Chicago Fire 1, Toronto FC 0 | Player Ratings
Just earlier this week, the Fire beat CF Montréal 3-0 at home, and in this outing, Chicago took three points off of another Canadian side by beating Toronto 1-0 at Soldier Field with formerly out-of-favor Kacper Przybyłko coming off the bench to score in the 90th minute off of a cross from Miguel Ángel Navarro. Here is a short recap of the Fire’s individual performers.
*Players are listed in the order they lined up, followed by substitutes in the order they appeared
Starting XI
Chris Brady (7.5) – Being extremely unbothered for almost the entirety of the match despite Toronto posting 11 total shots, Brady only had to make a single save. Although that speaks volumes about the composure and quality of the Fire’s entire backline, more shots mean more chances for goalkeepers to shine, and Brady did not get those chances here. Also to note, Brady joins Gaga Slonina as the only teenager to record three-straight clean sheets.
Miguel Ángel Navarro (8.5) – Against Toronto, Navarro was simply everywhere. He was frequently getting into the offensive half, and although his efficiency in the final third was marked by his unfortunately common field-goal attempts up until the last minute, Navarro clutched up in the 90th minute by playing a perfect cross onto the head of Kacper Pryzbyłko who then headed it past Sean Johnson for the win. Besides that, Navarro led the Fire in total duels and completed tackles, with 12 and two, respectively, as well as the match's second-highest pass accuracy with 91.5%. Easily the man of the match in my eyes.
Rafael Czichos (7) – Leading the Fire’s backline to back-to-back clean sheets was no easy task, but Czichos did so in style before going into the All-Star and Leagues Cup break. Czichos led the match in pass accuracy across both teams with 92.5%, with a notable portion of those passes heading into wingers or midfielders, but also still put up a solid defensive effort with eight duels and a completed tackle.
Mauricio Pineda (7.5) – Previously the Fire’s most in-form defender, Mauri had another solid game as a starter at center-back. Pineda has brought a physicality to the table that many Major League Soccer forwards simply have not been able to deal with, and that has been extremely clear over this last stretch of five games for the Fire. Pineda tied second across Fire players for duels with 11, which is impressive considering he played the last 15 minutes moved up to center midfield.
Jonathan Dean (7) – Getting rewarded for his recent string of positive performances, Dean got the start over Arnaud Souquet at right-back in this match. Dean’s offensive end product was a bit lacking, but defensively the former USL man was up for the task the entire game, most notably recovering the ball six times. Dean was substituted for Arnaud Souquet in the 90th minute.
Gastón Giménez (7) – Usually leaving more of the defensive responsibilities to his midfield partner, in this match, Gastón picked improved upon that flaw and was competent in stopping Toronto from gaining any leverage in the midfield, signified by having won 75% of his duels. Tonga also played a large role in connecting the defense with an attack that looked extremely free-flowing at times despite only scoring once. With that said, however, most of his passes were lateral to wingers or fullbacks, with Giménez not being too involved in the attack once it got to the final third. Giménez was substituted in the 80th minute to make way for Carlos Terán.
Fabian Herbers (7) – In his sixth-consecutive start for the Fire, Herbers has continued to be a valuable asset in this team. Although he does not do either exceptionally well, Fabi frequently appears in defense and attack for the Fire, with his most notable moment is flicking a whipped Shaqiri ball onto goal to force Johnson to make the most impressive save of the match. With the team failing to really get a solid attacking hold over Toronto, Fabi was substituted for Jairo Torres in the 72nd minute as Frank Klopas looked re-energize the Fire.
Brian Gutiérrez (7.5) – Despite minor injury concerns, Gutiérrez remained a starter at right-wing heading into this game. The homegrown looked confident when looking onto goal, creating plenty of opportunities for his teammates and ripping a longshot that, unfortunately, was always going up. It is a bit of a sigh of relief to see Fire players take these shots even if they do not go in, considering that Xherdan Shaqiri’s goal last game against Montréal was the team’s first goal outside of the box all season. Guti also linked up well with the previously mentioned Swiss on a short corner, with the 19-year-old whipping it into space for Fabian Herbers to flick onto goal, forcing Johnson to make a great save. Post-goal Guti is starting to look menacing.
Xherdan Shaqiri (7) – Shaq had a bit of a quieter match than some of his fellow attackers, never having any notable standout moments against a poor Toronto side. Shaqiri started as the Fire’s center attacking midfielder but was eventually moved out to play as a right winger when Klopas moved the team into a 4-3-3 with eyes on getting a goal. Shaq had zero key passes, and zero successful dribbles, and paired that with only a 78.8% pass accuracy, signifying that there is room for improvement once the Fire return to league play at the end of August.
Maren Haile-Selassie (7.5) – Speaking of dribbling, Maren looked to be having a ton of fun out on the right side of play, frequently taking on his man trying to drive towards Toronto’s 18-yard box. Haile-Selassie posted two successful dribbles, an 87.5% pass accuracy, and a surprising defensive haul of 11 duels. The biggest issue with Maren’s performance though was his crossing and creativity against Toronto’s defense after they were already set, only completing a single cross during his time on the pitch. Haile-Selassie was substituted for Kacper Przybyłko in the 89th minute.
Georgios Koutsias (7) – After an extremely impressive performance against Montréal that saw him grab an assist and create the following goal, Koutsias kept his spot as the Fire’s starting striker. Koutsi offered a ton of positive service by dropping deep to lay the ball off into his teammates, however when it came taking players on one-on-one, the Greek youth international was a tad clumsy on the ball, never really getting past his man for either a cross or shot onto goal. A quiet night for Koutsias ended when he was substituted at halftime for the continuously record-chasing Kei Kamara.
Substitutes
Kei Kamara (7) – Coming on for Koutsias directly after halftime, the soon-to-be All-Star probably has not been expecting to have been waiting this long for his 144th Major League Soccer goal, but unfortunately, that is the case. Kei looked hungry, though, taking three shots and getting two on target. The issue was that every opportunity was from an awkward angle, as the forward often had to drift out wide to get into space. His passing was about what fans could expect (only around 66.7% for accuracy), but he did post eight total duels, which is great considering he only played for a half.
Jairo Torres (5.5) – Substituting Herbers in the 72nd minute, Torres has been the most disappointing player of the season for me. 22 minutes is not a large amount of time, I know, but in that time, Jairo only completed five passes, never created any opportunities for his teammates, and had a shot that could have hit the roof of the McCormick Place. His designated player tag simply cannot be justified, and as Kacper Przybyłko hits his fourth goal of the season despite clearly not mentally being with the team, Jairo continues to underperform vastly.
Carlos Téran (6.5) – Téran swapped with Giménez in the 80th minute of play, shifting Pineda up field to play as the number six for the Fire. I do not want to continue to explicitly slander Jairo Torres, but in comparison, the center back who played eight minutes less completed eight passes and attempted three more total than the midfielder. Given his limited time, Terán was unable to register any defensive action besides two ball recoveries.
Kacper Przybyłko (7.5) – After not even being in the squad against Montréal, Przybyłko came on as a substitute for Haile-Selassie in the 89th minute. Typically I do not rate players with such limited minutes, but as Kacper scored the match-winner, it is only fair that the Pole gets a grade. Getting on the end of a cross from Navarro, Kacper nodded home from close range to kill the game in the 90th minute for all three points.
Arnaud Souquet (6.5) – Replacing Jonathan Dean in the 89th minute, Arnaud Souquet only accumulated around five minutes before the full-time whistle was blown. He helped close out the win in stoppage time with some defensive actions.
Manager
Frank Klopas (7.5) – The decision to bench Arnaud Soquet for Jonathan Dean could have been a mistake. However, it worked well, which is a positive as Fire faithful can now trust either of their major right-back options to perform well. Although attacking opportunities came and went, the attack looked connected on several occasions, regardless of the attacking substitutions. Speaking of substitutions, the majority of Fire subs did not dip the team performance much, and none of them were irregular decisions. The shift to a 4-3-3 at the end of the game was a change we have not seen much of, however, that decision helped create a game-winne6, so no complaints there either.
