RECAP: Fire Stun Cruz Azul to Advance in Leagues Cup, 2-1
It took absolutely every ounce of effort they had, but the Chicago Fire are in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals. Facing Liga MX giants Cruz Azul on Thursday, the Men in Red pulled off a colossal upset against Cruz Azul, triumphing 2-1 at SeatGeek Stadium.
Puso Dithejane was the man of the moment, scoring a brace that included a stoppage-time winner.
The victory vaults the Fire into 1st place in the Leagues Cup standings and books them a quarterfinal clash with Monterrey.
As for the visiting La Máquina, they are out of the tournament.
Home Field Advantage?
The Fire were the hosts in name only, and this was clear even before kickoff. Spirited chants from the Harlem End were drowned out with ease by the Cruz Azul faithful. The atmosphere was always going to be unwelcoming; the question was whether the Fire could handle it.
Early on, the answer seemed to be no. Dje D’Avilla gave the ball away cheaply in the 5th minute, and Cruz Azul came inches away from forging ahead. Omar Campos sent a dangerous pass into the six-yard box, where it was just out of Agustin Palavecino’s reach.
In the 9th minute, Gabriel Fernandez directed a bullet header on frame that few goalkeepers could have kept out. Chris Brady is no ordinary shot-stopper, though – he took flight to make a world-class save. While Chicago showed flashes of attacking intent, La Maquina largely dominated the first 25 minutes.
The momentum started to shift after that. Robert Lewandowski showed his flair, kickstarting a promising attack with a backheel pass. The Fire won a pair of corners in the aftermath, with Jack Elliott threatening the visitors’ goal both times.
The passage of play in which the Men in Red controlled the tempo very quickly came to an end, and they scrambled to defend their goal for the rest of the half. When the halftime whistle sounded, though, the score was still 0-0. More importantly, both sides were provisionally in the quarterfinals of Leagues Cup.
Fire Come Alive
As he so often does, Gregg Berhalter worked his halftime magic, and the Fire came out of the break a different team.
Jonathan Dean and Anton Saletros combined neatly on the right in the 49th minute, before Saletros directed a cross right onto the head of Lewandowski. The Pole finished off the chance with ease, but the goal was immediately ruled out for a foul on Angel Marquez. Lewandowski appeared to make light contact with the back of the defender, and play continued without a VAR review.
Fast forward to the 55th minute, when the hosts panicked. Cruz Azul broke away into a 3-on-1 attack, exchanging simple passes in the final third. Luka Romero was completely alone in front of goal when Andrew Gutman went sprinting in to miraculously clear the danger.
The second half back-and-forth continued past the hour mark. With 65 minutes gone, Saletros masterfully played in Gutman, affording the left back plenty of space. His low ball into the box trickled just behind the run of Puso Dithejane. Lewandowski was at the back post for the second chance, but lost his footing and couldn’t finish.
Two minutes later, though, the breakthrough finally came. A deflected cross from Zinckernagel on the right set Dithejane up just inside the box. This time, the South African made no mistake, rolling a right-footed finish into the bottom corner and putting the Fire up 1-0.
Fighting to Advance
Cruz Azul, now on the brink of elimination, continued to pepper Brady’s goal. The Men in Red, to their credit, showed initiative to get a second. Robin Lod came particularly close in the 76th minute, troubling goalkeeper Kevin Mier with a header.
Another goal felt inevitable and sure enough, it happened eventually, courtesy of the visitors’ Nicolas Ibanez. He received an accurate ball from Jose Paradela in the 81st minute and curled a shot past a helpless Brady for the equalizer.
Mexican fans jeered the Fire for seemingly playing for a draw, and the MLS team responded in kind. Launching a counter-attack in the third minute of stoppage time, Chicago raced down the right flank. Substitute Maren Haile-Selassie rolled a fine pass past the diving Cruz Azul defenders, and Dithejane was there to meet it. The 22-year-old fell to the ground as he slammed his finish into the roof of the net, securing a miraculous 2-1 victory.
A Historic Campaign in the Making?
18,567 fans packed the stands in Bridgeview for the Thursday night spectacle, which brought a lamentably pro-Cruz Azul sentiment with it.
“I don’t think it’s hostile; I think it’s amazing,” Berhalter said about the crowd at SeatGeek Stadium.
“To me, that’s what, ideally, we would be playing in front of every week. I think it was an amazing atmosphere.”
While the undisputed hero of the night and of the tournament so far was certainly Dithejane, the defensive unit also deserves praise.
Troubled with availability issues, the back line and Brady were phenomenal throughout Phase One of the Leagues Cup.
“I’d give it an A-plus,” Brady told CHISN when asked about the defensive showing.
“[The defenders] have been doing a great job helping me out… We’re good enough as a team to adapt to any changes that might need to be made.”
Another standout performer of the tournament, Saletros, seemed rather satisfied with the shift to a three-man midfield that’s unfolded since the tournament kicked off.
“I can be a little bit higher on the pitch and be more free and move around more,” the Swede said of the new formation, “so I think overall, it’s worked well for the team.”
The team’s reward for a perfect nine points in Phase One is a date with Monterrey. The Mexican side advanced at Cruz Azul’s expense and will now face Chicago in the quarterfinals.
It’ll be a reunion for recently-departed Fire legend Hugo Cuypers, who has scored three goals in Leagues Cup for Rayados.
“It’s going to be nice to see Hugo, not as nice to see him in a Rayados jersey,” former teammate Sergio Oregel Jr. said of the matchup.
“We know [Monterrey] have great players, and yeah, we just want to focus on ourselves.”
Big Games to Come
Riding a four-match win streak, the Fire return to MLS action on Sunday.
They will face Portland Timbers at Soldier Field, with kickoff scheduled for 5 pm. The Men in Red currently sit 4th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Later in the month, the club will continue its pursuit of a Leagues Cup title and a first CONCACAF Champions Cup berth since 2004.
Details about the fixture against Monterrey will be confirmed in the coming days.
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