D.C. United’s five-game MLS unbeaten streak is their longest since 2021 and has lifted the Black and Red into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
For a club that has not made the postseason for a league-high six years, this is uncharted territory.
D.C. United (4-4-4, 16 points) will try to extend their run Wednesday night in Washington when they host the slumping Chicago Fire (5-4-3, 17 points), which is a notch ahead in the standings.
Sparking the recent surge has been Louis Munteanu. After joining D.C. for a club-record fee of $7 million, Munteanu struggled with a leg injury, missing four games and failing to score in his first five appearances.
But in the last three matches, the Romanian has tallied four goals, providing D.C. a much-needed threat as Tai Baribo (six goals) has been hobbled by a leg injury. Baribo is questionable for Wednesday.
“The goals and the statistics speak for itself,” D.C. coach Rene Weiler said of Munteanu’s emergence. “Happy for him. A striker, perfect. Keep going like this.”
On Wednesday, D.C. will be without defender Silvan Hefti after he sustained two yellow cards in a 2-2 draw at Nashville SC. Following his departure in the 74th minute, Warren Madrigal scored twice to allow first-place Nashville to escape with the tie.
After three straight defeats in all competitions — and all at home — Chicago looks to rediscover its form on the road. Before their swoon, the Fire had put together a six-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Chris Brady, who has five clean sheets this season, has surrendered three goals in each of Chicago’s last two games, including a 3-1 loss Saturday to the New York Red Bulls.
“I think it’s good when you don’t have to stew on a bad result,” Chicago defender Jack Elliott said. “Obviously, we want to change the form and go back to being a more resolute defensive team.”
Hugo Cuypers, who leads MLS with 11 goals in eight matches, kept his streak alive of scoring in every match in which he has appeared as he tallied on a rebound in the 87th minute against the Red Bulls.
On March 14, Baribo had the winning goal in second-half stoppage time as D.C. won 2-1 at Chicago.
“It’s impossible to compare those games,” Weiler said. “It’s a new game.”
–Field Level Media
