CHICAGO(Aug. 25, 2020) - Chicago Fire FC (2-4-1, 7 points) earned all three points in a 3-0 win versus FC Cincinnati (2-4-1, 7 points) in their long-awaited return to Soldier Field on Tuesday night.
Chicago had a dream start when midfielder Fabian Herbers scored in the second minute of play and the Fire didn’t look back. Eight minutes after Herbers’ goal, midfielder Álvaro Medrán netted his first goal in MLS with a perfect strike from approximately 30-yards out. The Fire would secure the win in the 67th minute with a flawlessly executed team goal that saw Ignacio Aliseda slot the ball in the back of the net. Aliseda finished the match with one goal, his first in MLS, and one assist.
In the 3-0 victory, Fire goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth earned his first win and first shutout with the Fire. It was the 42nd clean sheet of his MLS career.
Next on the schedule: Chicago Fire FC will hit the road to take on New York City FC at Red Bull Arena on Saturday, Aug. 29. The match will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on WGN-TV and ESPN+ and transmitted locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200AM. The pregame show, presented by CIBC, will begin at 6:15 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
- Tuesday’s match marked the Chicago Fire’s long-awaited return to Soldier Field and the first home match of the 2020 season for the Club.
- Chicago now holds a 1-1-1 all-time record against FC Cincinnati.
- The Fire outshot Cincinnati 14-8 and won the possession battle 53-47.
- Defender Francisco Calvo captained the Fire and wore a captain’s armband that represents the Black Lives Matter movement. The armband was designed by Chicago-based artist and former Northwestern student-athlete Dwight White. For more information on the design, click here. Calvo has worn the captain’s armband in all seven games this season.
- Midfielder Fabian Herbers notched his first goal of the season and the eighth of his professional career.
- Midfielder Álvaro Medrán tallied his first goal in MLS in the 10th minute.
- Ignacio Aliseda earned his first career MLS goal and assist.
- Defender Boris Sekulić and midfielder Gaston Giménez recorded their first career MLS assists.
- Forward Elliot Collier recorded his first assist of the season and the second of his MLS career.
- Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth grabbed his first clean sheet and first win in his second start for the Fire.
- Giménez was named the Heineken Man of the Match.
Goals:
- CHI - Fabian Herbers 2nd minute: The Fire found its first goal at Soldier Field when Giménez floated a textbook ball to the foot of a leaping Herbers. The midfielder timed his run perfectly as he hit the first-time volley to the upper corner of the goal to notch his first goal of 2020.
- CHI - Álvaro Medrán 10th minute: A deflected shot from Aliseda fell to the feet of Medrán, who managed to take a touch and hit a strike from 30-yards out that rattled off the post and and into the back of the net.
- CHI - Ignacio Aliseda 67th minute: In a beautifully coordinated team goal, forward Elliot Collier found defender Boris Sekulić inside the box, who then found Igancio Aliseda in space. Alisdea took a touch around his defender and placed the ball into the corner of the net for the third goal of the night.
Key attacking plays:
- CHI – Álvaro Medrán 16th minute: Midfielder Przemysław Frankowski perfectly lofted a ball inside the box that found the head of Álvaro Medrán, who forced FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Przemysław Tyton to make a superb save.
- CHI – Miguel Navarro 21st minute: After receiving a pass from Medrán, Navarro fired a powerful shot from the far left side of the field, beating Tyton and narrowly missing the top corner.
Box score:
Chicago Fire FC 3:0 FC Cincinnati
Scoring Summary:
- CHI - Herbers (1) (Giménez 1) 2’
- CHI - Medrán (1) (Aliseda 1) 10’
- CHI - Aliseda (1) (Sekulić 1, Collier 1) 67’
Misconduct Summary:
- FCC - Pettersson (Caution) 36’
- CHI - Medrán (Caution) 61’
- FCC - Amaya (Caution) 6’’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Shuttleworth, D Sekulić, D Calvo ©, D Pineda, D Navarro, M Frankowski (D Bornstein 88’), M Herbers (F Collier 59’), M Giménez, M Medrán (D Bronico 73’), F Berić (M Gutiérrez 88’), F Aliseda (M Mihailović 73’)
Subs not used: GK Sparrow, D Omsberg, D Reynolds II, M Azira
Shots: 14 Shots on goal: 7 Fouls: 24 Offsides: 1 Corners: 3 Possession: 52.5%
FC Cincinnati: GK Tyton, D Pettersson (D van der Werff 74’), D Waston ©, D Deplagne, D Gutman (D Garza 74’), M Cruz (de Jong 27’), M Amaya, M Stanko (F Regattin 59’), F Locadia (F Vazquez 75’), F Kubo, F Gyau
Subs not used: GK Edwards, D Hagglund, D Bailey, M McCabe, F Regattin
Shots: 8 Shots on goal: 1 Fouls: 19 Offsides: 2 Corners: 1 Possession: 47.5%
Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referees: Peter Manikowski, Peter Balciunas
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
VAR: Alan Kelly
