Robert Lewandowski will make his first trip north of the border when the bolstered Chicago Fire visit Toronto FC on Saturday night.
The Polish star helped Chicago (11-6-4, 37 points) to a 2-2 draw in last weekend’s clash against the Seattle Sounders, nabbing an equalizer off a difficult header at the back post for his fifth goal with his new club.
The Fire were exceptionally busy toward the end of the MLS secondary transfer window in their bid to remain in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.
Defender Andreas Hanche-Olsen, signed from German Bundesliga club Mainz 05, might be considered the late marquee addition. The Norwegian international helps replenish a back line that lost Joel Waterman, who was shipped to Portland after just more than a year with the club.
“Throughout his (Hanche-Olsen’s) career, he has consistently demonstrated the leadership, professionalism and competitive mentality that are important to building a successful team,” head coach Gregg Berhalter said in a club statement.
Since Seattle, Chicago also acquired winger Johan Gomez, midfielder Anzor Mekvabishvili and defender Noah Allen, the latter on loan from Inter Miami.
Tied on points with Orlando City for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, resurgent Toronto (5-7-10, 25 points) will hope to spend a little less time chasing the opposition. Its 1-1 draw with New York City FC, sealed with a late Daniel Salloi equalizer, marked the third time it came from behind to secure a point since the World Cup break.
“We are coming from behind too often,” head coach Robin Fraser said after that game. “No matter how good you are at coming from behind, it’s not as good a position as leading … when you put yourself in that hole, it’s a lot of work to get out of it.”
The result extended Toronto’s unbeaten run to five. The Reds will doubtlessly be happier with their run of form heading into September than the 13-match winless run (12 in MLS) they carried into August.
Toronto made its own late acquisition, securing the services of forward Lewis Morgan in a trade with San Diego. It also transferred academy product Deandre Kerr to Portugal’s AVS Futebol SAD.
TFC midfielders Niklas Dorsch (facial fracture) and Jonathan Osorio (knee) are both likely injury absences. The Fire are unbeaten in eight against TFC, including a 2-1 win in May.
–Field Level Media
