Bamba Impresses in Chicago Fire Debut
MLS opening day did not go as planned for the Chicago Fire, but there were some positives to take away. For one, the only direction now is up. But more importantly, it is evident that new signing Jonathan Bamba is the man Head Coach Gregg Berhalter needed on the wing.
The game started quickly and was fast-paced from the opening whistle. Berhalter's team started with a high press, which caused early trouble for the Crew's initial back three. The main protagonists of this press were Hugo Cuypers, Phillip Zinckernagel, and Bamba. The new Designated Player was everywhere, pressing with intelligence and helping out on defense.
In the ninth minute, his positioning on the left created one of the team's first big chances of the season, winning a corner. Less than five minutes later, his communication and chemistry with midfielder Brian Gutiérrez shone through in a play where he dribbled the entire flank, cut towards the middle, and found Guti open at the top of the box.
That resulted in the first goal of the season for the Fire and an unexpected early lead. It was the first of several moments in which the homegrown combined with Bamba.
“Even in preseason when I first saw him and played with him, I already knew there was a good connection with him,” Gutiérrez told MIR97 Media postgame. “We’re going to do a lot of things this year together, and today it showed.”
As the game continued, the duo linked in almost the same exact way, a play that ended with a genius through ball from Bamba and a calm finish in front of net from Guti in the 22nd minute.
For the bulk of the first half, Bamba did not lose a single ball in all the attacks that had gone through his side. From the handful of counterattacks on the left flank, two ended in goals, one in a corner, and the rest with shots on target. The overlapping runs from Andrew Gutman playing just behind him seemed to work for the majority of the first 45.
From there, however, the back line did not help the Fire's pursuit of a victory; a series of defensive calamities enabled Columbus to tie the game twice before jumping out to a 4-2 lead early in the second half.
A few minutes into the second half, with the team reeling after falling two goals behind, Bamba once again showed just how easy things looked for him on Saturday. The left winger signaled to Zinckernagel that he should make a run mid-play and proceeded to play him an inch-perfect ball over Malte Amundsen’s head, though the sequence died when Zinckernagel failed to make anything of it.
Not even five minutes later, with the pressure slowly decreasing from the Fire and the control of the game being in the hands of the Crew, the former Lille man forced Patrick Schulte to kick the ball straight out of play for the third time in the game. Though Columbus' keeper was shaky throughout, he did just enough to keep the Fire's score at two.
No matter how the team was playing, no matter who was on the same page as him, no matter the score, and no matter the context, Bamba did not stop pressing, running, directing teammates, and attempting to make the absolute most out of every single chance he had.
The last half-hour saw Columbus dominate the game, but even up until the 91st minute, the Fire’s new winger continued to press the goalkeeper and defenders only to have to come back and help defend seconds later after none of his teammates were up there to help him.
For his performance, the French DP won over the fans and was recognized by the Fire's traveling support with chants of "Jonathan Bamba" after the closing whistle.
This Saturday, March 1st, Bamba will debut at Soldier Field in front of the home crowd against D.C. United. Given his performance in Columbus and two assists, despite the disappointing result, it is safe to say that he has gotten off to a flying start in Major League Soccer.
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https://meninred97.com/who-is-jonathan-bamba-why-the-fires-dp-winger-is-a-perfect-fit/
