The Chicago Fire never found their footing at Subaru Park and were played off the pitch by the Philadelphia Union, who completed the 2025 season sweep of Chicago after a lopsided 4-0 win on Saturday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Fire (11-10-6, 39 points) nearly conceded a silly goal in the opening minute, and Philadelphia didn\u2019t relent until the final whistle in a match that could\u2019ve finished with more than a four-goal margin.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia were the better side from kickoff and it\u2019s a minor miracle that they didn\u2019t score until the 34th minute after multiple high-percentage chances right in front of the Fire\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n
The Union finally got on the scoresheet in the 34th minute when Tai Baribo scored from point-blank range, giving the hosts the 1-0 lead entering the halftime break.<\/p>\n
Chicago\u2019s best chance of the match would\u2019ve given them a chance at a result but they weren\u2019t able to convert.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sergio Oregel Jr. lined up a shot from 20 yards after multiple shots from his teammates were blocked but the Homegrown\u2019s effort rang off the post, leaving Chicago down 1-0 as the floodgates prepared to open.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia made it 2-0 in the 64th minute when the Fire made a massive mistake on a free kick, breaking the wall they\u2019d set up in their own penalty area so Kai Wagner\u2019s effort could fly into their own net to put the Union back on track.<\/p>\n
More Sports News<\/p>\n
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Danley Jean Jacques and Milan Iloski added goals late to secure the 4-0 result for Philadelphia against a Chicago side that never showed up in Chester, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Starting 11: <\/strong>Chris Brady (GK), Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott (C), Christopher Cupps, Leonardo Barroso, Sergio Oregel Jr., Dje D\u2019Avilla, Brian Guti\u00e9rrez, Philip Zinckernagel, Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers<\/p>\n Substitution at 46\u2019: <\/strong>Jonathan Dean on for Leonardo Barroso<\/p>\n Substitution at 69\u2019:<\/strong> Andr\u00e9 Franco and Maren Haile-Selassie on for Dje D\u2019Avilla and Philip Zinckernagel<\/p>\n Substitution at 75\u2019:<\/strong> Tom Barlow and Kellyn Acosta on for Hugo Cuypers and Sergio Oregel Jr.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unused Subs:<\/strong> Jeff Gal (GK), Omar Gonz\u00e1lez, Sam Rogers and Mauricio Pineda<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Match Observations<\/strong><\/p>\n Chicago should\u2019ve gone down 30 seconds after kickoff. Milan Iloski pressured Jack Elliott near the endline, forcing a poor pass intended for Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady. The feed missed Brady and fell perfectly for Union striker Tai Baribo, who somehow missed the point-blank effort over the crossbar to spare the Fire from an early deficit on the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Fire forced Philadelphia goalkeeper Andrew Rick to make a difficult save in the 13th minute to maintain the deadlock. Jonathan Baba made a strong run with the ball down the left wing and cut to his right just as he reached the Union\u2019s penalty area, where he hit a right-footed shot that deflected off the back of Philadelphia defender Jakob Glesnes. The deflection gave the ball plenty of spin, and Rick moved quickly to knock the ball out of play with a sprawling save. After struggling mightily to get anything in the attacking half of the pitch to that point, the Fire needed that sequence to remind the Union that they\u2019re a threat going forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s mind-boggling that Milan Iloski was able to get around Leonardo Barroso in the 20th minute before getting a cross in front of the Fire\u2019s net, where none of his teammates were able to get a shot off from close range. Iloski made an incredibly strong run down the left side near the endline, but after some brief chaos, Christopher Cupps was able to clear the ball from the Fire\u2019s penalty area.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Union finally broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, and it felt like the goal was inevitable after the Fire\u2019s slow start. Kai Wagner made a nice overlapping run down the left wing as he collected a feed from Quinn Sullivan and, as the left back neared the endline, he played a cross right in front of Chicago\u2019s net. Tai Baribo snuck in behind Christopher Cupps at the near-post and was able to score easily from close-range to give the hosts the 1-0 lead before halftime.\u00a0<\/p>\n All you need to know about the first half is that the Fire only trailed 1-0 despite expected goals being in favor of Philadelphia 2.42-0.16, per the MLS Season Pass broadcast\u2019s halftime show.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Fire nearly took advantage of a Philadelphia mistake in the 55th minute. Philip Zinckernagel played a ball over the top of the Union\u2019s backline that was intended for Hugo Cuypers, but the ball was met by Philadelphia goalkeeper Andrew Rick just outside of his own penalty area. Hugo Cuypers deflected the attempted clearance but couldn\u2019t collect the rebound before it was cleared as Chicago again failed to get a shot off.<\/p>\n The Chicago Fire were inches away from tying the match in the 59th minute. Hugo Cuypers\u2019s shot was blocked over to Jonathan Bamba, who then had his shot deflected to Sergio Oregel Jr. The Fire\u2019s Homegrown midfielder lined up a left-footed shot from beyond the penalty area but the effort rang off the post and away from the Union\u2019s net, sparing the hosts from a tie ballgame with 30 minutes remaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dje D\u2019Avilla put the Fire in a terrible spot when he fouled Frankie Westfield in a central location just outside of Chicago\u2019s penalty area. Milan Iloski played the subsequent free kick with a quick tap up to Kai Wagner, who hit a gorgeous left-footed strike into the Fire\u2019s net to double Philadelphia\u2019s lead in the 64th minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n Philadelphia made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute, and it was far too easy in front of the Fire\u2019s net. Frankie Westfield played a cross from the right wing that was headed into the ground by Tai Baribo, setting the Fire up for a routine clearance. Chicago wasted the opportunity to turn away the attack, and Danley Jean Jacques subsequently tapped in the loose ball from close range to extend his side\u2019s lead with just over 15 minutes left in the contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Union secured their 4-0 win in the 80th minute after taking advantage of a poor clearance just outside of the Fire\u2019s penalty area. Cavan Sullivan\u2019s cross attempt was headed straight to Milan Iloski just outside of the 18, and the Union\u2019s striker made no mistake about it as he hammered his shot into Chicago\u2019s net, sending the home crowd at Subaru Park into a frenzy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9 Franco made his Chicago Fire and Major League Soccer debut when he replaced Dje D\u2019Avilla in the 69th minute with his side trailing 2-0. Franco signed with Chicago<\/a> last week on-loan through the 2025 MLS with the Fire maintaining the option to purchase his contract from FC Porto at the end of the season, which the midfielder has emphasized is his long-term goal<\/a>. Franco had 27 touches in his debut but struggled to find his footing against the Union, as did the entirely of Chicago\u2019s squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christopher Cupps\u2019 first MLS start since the Fire\u2019s\u00a0win at Orlando<\/a>\u00a0on May 31 had made two appearances for Chicago Fire II in MLS Next Pro since the injury sustained on International Duty in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jack Elliott\u2019s return to Subaru Park signing with the Chicago Fire<\/a> in the offseason. Elliott spent his first eight professional seasons with the Union after being drafted by the club in the fourth round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. The Union made an announcement on the video board pre-match about Elliott\u2019s return, which was met with loud applause from the home crowd.<\/p>\n The Chicago Fire are still awaiting international clearance for incoming signings Joel Waterman and Viktor Radojevi\u0107 to be available for selection.<\/p>\n Reaction<\/strong><\/p>\n You could hear the disappointment in Chicago Fire director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter\u2019s voice after his side struggled to do anything of substance against the Philadelphia Union from the get-go.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just surprising to me that, with the stage set like it is and what\u2019s on the line, for us to have a performance like that,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cIt is the most disappointing we\u2019ve been with the group this year. We\u2019re having to talk about things like competing at this stage of the year, and that\u2019s an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fire conceded goals from everywhere on the pitch, which frustrated their coach even more.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think all different types of goals, right? We identified crosses as being a key area where they excel in. We didn\u2019t deal with the cross on the first goal well. Set piece \u2013 the wall opening up that close to goal is always trouble. Not clearing balls properly, clearing them back into the middle in the fourth goal.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think it\u2019s just really a series of errors, and give them credit because they were relentless and they played and they never stopped competing, and they deserved to win the game. When you look at xG being what it is, it\u2019s not good.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s On Tap Next?<\/p>\n The Chicago Fire will be back in action on September 6 when they host the New England Revolution at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+<\/p>\n Follow\u00a0@soccer_ontap<\/a>\u00a0on X for more\u00a0Chicago Fire news<\/a>\u00a0and updates!<\/strong><\/p>\n