Holding Strong: Chicago Fire 2, Houston Dynamo 1

CHICAGO, Ill. — The Fire came home following a two-game road swing, hoping to find a return to the winning form they found in their last match at Soldier Field when the team had a wild 4-3 win over CF Montréal. They got it, and this time, the assist came from Xherdan Shaqiri, the team’s captain, instead of the wind, as the Fire defeated the Dynamo 2 to 1 in a gutsy, physical win for the Fire.

Frank Klopas made four changes to his starting lineup from the team that played last week in Atlanta. One was necessary: Tobias Salquist started at center back in lieu of Carlos Terán, who received a straight red one-game suspension last week. Two players made their first starts of the season, including Chris Mueller, marking his first start since April 29, 2024, and Arnaud Souquet also marking his first minutes in MLS this season, after having played a 45 minute tune up with the Fire II squad a week prior.

Most surprising, however, was the absence of a Chicago homegrown as Brian Gutiérrez lost his spot in the starting lineup to Xherdan Shaqiri, marking the first time this season that the young midfielder did not start. In explaining the decision postmatch, Klopas cited Gutiérrez's youth. "The kid's still a young player, let's not forget because he's a quality player," Klopas said, "but you know I think we also have to be careful how we manage him and manage his minutes. He's played a lot of minutes and there's also a fatigue. Not only the physical fatigue, but the mental fatigue, and the distress and pressure with a young player, but I've talked to him and he came in and it was great to see."

Jonathan Dean and Gastón Giménez joined Gutiérrez on the bench, and Allan Arigoni made his first start of the year at left back, a position he had previously played on occasion in Lugano.

The Fire knew they would be facing an opponent without its star player, as Mexican international Héctor Herrera works his way back from a long-term injury, but the Dynamo team was also without star striker Sébastian Ferreira and Nelson Quiñones. Though this limited Houston Head Coach Ben Olsen’s attacking options, he had a number of tools at his disposal, including slick midfielder Coco Carrasquilla - who had been listed as questionable prior to the match - and offseason acquisition Sebastian Kowalczyk as well as Ibrahim Aliyu, who scored a brace against the Fire in a heated U.S. Open Cup match the last time these two teams met.

The temperature between the two teams had not dropped since the meeting last June: A scrum ensuing after a Fire corner resulted in Rafael Czhicos being hauled down in the box, resulting in an early penalty for the home team.

As expected, Shaqiri from the spot was as good as money in the bank. 1-0 Chicago Fire in the 10th minute. The Fire would continue to press, as Chris Mueller played the ball to a sliding Hugo Cuypers in the box, who managed to snag a Houston defender but none of the ball.

The teams continued to spar for the opening side of the first half, but no team could get a clear chance until the 22nd minute, when Carrasquilla played the ball to Anime Bassi whose shot from close range forced Chris Brady to be sharp.

Six minutes later, a Maren Haile-Selassie cross almost doubled the home team’s lead, but Hugo Cuypers wasn’t able to get on the end of it in time. The play continued end-to-end, with both teams being unafraid of physical play. In the 37th minute, Franco Escobar tested Brady with a header at close range. The Chicago keeper was equal to the task, and was sharp in controlling the ball and denying a chance at a rebound.

Despite heavy tussling, largely from the visitors, the first card of the match didn’t come until just before the end of the half, as the Dynamo’s Erik Sviatchenko hauled down Xherdan Shaqiri. On the restart, Cuypers would once again try Steve Clark but once again, Cuypers failed to find the back of the net as the half ended with the Fire up 1-0.

The Dynamo came out flying in the second half but didn’t get a solid chance until the 54th minute when Franco Escobar headed the ball from the center of the goal, but Brady was again equal to the task. In search of the equalizer, Olsen was the first to his bench, bringing on Brad Smith to join the attack in place of midfielder Ján Greguš.

It might not have been necessary. Fabian Herbers misplayed a pass deep in Chicago’s half, which found its way to Aliyu's right foot with an open look on goal, forcing Brady to look on as the ball went to the back of his net.

As frustrations mounted and as the Fire looked for ways to contain the Dynamo’s attack, Rafael Czichos received the first yellow card for the Fire. Looking to regain the initiative, Klopas made two changes, bringing on Jonathan Dean for Arnaud Souquet and swapping Chris Mueller for Brian Gutiérrez who entered the match to audible cheers from the 18,844 in attendance. Though Gutiérrez would make the highlight reels, Klopas also had compliments for the Souquet, saying that he "helped us a lot in the build up. He's an experienced guy and gives us a lot of quality on the ball."

Gutiérrez would get a shot on net soon after entering, but as with so many of the Fire’s other attempts, the shot came from a bad angle and a lack of trailing runners for the Fire made it an easy kick save for Clark.

And yet. The shot seemed to spark something in the Fire, as they would have two looks at Smith’s net in short succession, but couldn’t best the Dynamo until the 78th minute. Xherdan Shaqiri played a perfectly-weighted pass to Brian Gutiérrez who played the ball over Clark with the Dynamo’s Griffin Dorsey bearing down on Gutiérrez from behind. Fire 2, Houston 1.

Both coaches would go to their benches again in the final ten minutes, with Klopas bringing on Georgios Koutsias for Hugo Cuypers and Federico Navarro for Xherdan Shaqiri, who finished the match with a goal and an assist, as Olsen brought on Latif Blessing and Tate Schmitt. A few minutes later, Kellyn Acosta would give way for Mauricio Pineda, using the Fire’s last substitution window, before Olsen would use his final substitution shortly thereafter.

Ultimately they would make no difference. As the game went into stoppage time, the Fire had to do some last-second defending but were ultimately able to see the result through ensuring the Fire’s second victory of the season and pushing the team back into the thick of the Eastern Conference standings.

The Fire’s next match is on Saturday, April 13th, in Harrison, New Jersey, where they face the league-leading New York Red Bulls in their only away game in April.