Catching Fire: Toronto FC 1, Chicago Fire 4
Are things finally beginning to click for the Chicago Fire?
The Men in Red left Toronto this evening with something they haven’t in 12 years: three points. An offensive explosion secured a 4-1 win against a high-flying TFC side, and moved them to within two points of a playoff place.
"There was unity, there was a belief and the team continued to show a lot of character," head coach Frank Klopas said postgame. "
For me, we're going to be, I believe, a difficult team to play against."
From the opening whistle, the Fire showed that the momentum that had appeared before the recent international break was still alive. They’ve been excellent in the absence of captain and Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri, who was an unused substitute in Switzerland’s somewhat surprising 3-1 win over Hungary this morning and have found a run of good form since switching to a 3-5-2 shape last month.
Despite plentiful chances in the first half, the breakthrough didn’t come until the 41st minute. Maren Haile-Selassie, still learning his new role as a second striker next to Hugo Cuypers, got on the end of a Fabian Herbers cross, handing the Fire a 1-0 road lead.
Minutes later, though, Toronto equalized. Their star DP, Lorenzo Insigne, who would have joined Shaqiri at the Euros had he not all but resigned his Italian national team availability when he moved to MLS in 2022 but has recently been finding form, struck a shot from distance that took a deflection and snuck past Chris Brady. John Herdman’s team entered the break level despite being outshot by the visitors.
The Fire reprised their role as a second half team, however. Cuypers won the ball back high up the field and carried the ball into the penalty box, riding a defender’s challenge, before knocking the ball past TFC backup keeper Luka Gavran to make the score 2-1. It was Cuypers’ fourth straight game with a goal contribution and third straight with a goal.
Three minutes later, the Fire’s offense came alive again, showing ingenuity and cohesion in the final third that consistently lacked with the big-money Shaqiri on the field. Brian Gutiérrez and Haile-Selassie exchanged passes excellently in transition before “Guti” left the ball for homegrown Mauricio Pineda at the top of the box. Pineda, making his 99th Fire start, ripped a shot from distance that extended the lead to two. It was his first goal of the season.
The dagger finally came in the 89th minute. Right wing back Allan Arigoni bombed forward from his original defensive position, joined the attack, and tucked a left-footed ball past the goalkeeper to make the game 4-1. Arigoni’s first MLS goal was a beauty and ensured that the Fire would be able to claim three points through U.S. customs.
Now just two points out of a playoff spot, the Fire’s season is not quite as over as it seemed about a month ago. Klopas also finds himself in a much more comfortable position than he did 28 days ago, when the Fire was in the midst of a nine-game winless run. Now, they’re four unbeaten, and alive and well, but the hard work has only just begun.
"We have a long way to go," Klopas said. "I told the guys, we have to enjoy this moment. We have to take a couple days now and regroup, take care of ourselves. The important thing is not only what we do on the training pitch but make sure that we take care of ourselves off the pitch and continue to work. It's all about work and effort and being together that's going to get us out of this."
