Fireworks: Chicago Fire 4, Philadelphia Union 3
CHICAGO, Ill. — Tonight’s 4th of July fireworks paled in comparison to the ones that played out on the Soldier Field pitch.
If was there that the Chicago Fire earned a 4-3 home win over the Philadelphia Union, exercising late-game heroics against a struggling but talented team. Hugo Cuypers scored twice in the final ten minutes, sandwiching a Gastón Giménez goal, completing the thrilling remontada.
The Fire’s change to a back three following the departure of Xherdan Shaqiri for the European Championships has resulted in better soccer and improved results, so it was no surprise when Frank Klopas rolled out the same shape against the Union. Wyatt Omsberg made his first start of the season, while red-hot Maren Haile-Selassie reprised his new role as a second striker next to Hugo Cuypers.
It was Haile-Selassie who struck first, though it took half an hour. The Swiss attacker pounced on a deflected Allan Arigoni cross and knocked the ball past Union keeper Oliver Semmle to open the scoring. Haile-Selassie’s goal marked his fourth straight game with a goal, just one off of the Fire’s club-record five straight, and his fifth of the season, one short of his team-high six goals last year.
The lead would be short-lived. Philadelphia’s Chris Donovan redirected a Leon Flach shot past Chris Brady, leveling the game at one apiece. The Fire had failed to gain any momentum from their goal, and the Union capitalized.
Following the equalizer, the Union kept things moving in their direction, and just before halftime, a clumsy foul from Brady sent referee Abdou Ndiaye to the VAR monitor. After a lengthy review of nearly five minutes, a penalty was awarded; Dániel Gázdag duly converted on his first start after returning from Hungary’s Euro 2024 camp.
Jim Curtin’s Union came flying out of the second half, and after they had found the Fire’s Jonathan Dean to be a weak spot at left back, Chris Mueller was introduced by Klopas to counter the Union’s attacking threat. It was to no avail, however, as a blast from U.S. international Jack McGlynn extended the visitors’ lead to 3-1.
Mueller thought he had clawed one back a few minutes later with a rare left-footed strike, which would have been his first goal of the season, but another lengthy video review kept the cushion at two.
In a bold maneuver seeking to come back into the game, Klopas switched to a four-back system, moving Fabian Herbers to right back with Arnaud Souquet shifting to left back. Then, off of a set piece, Mueller headed the ball back across the box for Cuypers to head home and bring the game within one.
The Fire pushed on, and the reeling Union struggled to keep up. Another corner kick chance appeared in the 89th minute, and this time, it was Gastón Giménez who was the hero. The DP midfielder volleyed home from close range, tying the game up with little time to spare.
When the referee awarded seven minutes of stoppage, what came next seemed like an inevitability. A looping ball from Haile-Selassie found the right foot of Cuypers, who knocked the ball in from close range to send the impressive crowd of nearly 20,000 into pandemonium. The Fire had their second straight home win and climb above Philly into 13th place.
The win is the Fire’s second this season in which they trailed 3-1 in the 82nd minute after the 4-3 comeback against Montréal in March. They’re one of just two teams this season to win twice when trailing by two goals, and have scored stoppage time winners twice in a season for the first time in over a decade.
In the final minutes, Klopas was shown a red card; he'll miss the next game, barring a successful appeal.
