Chicago Fire FC Falls 3-0 to LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park

Carson, Calif. (Aug. 26, 2023) – Chicago Fire FC (8-9-8, 32 points) fell 3-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy (6-10-7, 25 points) at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night. Despite the result, Chicago remains above the playoff line, sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

Chicago went down to 10 men in the 27th minute when a second yellow card was issued to midfielder Gastón Giménez for a tackle on Douglas Costa. It was Costa’s ensuing free kick that led to the Galaxy’s goal by Tyler Boyd in the 29th minute.

An error by goalkeeper Jonathan Bond in the first minute gave Chicago the first chance of the night. High pressure by striker Kei Kamara on Bond caused him to miss a pass to his teammate in the box. Xherdan Shaqiri was following Kamara on the run and pounced on the weak pass, but Bond was able to get down to save his low shot.

On the other end of the field, Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady was put to the test just two minutes later, when a free kick was awarded to the Galaxy. Forward Douglas Costa sent a strike to the left side of the goal where Brady parried it away with a diving save. Brady finished the first half with five saves. His sixth and final save came in the 79th minute, when Billy Sharp found himself in behind the Fire defense and sent a low shot on target that Brady was able to deflect with his foot with an acrobatic reactionary save.

Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig doubled the score in the 72nd minute. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Chicago was able to find their way into the Galaxy’s end on several occasions. Most notably, second-half sub Jairo Torres gained possession of the ball on the left flank and carried it up the field before cutting inside and hitting the top right post.

Los Angeles increased their lead with a penalty kick goal in the 90th minute, scored by Sharp.

NEXT MATCH: Chicago will return to the lakefront to face another Western Conference foe as the team plays host to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Aug. 30 at Soldier Field.The match will be broadcast on Apple TV, transmitted locally on wlsam.com in English and in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM.

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Notes:

• Striker Kei Kamara played in his 413th career match, tying Chris Wondolowski for fourth place in MLS all-time appearances.
• Goalkeeper Chris Brady returned to the starting lineup for the 21st time during the 2023 MLS regular season, and the 24th time across all competitions. Brady started in net for all three of Chicago’s Leagues Cup 2023 matches, obtaining a knock in the game against Club América that kept him out of the lineup last Sunday against Orlando.
• Captain Rafael Czichos returned to anchor the backline from the outset, joining Jonathan Dean, Carlos Terán and Miguel Navarro.
• Midfielder Federico Navarro returned to the Starting XI for the first time since June 24 against Sporting Kansas City.
• Defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda (yellow card accumulation), midfielder Chris Mueller (right upper leg) and forward Victor Bezerra (right lower leg) were not available for tonight’s match.

Box Score:
LA Galaxy 3:0 Chicago Fire FC

Goals:
LAG - Boyd (5) (WATCH) 29’
LAG - Puig (4) (Costa 7) (WATCH) 72’
LAG - Sharp (1) (penalty) (WATCH) 90’ 

Discipline:
CHI - Giménez (Yellow Card) 2’
CHI - Giménez (Second Yellow, Ejection) 27’
CHI - Dean (Yellow Card) 89’ 

Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Czichos (capt.), D Terán, D M. Navarro (D Aceves, 84’), M F. Navarro, M Giménez, M Herbers (M Doumbia, 46’), M Shaqiri (M Haile-Selassie, 77’), M Gutiérrez (M Torres, 77’), F Kamara (F Koutsias, 78’)

Subs not used: GK Gal, GK Richey, D Souquet, D Omsberg

LA Galaxy: GK Bond, D Calegari, D Yoshida, D Zavaleta (D Alfaro, 69’), D Edwards, M Puig (capt.), M Cerillo, M Boyd (M Aguirre, 86’), M Rosell (M Delgado, 81’), F Joveljic (F Sharp, 69’), F Costa (M Barrios, 81’)

Subs not used: GK Micovic, D Aude, D Leerdam, M Fagundez

Stats Summary: LAG / CHI
Shots: 19 / 12
Shots on Goal: 9 / 4
Saves: 4 / 6
Passing Accuracy: 94.8% / 86.4%
Corners:  10 / 6
Fouls:  11 / 6
Offsides:  0 / 0
Possession:  64.2% / 35.8%

Attendance: 19,762

Referee: Ismail Elfath
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker
Fourth Official: Kyle Atkins
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
Assistant VAR: Jonathan Johnson