RECAP: Three in a Row for the Fire After 1-0 Win Over Atlanta
The Men in Red have caught fire. A sluggish start to the 2026 MLS campaign is now a distant memory as the Chicago Fire charge up to second place in the Eastern Conference with a third consecutive victory.
Atlanta United were the latest victims, falling 1-0 at Soldier Field on Saturday.
The Fire entered the match without Hugo Cuypers, still nursing a head injury.
Chris Mueller and Sam Rogers remained unavailable, as did the indefinitely-out Andre Franco.
None of this mattered on the pitch, as Gregg Berhalter’s squad notched back-to-back 1-0 wins at home.
Fire in Charge After Opening First Half
The first 10 minutes of the game were testy and physical. Yellow cards were issued to both Atlanta’s Tomas Jacob and Chicago’s Philip Zinckernagel. The early intensity continued into the 12th minute, when the Fire deservedly took a 1-0 lead. Zinckernagel’s dangerous ball into the box was met by Jonathan Bamba, who tapped it back first-time to Maren Haile-Selassie. The latter drilled his shot past Lucas Hoyos and into the back of the net for his first goal of 2026.
Atlanta went searching for a reply at the other end and nearly got one on two separate occasions. Jacob saw a header glance off the post in the 14th minute, having beaten Chris Brady with his effort. Another opportunity came knocking two minutes later, when Stian Gregersen had a bullet header cleared off the goal line by Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
The back-and-forth continued into the 23rd minute, when Zinckernagel let an open-goal situation pass him by with a mistimed shot. The visitors responded with a major missed chance of their own at the 31-minute mark, as Emmanuel Latte Lath couldn’t tap his close-range volley home.
Having endured a close call with the woodwork defensively, the Fire were denied by the post themselves. In the 39th minute, an Andrew Gutman header deflected off the goal frame. The ensuing corner saw a fine delivery from Zinckernagel, met by a headed nudge pass from Jack Elliott. Bamba slammed a first-touch shot off the underside of the crossbar, and somehow, the score remained 1-0.
For all the attacking promise shown by both sides, it was Haile-Selassie’s early strike that was the difference at the break.
Riding the Advantage Out
The first half was a tough act to follow, and indeed, the final 45 minutes were significantly less exciting. Even so, Atlanta had many a chance to level up the proceedings on the lakefront. Set-piece opportunities came begging for the Five Stripes, but the hosts defended with their lives. One such situation was nearly fatal for Chicago, as Miguel Almiron’s corner delivery was met by Enea Mihaj. The Albanian’s header forced a strong save from Chris Brady.
Against the run of play, the Fire looked to have gone up 2-0 in the 74th minute. Zinckernagel laid a low through ball into the run of Haile-Selassie, who slotted a neat finish through the legs of Hoyos. The winger’s second goal was chalked off due to offside, however.
A counter-attack by the Men in Red in the 82nd minute left much to be desired. Zinckernagel was again the creator, picking out Robin Lod on the break. Lod’s heavy touch meant Bamba had to do the clean-up work, and the Ivorian saw his attempt saved with relative ease. Luckily for Chicago, there was no punishment from Atlanta, and the home side escaped with a deserved but narrow win.
Positives to Take Defensively
Four clean sheets in seven games is a mark most Fire fans did not expect to hear this year. One of the league’s most entertaining teams in 2025, the Fire were renowned for high-scoring power and infamous for equally intense defensive leakage.
This season, however, has seen a total transformation in the defensive segment.
“Last year, we were conceding more goals than we would like, and this year, we’ve cleaned it up,” said Gutman after the win over Atlanta.
“It shows that we took the next step.”
The marked improvement was on display on Saturday, as the Fire kept a clean sheet despite allowing the opposition an xG of 1.6.
“Early on in the game, [Atlanta] were getting a few chances on us,” remarked the captain Elliott.
“We took a minute to adjust and get into a pressing structure that suited us better. From there, in the run of play, we limited them… and then you see set pieces, we defended them really well.”
Chicago will need to ride the excellent defensive form into next week’s bumper slate. US Open Cup action returns on Tuesday, as the Fire visit USL Championship side Detroit City for a second consecutive year.
After that, it’s off to Cincinnati for a Saturday evening MLS fixture.
The Fire faithful will hope for two more wins and another pair of clean sheets.
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