“Feels like a loss”: Chicago Fire 2, Atlanta United 2

The Fire scored early, but Atlanta scored late as the two teams played to a 2-2 draw. After conceding a second-half equalizer, the Fire regained their lead only to see it evaporate at the death off a goal from a stoppage-time corner. As a result, the Chicago Fire are still searching for their first win in MLS play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, nearly eight years after the venue opened and started hosting Atlanta United matches.

The ending felt familiar to many Fire fans – and to Maren Haile-Selassie, whose goal off the bench restored the Fire’s lead. Asked about the feeling in the locker room after conceding the late equalizer, the Swiss winger said “it’s similar to when I don’t remember exactly last year… when you give up a goal at the end,” saying “it feels like a loss.” The sentiment was echoed – almost verbatim – by Fire Head Coach Gregg Berhalter, who after the match said, “It’s a point that feels like a loss. I think we played well enough to win the game. And unfortunately we didn’t.”

Chicago made two changes to the lineup that played on Saturday, putting Jonathan Dean at right back for Leonardo Barroso and giving Djé D’Avilla his first MLs start in lieu of Mauricio Pineda. While some squad rotation was inevitable, the inclusion of D’Avilla, who has been inconsistent in his first Fire appearances, was a surprise.

For his part, Atlanta Head Coach Ronny Deila played a mostly choice starting lineup, including the return of goalkeeper Brad Guzan for his first game after surgery to repair a broken cheekbone suffered weeks back. While the Evergreen Park, Ill. native played through the injury, he was on the bench on Saturday and played this match in a protective mask.

The game started off like a dream for the Chicago Fire. In their first spell of possession, Philip Zinckernagel won a corner for his team. Taking the corner himself seconds later, he did something Fire fans have become accustomed to witnessing in recent years when Xherdan Shaqiri was with the squad, attempting to score directly off an olimpico. Unlike the Swiss star’s efforts, however, this one found its mark. Zinckernagel’s second-minute goal marked the ninth road game in a row where the Danish attacker had a goal or an assist, putting him just one match behind Atlanta United legend Josef Martínez's league record 10 consecutive matches on the road with a goal contribution.

After the goal, however, Atlanta grew into the game and the Fire had a number of nervy moments, including giveaways when trying to play out of the back. Atlanta’s attack soon dissipated, and the Fire responded with chances of their own but neither team was able to break through, leaving the game 1-0 at half.

Barely 10 minutes after the restart however, Atlanta United found their equalizer. Miguel Almirón laid the ball off to Aleksey Miranchuk in a pocket of space just outside the Fire’s box. Chris Brady dove to stop the shot sent low to the far corner but couldn’t quite get a fingertip on the ball which ricocheted off the woodwork before rippling the net.

The goal energized Atlanta, who began moving faster and more confidently after finding the equalizer than they had throughout the match, making Zinckernagel’s second-minute goal feel distant.

Looking to regain the momentum, Berhalter went to his bench in the 67th minute, with Jonathan Bamba and Sergio Oregel Jr. giving way to Maren Haile-Selassie and Rominigue Kouamé. Surprisingly, D’Avilla was left on the pitch despite having, like Oregel, received a yellow card in the first half. Two minutes later, D’Avilla was involved in a dangerous tackle against Almirón, Atlanta’s captain and one of the faces of the team but managed to escape without a call.

Shortly after the play, Chicago seemed to regain the initiative. In the 78th minute, they had a lengthy spell of possession in Atlanta’s half that seemed likely, as so many of the Fire’s previous attacks, to fizzle out before creating a clear chance. A minute later, however, Gutman sent the ball to Maren Haile-Selassie just inside Atlanta’s box. Selassie took a couple touches to settle the ball as he moved through Atlanta’s defense and sent it past Guzan, who this time was unable to get a leg on it.

The night wasn’t over, however: Deep into second half stoppage time, Miranchuk’s corner was sent into a scrum in front of the Fire’s net. Atlanta homegrown Will Reilly connected with the loose ball for his first MLS goal, giving his hometown club an equalizer – and sealing a point moments later at the final whistle.

Haile-Selassie said the late equalizer "just shows us that, we, till the whistle is blowing, we have to be dialed in. I feel that even before the corner, we could have played smaller and like, less nervous. There was no need to be hectic because they were not really dangerous. I think the throw-in that led up to the corner, we could have defended better..... it just cost us points."

As a result, the Chicago Fire were denied their first-ever win in Atlanta in league play, with their sole victory over the team having come in a U.S. Open Cup match held in 2018. The team has little time to lick their wounds, however: Their next match against CF Montréal, another team that, like Atlanta, are considerably below the Fire in points, comes on Saturday.

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