Chicago Fire 4, Inter Miami 1 | Player Ratings

With a playoff spot on the line and a record crowd at Soldier Field, the Fire played the best they have all season, beating a Messi-less Inter Miami 4-1 courtesy of braces from Swiss duo Maren Haile-Selassie and Xherdan Shaqiri. Here is a 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 (8) – Relatively untested on the night, Brady was solid when called upon, making two saves on Miami’s two shots on target. Also, given that Miami’s lone goal was a penalty, the 19-year-old dealt with all he could fairly well.

Miguel Ángel Navarro (7.5) – If you are a big better, you have to take the over on fouls drawn by Navarro. It is insane how he has mastered winning fouls in our own half. Besides that, Miggy played great, entering 11 duels, creating two chances, and overall looked fearless against the likes of Sergio Busquets and Robert Taylor. If the Fire make the playoffs, this will undoubtedly be the best season he has had in a Fire shirt so far.

Rafael Czichos (8) – Returning to the starting XI, Rafa looked cool, calm, and collected in front of Soldier Field’s 62,000+ attendance. The German had a team-high passing accuracy at 94.4%, and honestly should have scored a goal himself after a ball into the Miami box was bounced around and just deflected over by Benjamín Cremaschi early into the game. It was good to see the skipper back, and what a game to do so!

Wyatt Omsberg (8) – Retaining his starting position in the backline, Omsberg returned to his form from early last season despite having limited playing time up until this last stretch of games. Omsberg only engaged in three duels and did not win any tackles, but generally speaking, Miami rarely tested the Fire, so there is not much to look into, but like his partner, the center back looked relatively unbothered by Messi FC.

Jonathan Dean (7.5) – The starting right-back for this evening, Dean had another good game out wide. Dean did concede the penalty for Miami’s lone goal, but as he was shifting to get a block in and facing away from the strike, some may think the referee's decision was a bit harsh, all things considered. Dean held possession well and looked to join the offensive end if the game often, and with form like this being recurring, it puts Arnaud Souquet in an interesting place.

Gastón Giménez (9) – Easily a man of the match candidate, Tonga looks like a completely different player as of late when compared to the Paraguayan while he held his Designated Player tag. Gastón held a 90% pass accuracy, won nine of his ten duels, and assisted Xherdan Shaqiri’s final goal after winning the ball back from Miami and playing a through ball to the Swiss. Giménez has just been immense recently.

Ousmane Doumbia (8) – On the other side of the midfield pivot, Ousmane Doumbia also had a great performance. Playing as a deep-sitting defense midfielder typically limits a player’s creativity, however, Doumbia finished the game with a 0.28 expected assists rate and five passes into the final third. On the other side of his performance, he also went into 11 duels, won two tackles, and won the ball back eight times total. Between the two pivot members, this was as close to a complete performance as it gets.

Brian Gutiérrez (7.5) – Starting out wide on the left, Guti looked extremely busy during his tenure on the pitch despite a later substitution. Gutiérrez completed three successful dribbles, held an 86.7% pass accuracy, and was also extremely busy on the defensive side of his game, challenging eight duels total. Guti was eventually subbed out for Maren Haile-Selassie with an issue in his knee, however, the Fire’s young gem looked great when he was on.

Xherdan Shaqiri (9.5) – I am honestly not sure who the guy was wearing the number ten Shaqiri jersey yesterday, but I hope he comes back for the last two games. Shaq put in his best performance yet for the Fire, scoring a brace to shove the most hyped team in the league further into post-season obscurity. Noted by the local broadcast announcers, Shaqiri missed an absolute sitter from about six yards out against NYRB to kill the game, but this time, the power cube made no mistake for his first goal, beating Drake Callender at the near post with a tidy finish at the 49-minute mark. With more spotlight to steal, Shaq came back in the 73rd minute to stand up two Miami defenders and sneak a shot in at the far post in to put the final score at 4-1. If only Shaqiri played like this every game.

Fabian Herbers (9) – Who could have thought Herbers could outperform Robert Taylor and a random Spanish guy from some team called Barcelona. Fabi came up clutch as the Fire’s right-winger, nabbing two great assists to help the team get possibly their most important win of the season. Besides his obvious contributions, Herbers created a total of 1.71 expected goals and assists and was extremely dominant over DeAndre Yedlin. His night came to a close when he was substituted for Carlos Terán in the 85th minute, but I hope Fabi woke up to an email about a contract extension.

Georgios Koutsias (7) – Until this moment, the Fire’s striker pool has not had this much influence over a match where they did not score, but Koutsias did just that against Miami. Koutsias worked hard both on and off the ball to create chances and defend simultaneously, doing a great job of limiting Miami’s possession to secluded pockets between their backline and midfielders. In the 49th minute, Georgios let the ball roll past himself to find the feet of Shaqiri for a tap-in to go up 1-0. When on the ball, Koutsi played extremely direct and helped get the team into the box on several occasions as well. His night was ended when he was substituted for Kacper Przybyłko in the 69th minute.

Substitutes

Maren Haile-Selassie (9.5) – Now the club’s top goal-scorer this season, Maren came on as a substitute for Gutiérrez in the 55th minute and made an immediate impact. Haile-Selassie scored his first in the 62nd minute after Herbers picked the winger out with a beautiful through ball for him to finish onto. Just three minutes later, Maren got on the end of a deep cross from Doumbia to sneak it past Callender to put the score at 3-1. Joe Mansueto, if you are reading this, you have to sign him from yourself. Haile-Selassie is an absolute must for the team going forward, whether that be as a starter or off the bench.

Kacper Przybyłko (6.5) – Replacing Koutsias in the 69th minute, Kacper actually did not look too bad. The Pole has rarely looked so hungry to be engaged when wearing a Fire kit, and although nothing came out of his performance directly, if he had showed this much effort in his previous appearances, then fans likely would have viewed his transfer much differently.

Carlos Terán (N/A) – Carlos Terán came on as a substitute in the 85th minute for Fabian Herbers, but due to his short spell on the pitch, the Colombian could only reel in three touches total. Thus, he cannot be properly rated.

Manager

Frank Klopas (9.5) – I am not sure what Klopas told his squad before the match, but he should do it more often. Klopas got the lads absolutely pumped and managed them to a performance that completely shifted the direction of the season. The Fire played some of their best ball all season, moving play side to side and creating chances like they were FC Bayern playing in the DFB Pokal. His subs were spot on, and credit should be given for trusting Wyatt Omsberg in his starting spot. Although our time together is once again coming to an end, Klopas truly created some moments of magic this year.