10-Man Chicago Fire FC Earns Point on the Road at Philadelphia Union

CHICAGO_ (Aug. 1, 2021)_ - Despite playing a man down for 56 minutes, Chicago Fire FC (3-9-4, 13 points) earned a point in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with the Philadelphia Union (6-4-7, 25 points) at Subaru Park on Sunday night.

The Fire took the lead in the 10th minute when midfielder Przemysław Frankowski scored his 10thcareer goal for the Club, heading home a cross from defender Boris Sekulić.

Despite the Fire getting on the scoresheet early and controlling possession, the match turned when Chicago defender Wyatt Omsberg was shown a straight red card in the 34th minute. Union defender Kai Wagner stepped up and buried the ensuing free kick from 20 yards away to level the score.

Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth made four saves tonight, including an excellent diving stop on Jose Martínez’s shot in the 79th minute and a close-range save on Alejandro Bedoya’s chance in the third minute of second-half stoppage time. Shuttleworth leads the Eastern Conference in saves (60) this season, while ranking third overall in the league.

NEXT GAME: Chicago Fire FC will return home to Soldier Field to host New York City FC on Wednesday, Aug. 4. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on WGN-TV, CFFC Live and WOJO 105.1 FM. NYCFC comes into the match hot off a 4-1 victory at home versus Columbus Crew on Friday night.

NOTES:

• Tonight’s match was the third and final regular season meeting between Chicago and Philadelphia in 2021.
• The 1-1 result was the second consecutive draw between the two teams, with the Fire posting an 0-1-2 record against the Union this season.
• Frankowski notched his second goal in 2021 and his 10th career goal for Chicago. He was named Heineken Man of the Match for his performance.
• Sekulić tallied his fourth assist of the season. The Serbian defender has recorded two assists in the Fire’s last three matches.
• Fire captain Francisco Calvo returned to the starting lineup for the first time since June 26 after missing the last five matches due to international duty with Costa Rica at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
• Head coach Raphael Wicky returned to the sideline after missing the last three matches due to a health matter concerning a close family member.

Box Score:
Philadelphia Union 1:1 Chicago Fire FC

Goals:
CHI - Frankowski (2) (Sekulić 4) 10’
PHI - Wagner (1) 36’

Discipline:
PHI - Glesnes (Yellow Card) 30’
CHI - Omsberg (Red Card) 34’
CHI - Herbers (Yellow Card) 41’
PHI - Elliott (Yellow Card) 66’
CHI - Berić (Yellow Card) 78’

Chicago Fire FC: GK Shuttleworth, D Pineda, D Omsberg, D Calvo ©, M Sekulić, M Herbers (Bornstein 81’), M Frankowski, M Medrán, M Giménez, F Offor (Berić 64’), F Aliseda (Stojanović 81’)

Subs not used: GK G. Slonina, D Espinoza, D Kappelhof, M Gutiérrez, M Ivanov

Philadelphia Union: GK Blake, D Elliott, D Glesnes, D Wagner, D Mbaizo (McGlynn 89’), M Bedoya, M Martínez, M Flach (Ilsinho 64’), F Burke, F Gazdag (Sullivan 75’), F Przybylko

Subs not used: GK Freese, D Harriel, D Real, M Turner, M Aaronson

Stats Summary: PHI / CHI
Shots: 25 / 4  
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 83.0% / 78.8%
Saves: 1 / 4
Corners: 13 / 1 
Fouls: 14 / 8
Offsides: 2 / 1
Possession: 55.8% / 44.2%

Referee: Michael Radchuk
Assistant Referees: Cameron Blanchard, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Silviu Petrescu
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero, Eric Weisbrod