Home Win #3: Chicago Fire 1, New York Red Bulls 0
CHICAGO, Ill. — It was one of the best Soldier Field nights of 2025 for the Chicago Fire, and three points made it sweeter. The 1-0 victory was just their third home victory of the season, but it could be the most important one so far, as it pushes the Fire past Red Bull and into 9th place.
The big story from Gregg Berhalter’s lineup came at center back, with Carlos Terán making his long-awaited return to the pitch. The Colombian had not appeared since the April 19th loss to Cincinnati, and replaced Sam Rogers, who was injured in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Montréal. Additionally, Djé D’Avilla got his second MLS start after his performances have steadily improved over the last month.
When the teams last met in April, the Fire started strong but ultimately succumbed to a 2-1 come-from-behind defeat. Similarly, the Men in Red played well out of the gates and had the bulk of the early chances. In the 18th minute, Terán emerged as an early protagonist when he came close to marking his return with a blast of a goal, but it missed just wide.
The Fire kept the pressure on, with Brian Gutiérrez seeing a first-time shot from inside the box saved by Carlos Coronel. Philip Zinckernagel, four days out from his MLS All-Star game assist, was also denied in the 26th minute. Jonathan Bamba, who scored his first Fire goal in the previous match at Red Bull, beat two defenders in the attacking third but had his shot saved.
Shortly before halftime, the Fire finally got the breakthrough that seemed like it was coming, though it did come through a stroke of fortune. Alexander Hack handled the ball right in front of the goal, and after a lengthy VAR check, a penalty was given. Hugo Cuypers converted from 12 yards, bringing his total for the year up to 14 in MLS and 16 in all competitions.
The second half didn’t have nearly as much action as the first. Zinckernagel had his lone big chance of a relatively quiet match saved in the 59th minute, and he was substituted shortly after. The triple change saw Maren Haile-Selassie, Rominigue Kouamé, and Omar González enter, with Terán and Gutiérrez also exiting.
Though the Red Bulls provided little attacking threat, the attacking quality of Emil Forsberg and Eric Maxim Chuopo-Moting did cause some uneasiness. Chuopo-Moting had a difficult shot saved by Chris Brady in the 74th minute, a half-chance that was Red Bull’s biggest opportunity of the second half.
The win moves the Fire back into the playoff places for the first time in weeks. Red Bull dropped down to 10th, and with the Fire having an additional game in hand, Berhalter’s team are in a good position heading into the final 10 matches.
Player Ratings
Starting XI (4-3-3) — Brady (7.5); Gutman (7.5), Elliott (7), Terán (7.5), Barroso (7.5); D'Avilla (8), Oregel Jr. (6), Gutiérrez (7); Bamba (8.5), Zinckernagel (5.5), Cuypers (7)
Substitutes — González (7), Haile-Selassie (7.5), Kouamé (6.5), Pineda (6), Dean (6.5)
