While Chicago cools down with the onset of Fall, Robert Berić is heating up.
With his first-half finish that helped sink Atlanta United on Sunday, the Slovenian striker made it four straight games with a goal and helped his side earn back-to-back wins for the first time in 2020.
In the 39th minute, the Berić slipped through the Atlanta defense thanks to a clever pass from Djordje Mihailović, then coolly placed his open look past goalkeeper Brad Guzan to give the Fire a 2-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I’m happy,” he said following Wednesday’s training session. “The team is happy. We’ve won the last two games. Hopefully we’re going to continue like that and try win and get some points in (the) away game.”
Berić can match a Club record previously set by former forward David Accam should he score for a fifth-straight contest when the Fire take on the Montreal Impact at Red Bull Arena on Saturday (6:30 p.m. CT | WGN, ESPN+).
The first goal in Berić’s scoring streak came in the Fire’s 2-2 draw against Columbus Crew SC on Sept. 12, which snapped a seven-game goalless drought that dated back to the MLS is Back Tournament in July. He then got the lone goal against Orlando, opened the scoring in the Fire’s 4-0 win against Houston, then kept it rolling with the aforementioned finish against Atlanta.
In all, he’s now got six goals and an assist through the first 14 matches of his tenure in Major League Soccer.
“Robert is doing what we all knew or what I knew he can do,” head coach Raphael Wicky said after Sunday’s win. “He's scoring, he creates opportunities. I think that is very important, obviously, always for a nine. He had a little period where he didn't score. I think it's important when, as a striker, you don't score for a while, you just keep working hard and believing [in] you. He has proven everywhere that he can score so he also knew he'd be able to score here.”
After playing two games in March, three games in July, and then breaking until late August amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fire’s return to regular season play has allowed the group to consistently and continuously sharpen their chemistry at last.
Berić credits the recent upturn in both the team’s form and his own with the fact that the team has taken their understanding of Wicky’s system to the next level.
“We’re doing really good pressing,” he said. “We take a lot of balls in front, and then we transform these into a lot of chances. And, of course, we’ve started scoring more from our chances. Also, the connection of the team is better, and is getting better every day. This is the main reason.”
The six points taken from the Fire’s wins against Atlanta and Houston last week helped vault them above the playoff line in the Eastern Conference, where they currently sit in 10th place on 15 points. Saturday’s match against Montreal begins a jam-packed October, during which they’ll play eight matches in 29 days.
As the calendar flips, Berić is clear on what it will take for the Fire’s wave of momentum into the final stretch of the regular season.
“To keep this energy on the field, to keep this chemistry on the field, and of course to keep winning,” he said. “The best thing for the team and for everybody is if you are winning, then you feel great. Hopefully we are going to keep up this tempo.”
