RECAP: Chicago Fire Defeat New York Red Bulls, 1-0
In a must-win home game on Saturday night, the Chicago Fire delivered.
29,273 fans packed into Soldier Field as the Men in Red took down fellow playoff chasers, New York Red Bulls, 1-0.
Chicago moves into ninth place in the MLS Eastern Conference standings and now entirely controls its postseason destiny.
Persistence Pays Off in the First Half
The Fire started the game well, looking composed at the back and patient in possession. RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Coronel came up big on multiple occasions to keep the score level. Brian Gutierrez had a well-taken first-time shot denied in the 21st minute. Coronel again made a fine save when Philip Zinckernagel struck from distance two minutes later. At the 27-minute mark, Jonathan Bamba dribbled his way through the Red Bulls’ back line, but couldn’t put his shot past the goalkeeper.
The visitors had their biggest chance of the first half in the 38th minute – Ronald Donkor struck the post from 25 yards out, keeping the Fire back line on their toes.
With 44 minutes on the clock, Chicago took a 1-0 lead. Hugo Cuypers, trapped in a difficult angle, thought he’d earned a corner off of Alexander Hack. A VAR review confirmed that Hack had handled the ball in the box. Cuypers took the penalty and converted it, sending Coronel the wrong way. The strike made it 14 goals on the season for the Belgian talisman.
Getting the Job Done
It seemed like the Fire were about to start the second half the way they ended the first. Andrew Gutman sent a precise cross towards the unmarked Bamba, but the Ivorian’s header went straight at Coronel.
After a brief spell where the Red Bulls controlled the possession, the Fire missed a massive chance to double their lead. Bamba found Gutierrez, who unlocked Zinckernagel with a cheeky back-heel pass. The newly minted All-Star had his finish denied by the well-positioned Coronel.
While there was little to lament performance-wise, the hosts were struck by injury in the 76th minute. Gutman went down in his own penalty area and was replaced by Jonathan Dean. The team had entered the game with as close to a fully-fit squad as they’ve had all year.
The Fire had a few more opportunities to put a finishing touch on the game, but struggled to finish. Defensive resilience proved to be enough, as Chicago picked up a hugely important 1-0 win. Carlos Teran, returning from injury, put in a solid 60-minute shift, while Jack Elliott and Leonardo Barroso both played the full match and impressed.
In addition to seeing their club move back into the playoff spots, Fire fans were treated to a post-match performance by Chance the Rapper.
The Chicago native entertained his hometown crowd with a 45-minute set.
Post-Game Remarks
The Fire’s victory over RBNY was probably the most important result of the team’s season thus far. Head coach Gregg Berhalter rightfully referred to the match as a “six-pointer” in his post-match press conference.
Among the many causes for celebration was the team’s second consecutive clean sheet. The Men in Red have struggled defensively for much of 2025.
Shutting out back-to-back opponents is no small feat.
“[1-0 wins] go so far for confidence,” remarked Berhalter. “When you’re pushed – and normally you are when you’re winning 1-0 – to be able to bend but not break is a good quality of any strong team.”
“It’s a big step towards complete cohesiveness along the back line,” added goalkeeper Chris Brady. The Fire’s number 1 was highly appreciative of the defense’s showing, which reduced the number of dangerous chances he had to deal with. “If I could have more games like this, I would love to, but the reality is everybody’s got to do their part, and sometimes I’m going to be called upon,” said Brady.
Cuypers, meanwhile, was satisfied to have scored, but acknowledged that the team “got a little bit lucky” offensively.
“It’s nice that the dime falls on our side,” stated the striker, who scored the 24th goal of his Fire career in the game.
Following a well-deserved week off, the Fire returns on August 9th with another home game.
They’ll take on LAFC at Seatgeek Stadium, due to a scheduling conflict with Soldier Field’s primary tenant, the Chicago Bears.
Discover more from Chicago Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Credentials Fire News