The Fire must show more in Red Bull test
The Chicago Fire left Soldier Field with three points and a big sigh of relief last Saturday after getting past the Houston Dynamo in a 2-1 win. The victory is just their second of 2024, as goals from Xherdan Shaqiri and Brian Gutiérrez helped them get over the line.
While a win always feels good, Frank Klopas’ team didn’t have long to celebrate, and there were several areas of the game where his group couldn’t take control. Against Houston, they saw just 41% of the ball and recorded fewer shots and passes than their opponent. Now, they’ll face the high-flying and highly efficient New York Red Bulls, led by red-hot Dante Vanzeir and Emil Forsberg, at Red Bull Arena.
Tough road games haven’t always instilled fear into the Fire this season. They nearly beat the now-still-unbeaten Philadelphia Union on opening day, and took the league’s model franchise, the Columbus Crew, all the way to the 100th minute in a 2-1 loss. However, their luck ran out against Atlanta two weeks ago in a crushing 3-0 defeat where they were outclassed in every aspect.
“We've had a tough stretch with the games early on in the season and I think some really good opponents that are going to prepare us,” Klopas said. “It's no different with the Red Bulls. You go on the road, it's always difficult in this league. We’ve proven in the past that we are capable of winning there, and we just have to prepare.”
While, yes, Klopas was able to guide his team to a 1-0 win in New Jersey last September, the Red Bull team has also changed dramatically since then. Former Mainz 05 and Herth Berlin coach Sandro Schwarz is now in the dugout, with the aforementioned Forsberg representing a top addition still in his prime. Vanzeir, who dealt with his own problems in 2023, is leading MLS in assists, while Lewis Morgan is second in the scoring charts with six, including a hat-trick against Inter Miami.
The Fire’s own Belgian center forward, Hugo Cuypers, is also yet to have the impact many would have hoped, and it’s not entirely his fault. He’s scored just twice so far since his reported $12 million arrival but has often been left on an island without much service. Against the Dynamo, for instance, he ended the first half with just one touch inside the opposing penalty box. Come the final whistle, it wasn’t much better, with three touches.
“He's still learning the league as a new player, it's not easy,” Klopas said last week. “It takes some time to adjust, but he's going to get stronger and better and sharper, but we definitely need to be able to provide him with more service in dangerous spots.”
Typically, service for the forward should primarily come from the team’s most creative playmakers, and in MLS, Designated Players need to perform. Against Houston, Xherdan Shaqiri was admittedly at his best last weekend, scoring his penalty and providing an excellent assist on Brian Gutiérrez’s goal. However, that man of the match outing doesn’t erase what has been a non-impactful start to the season at best, and he’s often been unable to follow up such top performances with consistency throughout his time in Chicago.
The big-money Swiss DP knows that the team hasn’t been good enough, and while getting three points at home last week was crucial, there’s still lots of work to do if they want to reach their goal of qualifying for the playoffs.
“We are still in the beginning of the season, you cannot be perfect in everything,” Shaqiri said. “This is pretty much normal in football and as the season goes along we’ll get better.”
“We know we are not perfect now but we keep working hard and this is the most important thing, to stay humble. We have to work hard every day and try to build on these three points and try to win as many games as possible.”
