BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (Sept. 10, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC (9-13-8, 35 points) defeated Inter Miami CF (10-13-6, 36 points) 3-1 at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday night as the Club celebrated its annual Kick Childhood Cancer match.
Eighteen-year-old forward Jhon Durán tallied his first career MLS brace and Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri added the game-winning goal, as the Fire registered its third straight match without a loss with four games left to play in the regular season.
The Fire dominated early in the first half, logging nearly 66% of the possession in the opening 15 minutes. Chicago’s first dangerous chance came in the 13th minute as defender Boris Sekulić joined the attack, ripping a shot from inside the six yard box off a corner kick. Attempting to hit the ball on frame, Sekulić struck his shot off the leg of Gonzalo Higuaín, ricocheting off the underside of the crossbar before requiring a goal-line clearance from the visiting side’s defense.
With five minutes remaining in the half, the Fire would eventually find the lead when Durán scored the game’s opening goal. The scoring play began with a lofted service from the right flank from Sekulić, which deflected off the leg of defender Kieran Gibbs and into the aerial path of Duran who whipped a header into the top right corner of the net, giving the home side a 1-0 edge going into halftime.
Nearly 20 minutes into the second half, the Fire doubled their lead with a goal from Shaqiri, assisted by Chris Mueller in the 64th minute. The opportunity began with midfielder Mauricio Pineda driving into the box, swerving between two Miami defenders and sending a low service across the face of the goal. Pineda’s cross ultimately fell to the feet of Shaqiri who drove a left footed half volley into the back of the net for his team-leading fifth goal of the campaign.
With thirteen minutes remaining, Miami earned a penalty kick following a foul in the box by Fire defensive midfielder Federico Navarro. Higuaín stepped up to the spot and capitalized on the opportunity in the 77th minute to cut the Fire’s lead in half.
However, just 10 minutes later, Durán extended the Fire’s lead to 3-1, scoring in transition off an assist from defender Miguel Navarro. With the goal, the Columbian striker tallied the fifth goal of his rookie season in MLS, placing the teenager in a tie with Shaqiri and forward Kacper Przybyłko for the most goals on the team.
In honor of Kick Childhood Cancer night, 11 children currently battling cancer or in remission took part in a ceremonial kick-off ahead of tonight’s match. The children, joined by the starting lineups of the Fire and Inter Miami, lined up across the six yard box and each scored a goal as the honorary “first goals” of the match.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will travel to face CF Montreal on Tuesday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. CT. The match will also be televised on WGN-TV and CF97 Live, and transmitted locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.
The Fire will then return home to host Charlotte FC on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:00 p.m. CT at Soldier Field where the Club will be celebrating their Hispanic Heritage Night match, presented by motorola edge. Tickets to the match can be purchased here and the contest will also be televised on WGN-TV and CF97 Live, and transmitted locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.
Notes:
- Chicago accumulated four points in two matches played against Inter Miami this season, tallying a win and a draw in the 2022 regular season head-to-head series.
- The Fire outshot Miami 12-7, with eight shots from inside the box and four total on target.
- The Fire have stopped the opposition from scoring a first-half goal in 20 of their 30 games, only the Philadelphia Union (25) have done this more often in Major League Soccer this season.
- Forward Jhon Durán and midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri both scored their fifth goals of the season in tonight’s match.
- In his debut season with the Fire, Shaqiri leads the team in goals (5) and assists (11) in 26 matches played.
- With the goal from Durán in the 40th minute, the Fire snapped a 442-minute scoreless streak in league play.
- Midfielder Chris Mueller notched his fourth assist of the season tonight.
- Defender Miguel Navarro notched his first assist of the season and the fourth of his MLS career.
- Goalkeeper Gaga Slonina made his team-leading 30th start of the season in tonight’s match.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 3:1 Inter Miami CF
Goals:
CHI - Durán (4) 40’
CHI - Shaqiri (5) (Mueller 4) 64’
MCF - Higuaín (10) 77’
CHI - Durán (5) (M. Navarro 1) 87’
Discipline:
CHI - Czichos (Yellow Card) 33’
CHI - F. Navarro (Yellow Card) 76’
MCF - P. Neville (Yellow Card) 81’
MCF - McVey (Yellow Card) 90’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Slonina, D Sekulić, D Czichos ©, D Terán, D M. Navarro, M Mueller (D Espinoza, 81’), M Mauricio Pineda (D Bornstein, 65’), M F. Navarro, M Shaqiri, M Gutiérrez (D Reynolds II, 65’), F Durán (Bezerra, 90’)
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Burks, M Oregel Jr. M Casas Jr., Monis
Inter Miami CF: GK Marsman, D Yedlin, D Gibbs (Jones, 62’), D McVey, D Sailor, M Mota (Lassiter, 73’), M Pozuelo, M Silva ©, F Higuaín, F Taylor, F Vassilev (Duke, 62’)
Subs not used: GK Callender, D Mabika, D H. Neville, D Allen, M Ulloa, M Rodriguez
Stats Summary: CHI / MCF
Shots: 12 / 7
Shots on Goal: 4 / 3
Saves: 2 / 1
Passing Accuracy: 84.3% / 82.9%
Corners: 7 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 10
Offsides: 0 / 2
Possession: 53.3% / 46.7 %
Attendance: 15,104
Referee: Matthew Conger
Assistant Referees: Meghan Mullen, Gianni Facchini
Fourth Official: Ramy Touchan
VAR: Geoff Gamble, Claudio Badea
