Promised Land: Inter Miami 3, Chicago Fire 5
The Chicago Fire are back in the promised land. And they did it in style.
Gregg Berhalter's Men in Red came to Miami for a game in which they knew they could clinch a playoff spot with a win. And against all the odds, they found themselves 5-3 victors, and celebrating a return to the postseason for the first time in eight years.
If Berhalter's mission while picking the lineup was to confuse Javier Mascherano as much as possible, he certainly succeeded. He stuck with the 5-2-3 formation that has worked so well in the last two wins over Minnesota and Columbus, but swapped out the personnel in a way that nobody saw coming. Andrew Gutman slotted in at left center back, Maren Haile-Selassie made a rare start as a left wing back, and an injury-riddled Rominigue Kouamé, who has played one minute since mid-July, was the starting right winger.
Despite that puzzling and highly unorthodox setup, the Fire got off to a dream start. Red-hot Djé D'Avilla, who scored his first MLS goal just 10 days ago, got on the end of a Haile-Selassie corner kick to give his team an unexpected early lead. It was a shock to Miami's system, but they responded well and had several big opportunities to bring the game back level.
Two of the biggest chances fell to Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time. They both came from free kicks in prime positions, the types of opportunities that the 8-time Ballon d'Or winner is known to score in his sleep. But the first was saved by goalkeeper Chris Brady, and the second rammed into the Fire's defensive wall, keeping the score at zero for the time being.
Then, out of nowhere, it was 2-0. Jonathan Dean stormed up the right side and seemed in shock at how much space was in front of him. Kouamé, dropping deeper into the midfield, recognized this and played a ball into the empty gap. Dean appeared to be in disbelief as he bore down on goal and subsequently stuck the ball past Oscar Ustari to double the lead. It was just Dean's second-ever MLS goal, but it could not have come in a bigger moment.
As halftime approached, Miami showed a sign of life. Defender Tomás Avilés, who had otherwise had a poor start to the game, popped up with a goal off of a set piece. The lead was reduced to 2-1 in the 40th minute.
However, the Fire responded in the best way possible. Kouamé – who nobody could have dreamed would start this game, especially not on the right wing – found a window of space just inside the penalty box, and slotted the ball home to restore the two-goal advantage.
As the second half commenced, Miami remained relentless. The starpower of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Rodrigo de Paul was everywhere, and from the opening second half whistle, there was no doubt which direction things were heading. In the 51st minute, the impossible happened as Messi's shot rattled the woodwork from point-blank range. Tadeo Allende also hit the post seconds later, but Miami did not stop.
Shortly thereafter, the lead was finally reduced back to one. Suárez was the architect, tucking the ball home from close range. The Fire responded with a triple substitution of homegrown players, bringing on Brian Gutiérrez, Mauricio Pineda, and Justin Reynolds. Reynolds replaced Dean at right wing back and made his first MLS appearance since April 5th, when he was pulled off early in a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls.
Messi and Miami didn't stop. The Argentine came close from distance shortly after the hour mark. Alba missed out on a goal by centimeters as he just failed to reach a cross at the far post. Eventually, the Fire's resistance broke, and Suárez got another goal in the 74th minute to bring it back to 3-3.
But then, the unimaginable happened. Justin Reynolds, yes, Justin Reynolds, the homegrown fullback on the field in MLS for the first time in nearly six months, popped up at the back post to give the Chicago Fire an 81st-minute lead as they sought a return to the playoffs. It was an unbelievable moment, but the Fire weren't done.
Brian Gutiérrez, who had been reduced to the bench for weeks now, provided the exclamation point. The 22-year-old homegrown midfielder took a blast from distance and extended the lead to 5-3. The result was beyond all doubt thanks to one of the goals of the season.
The wait is over. The Chicago Fire are back in the postseason, and Fire fans can sleep peacefully tonight knowing that. And if they can play like they did tonight, it's hard to put a limit on what they can accomplish there.
Player Ratings:
Starting XI (5-2-3): Chris Brady (6.5); Maren Haile-Selassie (9.5), Andrew Gutman (6), Jack Elliott (6), Joel Waterman (5.5), Jonathan Dean (8); Djé D'Avilla (8), André Franco (6); Jonathan Bamba (6), Rominigue Kouamé (9), Hugo Cuypers (7)
Substitutes: Philip Zinckernagel (6), Justin Reynolds (8.5), Brian Gutiérrez (8), Mauricio Pineda (8.5), Kellyn Acosta (7)
