Chicago Fire FC Defeats St. Louis CITY SC 1-0 at Soldier Field

May 13, 2023 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Chicago Fire FC News Release

CHICAGO – Chicago Fire FC (3-3-5, 14 points) defeated St. Louis CITY SC (6-4-1, 19 points) 1-0 at Soldier Field on Saturday afternoon in their first League match against their Midwest rival.

Featuring in the starting lineup for a third straight match across all competitions, Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri tallied his first assist of the 2023 campaign, setting up defender Rafael Czichos’ game-winning goal in the 40th minute.

With the victory, Chicago remains unbeaten at home in 2023 (2-0-5), and is now tied on points (14) with teams ranked six through nine in the Eastern Conference, with more matches to be played later today. The result also marked the Fire’s second straight victory against St. Louis, with Chicago winning its head-to-head series (2-0-0) against the 2023 MLS expansion side.

The Fire were once again forced to make an early substitution when defender Carlos Terán left the field on a stretcher in the 36th minute. Czichos replaced the Colombian on the field, scoring the opening goal of the game just four minutes after coming into the match. St. Louis played the final 20 minutes with 10 men after defender John Nelson was shown a second yellow card.

Both teams started with an attacking mindset, with Chicago getting their first dangerous chance in the second minute of play. Shaqiri threaded the ball through two defenders for forward Kei Kamara, who deftly sent a backheel behind him into space for an incoming Federico Navarro. The midfielder took a shot that was deflected by a St. Louis defender before it could reach goalkeeper Roman Bürki.

In the 40th minute, Shaqiri and midfielder Brian Gutiérrez lined up to take a free kick on the left side of the field, with Shaqiri sending a cross to the top of the six-yard-box on the right side. Czichos raced into the space, stretching to get a foot on the ball. It looked like goalkeeper Roman Bürki was going to get a foot on the attempt, but the ball rolled past him and into the lower left corner to give the hosts a well-deserved lead going into the halftime break.

The second half started in much the same way, with Gutiérrez receiving a ball in the 47th minute that he sent into the box for Kamara. The forward brought it down, passing it back to the top of the box for Fabian Herbers, who fired a half volley that ricocheted off the top post.

Despite a push from the visitors to secure the equalizer late in the second half, the Fire…