Chicago Fire 1-3 Orlando City: Welcome back

The Chicago Fire’s return to MLS action ended in a loss as they were beaten 3-1 by Orlando City at Soldier Field.

The hosts opened the scoring right after the halftime break, and it looked like they were going to storm to three points. That would not be the cas, and it was Orlando who took off after that point, scoring three goals in the span of 18 minutes.

Chicago had no response, which meant that the Lions ended the night as winners.

What happened

The first major chance happened about 15 minutes in when Jonathan Dean picked out Brian Gutiérrez with a perfect low cross. The finish was not perfect, though, as the ball was blasted well over the crossbar.

Chicago really should’ve jumped in front midway through. Gutiérrez and Georgios Koutsias burst past the opposing backline, and the former set up the latter for an easy tap-in. However, Koutsias got too excited, which led to him drifting into an offside position, and the goal was correctly called off.

A chance finally went to the visitors later on. Wilder Cartagena went for goal from distance, and his curling strike seemed destined for the top corner. It wasn’t to be, though, with Spencer Richey spreading out to make the incredible save.

That would be the end of the action for the first half, but things kicked right back into gear following the break. A long ball somehow fell to Mauricio Pineda, and he made the most of the bounce, smashing a volley into the bottom corner to give the Fire the lead.

The lead would only last a few minutes. Orlando whipped a corner into the area, and it went right to the head of Cartagena, who headed home from just a few yards out.

Orlando would shockingly take the lead themselves moments later. A cross was headed back across goal, and it went right to Iván Angulo, who headed it himself into the back of the net.

They weren’t done, and it was 3-1 in the 68th minute. A careless challenge from Miguel Navarro forced the referee to point to the spot, and Facundo Torres buried the resulting spot-kick in style, hitting it into the top corner.

Chicago made a late push to pull one back, but they never really came close to mounting any sort of comeback.

What it means

Chicago are still in the playoff picture following the loss, but they’re now down to 9th place in the Eastern Conference. They’re in the thick of it, and the pressure will only increase in the coming weeks.

Orlando, meanwhile, continues to hang around the upper regions of the East standings. They’re in the fight for the spots between three and six, which could prove to be crucial when it comes to home-field advantage in the postseason.

Notes and observations

I apologize if any of this article doesn’t make sense I am a very tired man in a random hotel room.

It seemed like there was a good crowd at Soldier Field, which is nice. It was a rare Sunday game for them, and that day works better for some, especially families.

Chicago lost their heads after the third goal. They were committing foul after foul, picking up yellows, and just started issues for little reason. They stopped focusing on the game, which made mounting a comeback nearly impossible. Giving up goals in quick succession like that is tough, but you can’t let it affect you that much.

A decent chunk of the Fire’s fanbase likes Miguel Navarro, but he has to cut out the silly mistakes from his game if he wants to be a reliable player for the club. The potential is there, but all the promise goes away when he’s giving away cheap fouls and unnecessary penalties.

Orlando didn’t put on the best showing here, but their ruthlessness in front of goal deserves praise. They converted the few chances they got, and that’s what led to their offensive explosion. If they can be that lethal when creating more opportunities, they’ll be a real threat.

Man of the match – Wilder Cartagena

It was a real team effort from the away side, so no one really stood out during the match.

Someone’s gotta get the honor, though, so I’ll give it to Wilder Cartagena. He scored the vital equalizer which kicked Orlando into gear, and he would’ve scored a screamer earlier in the contest if not for an insane save.

Plus his name is Wilder for crying out loud. That’s so cool.