Guilherme scored twice in his MLS debut, and the Houston Dynamo rallied for a 2-1 win against the visiting Chicago Fire in the season opener for both clubs on Saturday.
The Brazilian, signed as a designated player, was one of several key additions for the Dynamo (1-0-0, 3 points) in the offseason.
Hugo Cuypers scored for the Fire (0-1-0, 0 points).
After managing just two shot attempts, neither on target in the opening half, Houston pushed out of the gates to start the second. Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady had to be sharp, making stops on Jack McGlynn and Guilherme 30 seconds apart early in the half.
By the 64th minute, the Dynamo had four shot attempts in the half, while the Fire had yet to notch their first.
Guilherme pulled Houston even in the 67th minute. McGlynn sent a feed up through midfield for Guilherme, and the Brazilian cut through the Fire defenders to break in and fire it past Brady’s left arm from the spot.
He then capitalized on a rebound to give the Dynamo a 2-1 lead in the 78th minute. Brady came off his line and stretched his arm to stop Ezequiel Ponce’s attempt from the middle of the box, but he couldn’t hold it and the ball rolled to the left, and Guilherme was first to it to deposit into the open net.
Chicago dominated possession early in the first half, with 68 percent of the touches through the first 16 minutes but struggled to take advantage of its control in play.
The visitors had their first quality chance in the 18th minute when Maren Haile-Selassie was on the back side to receive a cross from Anton Saletros and put it on target, but goalkeeper Jonathan Bond got over to get in front of the shot.
The Fire finally converted in the 31st minute. A back pass by Houston’s Mateusz Bogusz rolled behind his defenders, and Cuypers retrieved it and brought it to just above the six-yard box before chipping it over Bond’s left arm for a 1-0 lead.
–Field Level Media
