Three Solutions: Minnesota United 0, Chicago Fire 3
Two months ago, Allianz Field in Minnesota was the site of the Fire’s most heartbreaking loss of 2025. Tonight, it hosted one of their most important wins.
With a 3-0 victory in St. Paul, the Fire stay in a playoff position with four games to go, and by picking up three points against the Western Conference’s third-best team they’re well on track to accomplish their goal of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Seven days on from a crushing 3-1 home loss to playoff rival New York City FC, Head Coach Gregg Berhalter threw last week’s gameplan in the bin and started with a completely new approach against Minnesota. The former USMNT manager moved away from a back four for the first time since taking over the Fire at the start of the season, a surprising move that saw Jack Elliott, Joel Waterman, and Sam Rogers comprise a back three. Brian Gutiérrez was the player dropped to accommodate this, so André Franco and Djé D’Avilla formed the two-man midfield.
Despite the collapse against NYC last week, the system swap was not something anybody saw coming, and Minnesota seemed caught off guard by it, too. The Fire started well, and nearly took the lead in the 15th minute when star Designated Player Jonathan Bamba had a shot from close range saved by the boot of Dayne St. Clair.
The breakthrough came a few minutes later and came through a set piece. Franco delivered an excellent ball into the box, and Waterman converted from a tight angle to score his first Chicago goal in his second start. The Canadian international was excellent in the middle of a back three and showed the best version of himself after a poor debut against NYC last week.
The Fire had a flurry of chances later in the half as they continued to dominate, including another Bamba opportunity that was saved. It was another set piece, however, that made the difference, with Franco finding D’Avilla’s head inside the penalty box. The Ivorian’s first MLS goal doubled the advantage and marks a major reward for his excellent performances in the last two months.
After going up two goals, the Fire’s approach turned conservative in the second half, with the back five becoming much more compact from the kickoff. Franco also dropped deeper, sliding into more of a deep-lying playmaker role than he had played in an excellent, all-action first half. The Portuguese summer signing was arguably the man of the match, repaying assistant coach Felipe Çelikkaya’s unwavering faith in bringing him to Chicago.
Minnesota thought they had a goal back through new signing Mamdou Dieng, who joined the club from Hartford Athletic right before the MLS trade deadline, in the 68th minute. It was offside, however, and moments later, the Fire went down the other end and punished the Loons. Philip Zinckernagel notched MLS goal #14, solidifying his status as the Fire’s top attacking performer in 2025. In the final minutes, Hugo Cuypers missed just the second penalty of his career, failing to compound Minnesota's misery with a fourth goal.
The Fire came close to adding several more goals from dangerous set pieces – it is a credit for Ryan Needs, the team’s set piece coach, and one of the very few staff holdovers from Frank Klopas’ backroom last season. Minnesota have been one of the most dangerous teams in MLS from set pieces in 2025, and they were nullified in that department on Saturday – a key factor in the 3-0 demolition.
The Fire’s win helps their playoff math, but it isn’t quite decisive. They’re still in a two-horse race for 9th place with the New York Red Bulls, who also won on the road tonight, cruising past CF Montréal 2-0 north of the border. With four games to go (including one in hand on all the teams around them), the Fire are two points above the playoff line, and appear to be in a strong position given the Red Bulls’ near-impossible remaining schedule.
Player Ratings
Starting XI (5-2-3) — Brady (6.5); Gutman (7.5), Elliott (7), Waterman (8.5), Rogers (7), Dean (8); D'Avilla (8.5), Franco (9); Bamba (7.5), Zinckernagel (8.5), Cuypers (6)
Substitutes — Gutiérrez (6.5), Haile-Selassie (7), Kouamé (NR), Barroso (NR)
