A series of mistakes led to the Chicago Fire (1-2-1) falling short of a home win against D.C United (2-2-0) in a 2-1 loss on March 13 at Soldier Field.
The Men in Red have now lost two games after taking the lead this season.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Fire Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said. “The fans come, they want to see entertaining soccer. I think we need to do a better job of creating that, of creating that speed, of putting the opponent on their heels.”
The first half consisted of offensive struggles for both teams, as they struggled to break each other’s compact back lines and execute in the final third of the pitch.
Despite finishing the first half with nearly 58 percent of possession, the physical battle led to Chicago finishing with only one shot on target and zero corner kick chances.
“We're not surprised how the game went,” Fire’s Maren Haile Selassie said. “We knew it was gonna be a tough and maybe sometimes ugly game. Our expectation is to win at home against a team like that.”
In the 24th minute, Chicago’s Philip Zinckernagel received a yellow card for diving in the penalty area.
The Danish winger has yet to earn a goal contribution this season despite having a record-setting season in 2025 with 15 goals and 15 assists.
“Definitely don't think it was a dive and could’ve been a penalty if he went to see it on VAR,” Zinckernagel said. “I even heard the VAR asking him to check it, but he thought it was too soft.”
With the newly acquired depth this offseason, Zinckernagel has played more of a central role this season compared to his natural winger position, which led him to earn the club’s most valuable player award in 2025.
“I'm a little bit further back and helping out on the midfield,” Zinckernagel said. “I want to still be able to be dangerous and get shots off. It's a process, and hopefully we'll play more 4-3-3 [formation] so we can get a rhythm.”
Chicago’s three-player yellow card status forced Berhalter to make tactical substitutes and remove Jack Elliott and Djé D'Avilla from the match in the 66th minute.
The Fire broke free after VAR caught D.C’s Jackson Hopkins committing a handball violation in the penalty area during a corner kick opportunity.
Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers converted the penalty to give the Fire a 1-0 lead in the 81st minute. Cuypers returned to the Fire’s starting lineup after missing the match in Columbus with a lower-body injury.
The Belgian forward now has three goals this season and is 2-2 on penalty kick conversions.
Four minutes later, D.C responded after a failed clearance by Chicago’s Mbekezeli Mbokazi, perfectly placed the ball towards D.C’s Matti Peltola for a shot in front of goal to even up the match at 1-1 with only five minutes left of regulation.
With hopes of securing three points at home, the worst possible outcome in stoppage time arose for the Fire.
After VAR reviewed a handball violation on Chicago’s Jonathan Dean, a penalty kick opportunity was granted to D.C in the 94th minute.
D.C’s Tai Baribo converted on the penalty to make the score 2-1 and give the Fire their second loss of the season.
Dean returned for the Fire after serving a red card suspension from Chicago’s last home match against CF Montréal.
The match consisted of a series of VAR reviews and lengthy stoppages that killed momentum for both teams. The match concluded at the 107th minute.
In the 42nd minute, a D.C goal was waved off due to an offside player blocking Chicago's Chris Brady’s view, preventing the American keeper from having a chance to save a potential shot. The call was deemed a screening violation.
In the 74th minute, the center official stopped the match and walked towards the sideline to discuss a situation with both coaches for an extended period.
A released Chicago Fire official statement has since announced that the stoppage came after a “derogatory remark was made towards a player” on the field.
Considering it is still relatively early in the MLS regular season calendar, it is not the time to panic for the Fire, but the time to wake up very soon.
Chicago will go against the Philadelphia Union on March 21 at 3:30 p.m. CT.
“They're not in the best moment right now [and it] makes it even more difficult, more complicated for us," Fire's Maren Haile Selassie said. “They have good attackers too and play a direct [style] similar to D.C.”
The Union knocked the Fire out of the playoffs last season in a 3-0 win in the First Round of the MLS Cup.
The Men in Red have now lost two games after taking the lead this season.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Fire Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said. “The fans come, they want to see entertaining soccer. I think we need to do a better job of creating that, of creating that speed, of putting the opponent on their heels.”
The first half consisted of offensive struggles for both teams, as they struggled to break each other’s compact back lines and execute in the final third of the pitch.
Despite finishing the first half with nearly 58 percent of possession, the physical battle led to Chicago finishing with only one shot on target and zero corner kick chances.
“We're not surprised how the game went,” Fire’s Maren Haile Selassie said. “We knew it was gonna be a tough and maybe sometimes ugly game. Our expectation is to win at home against a team like that.”
In the 24th minute, Chicago’s Philip Zinckernagel received a yellow card for diving in the penalty area.
The Danish winger has yet to earn a goal contribution this season despite having a record-setting season in 2025 with 15 goals and 15 assists.
“Definitely don't think it was a dive and could’ve been a penalty if he went to see it on VAR,” Zinckernagel said. “I even heard the VAR asking him to check it, but he thought it was too soft.”
With the newly acquired depth this offseason, Zinckernagel has played more of a central role this season compared to his natural winger position, which led him to earn the club’s most valuable player award in 2025.
“I'm a little bit further back and helping out on the midfield,” Zinckernagel said. “I want to still be able to be dangerous and get shots off. It's a process, and hopefully we'll play more 4-3-3 [formation] so we can get a rhythm.”
Chicago’s three-player yellow card status forced Berhalter to make tactical substitutes and remove Jack Elliott and Djé D'Avilla from the match in the 66th minute.
The Fire broke free after VAR caught D.C’s Jackson Hopkins committing a handball violation in the penalty area during a corner kick opportunity.
Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers converted the penalty to give the Fire a 1-0 lead in the 81st minute. Cuypers returned to the Fire’s starting lineup after missing the match in Columbus with a lower-body injury.
The Belgian forward now has three goals this season and is 2-2 on penalty kick conversions.
Four minutes later, D.C responded after a failed clearance by Chicago’s Mbekezeli Mbokazi, perfectly placed the ball towards D.C’s Matti Peltola for a shot in front of goal to even up the match at 1-1 with only five minutes left of regulation.
With hopes of securing three points at home, the worst possible outcome in stoppage time arose for the Fire.
After VAR reviewed a handball violation on Chicago’s Jonathan Dean, a penalty kick opportunity was granted to D.C in the 94th minute.
D.C’s Tai Baribo converted on the penalty to make the score 2-1 and give the Fire their second loss of the season.
Dean returned for the Fire after serving a red card suspension from Chicago’s last home match against CF Montréal.
The match consisted of a series of VAR reviews and lengthy stoppages that killed momentum for both teams. The match concluded at the 107th minute.
In the 42nd minute, a D.C goal was waved off due to an offside player blocking Chicago's Chris Brady’s view, preventing the American keeper from having a chance to save a potential shot. The call was deemed a screening violation.
In the 74th minute, the center official stopped the match and walked towards the sideline to discuss a situation with both coaches for an extended period.
A released Chicago Fire official statement has since announced that the stoppage came after a “derogatory remark was made towards a player” on the field.
Considering it is still relatively early in the MLS regular season calendar, it is not the time to panic for the Fire, but the time to wake up very soon.
Chicago will go against the Philadelphia Union on March 21 at 3:30 p.m. CT.
“They're not in the best moment right now [and it] makes it even more difficult, more complicated for us," Fire's Maren Haile Selassie said. “They have good attackers too and play a direct [style] similar to D.C.”
The Union knocked the Fire out of the playoffs last season in a 3-0 win in the First Round of the MLS Cup.
