After drawing a club-record crowd 63,094 for a 1-1 draw with Lionel Messi and defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami on Wednesday, the Chicago Fire return to Soldier Field on Sunday to host the New England Revolution.
It’s a key potential six-point swing game in the Eastern Conference playoff race. New England (12-8-4, 40 points) enter the weekend in third place with a one-point lead over both Chicago (11-6-6, 39 points) and Charlotte FC (11-7-6, 39 points). A top-four finish earns homefield advantage for the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
The Revolution, who have won three of their last four road contests, come in off a dramatic 2-1 victory at New York City FC on Wednesday. Midfielder Daniel Gazdag scored the game-winner in the third minute of stoppage time for New England, which also got a goal from Carles Gil on a penalty kick.
Chicago could leapfrog the Revolution into third place with a victory, but Revolution head coach Marko Mitrovic said his team will approach the contest like any other match.
“Every game is important, game one, game 21, game 34,” Mitrovic said. “Every game has value. Every game we play for three points, three points are on the table. We are not going to change our approach toward the game or any other game.”
Chicago brings a seven-match unbeaten streak in MLS play (3-0-4) into the contest. The draw with Miami was its fourth in a row. Striker Robert Lewandowski, who joined the team in June from FC Barcelona — where he scored 83 goals in 134 matches — has tallied six goals in nine matches for the Fire.
Lewandowski gave Chicago a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute against Miami with a highlight-reel goal, redirecting Andrew Gutman’s long looping cross from near the left sideline with his right leg into the right side of the goal.
“The assist, it was nice to get on it, but the finish was amazing,” Gutman told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s kind of easy when you just put it in a spot and (Lewandowski) does the rest.”
–Field Level Media
