"Not Good Enough:" Inter Miami 2, Chicago Fire 1
The Fire traveled to Ft. Lauderdale knowing that there was a chance – with help – that the team could see itself into a postseason spot with a win and some help. They got some, but not all of the help, but they also didn’t help themselves, falling 2-1 to Inter Miami.
The pain for Fire fans isn’t the loss, and they actually enter the Leagues Cup break just three points and a tiebreaker short of their goal, but instead, the frustration that it really didn’t have to be this way. Mental frustration, a lack of communication, individual errors and either a lack of a tactical plan or a failure to execute it doomed the Fire to another loss. As a result, the team now are back to being 14th in MLS’s Eastern Conference, just two points above the New England Revolution who still have two games in hand.
For the third match in a row, the Fire made a formation change to mirror their opponent, reverting to playing a four man back line, abandoning the formation with three center backs that had seen the team get most of its results this season. Instead, the team played out of a nominal 4-4-2. Gastón Giménez kept his place in the starting lineup after a strong performance in the last match, and Fabian Herbers returned after a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
Miami were, as expected, without Lionel Messi and the team’s two Olympians but had Luis Suárez back in the Starting XI for the first time since leaving for Copa América in June and his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets was filling in at center back after an injury to normal starter Serhiy Kryvtsov.
In the opening half, the game was Miami’s. Tomás Aviles was the first to strike for the hosts, with a low-percentage shot that landed right in the bread basket of Chris Brady but it was a harbinger of things to come. Two minutes later, Miami’s Tomás Aviles won the ball and played the switch to Robert Taylor, with the Fire’s Arnaud Soquet in pursuit but failing to get to anywhere near the ball. Given time and space, Taylor played the ball to Aviles who buried it from just beyond the six yard box, putting the hosts up 1-0.
On the restart, the Fire looked to retaliate. Brian Gutiérrez played a ball to Maren Haile-Selassie who laid it off to Cuypers who had a shot from the top of the box that was saved by Drake Callender. It was one of precious few opportunities for the team in the first half.
Miami’s Julian Gressel tested Brady with a shot from distance in the 10th minute, but the Fire netminder was equal to the task. Miami continued to press, but the Fire found ways to frustrate the team with last-ditch defending, limiting Miami’s opportunities on net and blocking shots. Miami got close, and had been outplaying the Fire, including on a well-designed set play off a corner in first-half stoppage time, but they lacked truly great chances on net.
The goal wasn’t the only bad news for the Fire, however, with center back Wyatt Omsberg leaving with apparent injury. Omsberg was having a career year in 2022, establishing himself as a regular starter, before a similar non-contact injury took him out for the season, and he’d struggled to find minutes since, earning just seven starts last year. Asked about the injury after the match, Fire head coach Frank Klopas said the injury seemed “abdominal or groin,” which would mercifully rule out a repeat of the kind of leg injury that cost Omsberg so much time two seasons ago.
At half, with the Fire down 1-0, it felt like the Fire weren’t out of the game, despite never being in its driver’s seat. On the restart, the game was once again firmly in Miami’s hands. Four minutes into the half, Luis Suárez was slotted a ball through Fire lines that tested Chris Brady, playing off his line, but the Fire netminder was equal to the task and he kept his team within a goal. Suárez’s efforts were interrupted by a successful recovery by Souquet, who managed to recover and harry the Uruguayan forward, limiting his time on the ball.
Not long after, Frank Klopas went to his bench, bringing on Georgios Koutsias for Maren Haile-Selassie, who had been having an uncharacteristically ineffective night, and Chris Mueller for Fabian Herbers. The changes were, in theory, like-for-like for the Fire who maintained their formation, but they had an effect. Miami were soon on their back foot and the momentum had clearly sung in the Fire’s favor, even if, much as for Miami in the first half, the pressure seldom resulted in few clear chances.
Still, it felt like the Fire might soon break through, and sure enough, they did. In the 73rd minute, the Fire had a spurt of possession that resulted in the ball being played back to Giménez. The former Miami seemed content to settle mostly into a low block, and the former Paraguayan international laid it off to Rafael Czichos who had acres of space on the left side of the pitch.
Czichos carried the ball forward and managed to beat Maimi’s David Ruíz with a burst of speed and make his way into the box. As soon as Czichos was seriously challenged by Miami defenders, he let off a shot that beat Callender on his near side. Miami had eight players in the box, including Callender; the Fire had five but the only one truly involved was the former Fire captain and Miami’s goalkeeper as Czichos found the equalizer for the Fire.
With the game tied 1-1, the wind at the Fire’s back and just over a quarter hour to go, it felt like the Fire had every reason to think they could leave Ft. Lauderdale with a win, but it wasn’t to be. On the restart, Rojas was able to play the ball through Fire lines to the Fire’s box. Mauricio Pineda headed it out to clear it, but Leo Alfonso. who had just come on as a substitute for the hosts, got a toe on the ball just outside the box and parried it to Brady’s net.
Brady, with four players in his box including Suárez and Jordi Alba, looked to catch the ball off his line, but Pineda instead attempted to head it for a second time on the play. The ball made its way to Alba, and Brady was well out of position on the play as the former Barcelona man shot the goal into a wide open net, putting the hosts up 2-1 in the 75th minute.
Following the goal, the Fire netminder had clear words for Pineda, gesturing that he needed to listen. The clear lack of communication – likely on the receiving end, whether due to a lack of awareness or the noise of the crowd – meant that both players went for the ball and as a result, Miami scored their second goal.
The goal recharged the hosts, who again controlled the terms of play. Frank Klopas would look to his bench for a result, bringing on Justin Reynolds, brother of former Fire player Andre Reynolds II, for his MLS debut.
The Fire tried late, as they had three shots on net in second-half stoppage time, including one off a corner that made its way to Reynolds, but none challenged Callender and Maimi won 2-1.
After the match, Klopas didn’t mince words, saying, “We found the equalizer. There was good energy with the guys that came in. And then, you know, to give up a goal like that right after we scored. It's different if you get beat by a guy getting a ball, hitting a shot, upper 90 and stuff, but that one, that really hurts. Because it's not the first time. It’s just we find ways to beat ourselves.”
Rafael Czichos – a former Fire captain and the player the player on the roster with the most experience with the armband – was even more direct, calling it "not good enough" and saying “it's been the same the whole season that we give up goals too easy, and that we defend like kids sometimes during the game…. That’s not how you get the points you need, and now we suffer.” When asked what the team needed to do better, he simply said, “I think we need to be more mature sometimes during the game. Like I said before, we score a goal in a very difficult game against a very good team on the road, and then we have to play like men. We have to defend like men, at least for the next 10-15 minutes, because that's always a very difficult time. And that's what we didn't do today.”
As it stands, the Fire are now 14th in the Eastern Conference. They remain just a few points out of a postseason spot with nine games remaining on their season, and will have an opportunity to regroup as they head into the Leagues Cup break. Their next regular season match is August 24th in New York but a week later, they’ll have an opportunity to avenge the mistakes made in Ft. Lauderdale when they host Inter Miami at Soldier Field.
