Below the Line: Chicago Fire 0, D.C. United 4
The Chicago Fire traveled to the nation’s capital to face D.C. United in possession of the ninth and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.
No more. The Fire were out-possessed, out-chanced and outplayed as they lost 4-0 to the team immediately behind them in the standings, in a match that the team would hope to forget.
Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas, who had tried a formation with three center backs in the midweek game before reverting at half, reverted to the familiar 4-2-3-1 for this game, the team’s last before a one-week international break. Because of that midweek game, some squad rotation was inevitable, and Xherdan Shaqiri would start the game on the bench, allowing Brian Gutiérrez to return to the central #10 attacking midfield role, flanked by the versatile Fabian Herbers and Maren Haile-Selassie. Federico Navarro and Gastón Giménez, the Fire’s preferred option in the double pivot over the past two seasons, would resume their duties, and Alonso Aceves and Arnaud Souquet found themselves back in the Starting XI.
The hosts, on the other hand, came into the game comparably rested, having not played since last Saturday. D.C. Head Coach Wayne Rooney, who had been deploying his squad with a back three switched to a back four, possibly due to the absence of starting goalkeeper Tyler Miller. Miller had functioned almost like an extra outfield player as D.C. built out of the back. Instead, he put his squad in a 4-2-3-1 for the second time this year, and first since March, as he made six changes from the Starting XI he used in their previous match a week ago.
The home team would not take long to strike. In the ninth minute, Christian Benteke, who had been on an 11 game scoring drought, received a perfectly weighted pass and would cleanly beat Fire captain Rafael Czichos, leaving the striker alone with time and space facing down Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady. Benteke, D.C.’s leading scorer this season, would make no mistakes as he sent his team up 1-0.
Soon after, Alonso Aceves would respond with the Fire’s first shot on net, off a wide angle easily handled by D.C. goalkeeper Alex Bono. A few minutes later, Brian Gutiérrez also had his own look on net, but his shot went well above the D.C. goal.
Those plays would not change the momentum of the game, however, as D.C. would continue to have the lion’s share of chances, and the home team would be rewarded with their second as Theodore Ku-DiPietro would score off a long ball that bypassed multiple lines of Fire players, putting the hosts ahead 2-0 in the first 20 minutes.
Injuries would force both sides to go to their benches soon after, with Derrick Williams being replaced by Brendan Hines-Ike and Ousmane Doumbia coming on for Federico Navarro. The pace would slow and the Fire would start to grow into the game following the substitutions.
The shift would be temporary, however, as Benteke again bore down on Chris Brady’s net. Carlos Terán made a defensive play that deprived Benteke of the ball, but in a series of events that would make a decent Caravaggio painting, just as referee Sergii Boiko was raising his hand for a penalty due to Terán’s actions, the ball would go off one, than the other foot of the Fire defender and sail past Brady into the Fire net. The own goal counted. The penalty? Unnecessary. D.C. up 3-0 at the end of the first half.
Klopas would respond by looking to his bench, bringing on Xherdan Shaqiri for Maren Haile-Selassie, sliding Gutiérrez wide as Shaqiri would play centrally. The Fire would show signs of life, including a notable chance off Gutiérrez's foot, but D.C. would continue to have the majority of good chances. Klopas would again make substitutions looking for a difference in the game as he brought on Miguel Ángel Navarro for Alonso Aceves and Jairo Torres for Fabian Herbers in the 58’, and Georgios Koutsias for Kamara seven minutes later.
Ultimately, the changes would make no impact on the game, and in a moment of synecdoche, Carlos Terán, whose long-distance throw-ins have become a near object of legend for Fire fans, miffed his attempt in the 68’, allowing the ball to revert to the home side.
Play through the second half would continue to be frustrating for the Fire, although they would bend, and not break, through most of the second half. They would get looks on goal, almost all of which would find their way wide of Alex Bono’s net, until Benteke’s continued efforts to get in on Chicago’s goal would be rewarded in stoppage time, giving the striker a brace – his scoring drought now firmly behind him – and his team a 4-0 victory.
D.C. United are now in possession of the 9th and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference, and it has now been Fire over 300 minutes of competitive football since the Fire have scored a goal. The loss is the largest margin for the Fire since being defeated 5-1 against Nashville SC on July 17, 2021.
The game was the first of three on the road for the Fire, who are next in action Saturday, September 16th against CF Montréal following a week off due to the FIFA international window. The Fire’s next home game is Saturday, September 23rd against the New England Revolution.
