved why they are at the top of the table, they are capable of gutting one out to collect three points on the road.
News:
Congratulations to Philip Zinckernagel on being named the lone Fire All-Star selection. It’s his first All-Star. He was a coaches selection pick. Well deserving. He’s been the overall best player on the team. Scoring goals, assisting and breaking down defenders one-on-one. I was hoping there would be at least two Fire selections. Other deserving players were obviously Hugo Cuypers. Chris Brady who was selected for national team duty at the Gold Cup. Andrew Gutman has had a stellar season, so he was worthy of the recognition.
Notes:
- Philip Zinckernagel returned to the lineup to start his 16th match of the season. The Danish winger was named to the 2025 MLS All-Star Game as a coach’s selection prior to the match, his first such selection in his first year with Chicago Fire FC.
- Defender Omar González recorded the 299th regular season match of his MLS career, playing the whole 90 minutes. He lined up next to Jack Elliott, who wore the captain’s armband in the 228th start of his career.
- Leonardo Barroso recorded his third start of the year at right back. The Portuguese defender played 80 minutes in his fifth consecutive match, this time coming in his first start since March 29 against CF Montréal.
- Goalkeeper Jeff Gal recorded his third straight start of the season filling in for Chris Brady, who is with the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
- Beside Brady, defenders Carlos Terán (Lower Body) and Christopher Cupps (Lower Body); and midfielders Rominigue Kouamé (Lower Body), Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) and David Poreba (Lower Body) were also unavailable for selection.
NEXT MATCH:
Chicago continues it’s homestand and takes on the visiting Charlotte FC on Saturday, June 28. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
