The start couldn’t have been much worse Saturday night for the Chicago Fire. Three first-half goals by the Philadelphia Union, including two by Tai Baribo, and a missed Fire penalty led the Union to a 3-0 win. The top seed in the Eastern Conference clinched the best-of-3 first-round series in just two games.
The Union now await the winner of the series between No. 4 New York City FC and No. 5 Charlotte. Charlotte survived a tense penalty shootout on Saturday to push their series to a decisive Game 3. With the international break approaching, the Union will be off until November 22 or 23.
This win marks just the second road playoff victory in club history for the Philadelphia Union, joining their Game 2 win in the 2023 best-of-3 series in New England. The Union’s all-time road playoff record now stands at 2-5-1. Fortunately for them, they won’t have to leave Subaru Park for the remainder of the postseason.
Saturday’s game was effectively over early on, arguably as soon as Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady was ruled out due to an injury suffered in training during the week. Jeffrey Gal had to step in as Brady’s replacement.
The scoring got underway in the 8th minute when Tai Baribo intercepted a ball off Gal’s foot at the top of the box and calmly rolled it into an open net. Baribo doubled the lead in the 16th minute by heading home a corner delivered by Kai Wagner, beating former teammate Jack Elliott to the spot.
Baribo is now just the second Union player to score multiple goals in a playoff game, joining Jack Elliott who did so in the 2022 MLS Cup final.
The scoreline reached 3-0 in the 31st minute. Milan Iloski pressured Gal while he was in possession, deflecting a pass straight to Bruno Damiani, who one-timed a volley into the open goal. That goal basically sealed the match.
There were a few notable moments despite the one-sided score. In the 29th minute, Jack Elliott was pulled down inside the box by Jovan Lukic, leading to a penalty kick. Brian Gutierrez stepped up to take it but sent a weak shot directly into the arms of Union keeper Andre Blake.
For Blake, this was his first penalty save in open play since the start of the 2023 Leagues Cup and his first stop against an MLS opponent since July 3, 2022.
Three minutes after the missed penalty, Damiani’s goal proved to be the backbreaker for the Fire.
Early in the second half, Gutierrez appeared to have scored when he charged down a Blake goal kick and nudged the ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed as it hit his arm. Referee Jon Freemon immediately waved off the goal.
Besides the goalkeeper change, Chicago Fire adjusted their formation from a back three—used successfully for more than 60 minutes in Game 1—to a back four. Midfielder Romingue Kouame was forced off with an injury in the 26th minute.
The Fire also had to deal with a change in venue. Instead of playing at their usual home of Soldier Field, the team played at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, a stadium they vacated as full-time tenants in 2019 and where they have played only five games this year. Soldier Field was unavailable due to being booked for an international rugby match.
The second half saw little action on the field but was twice interrupted due to homophobic chants from some Fire fans. These incidents required coach Gregg Berhalter and players to appeal directly to the supporters’ section to stop the inappropriate behavior.
https://www.mcall.com/2025/11/01/union-start-fast-extinguish-fire-to-clinch-best-of-3-series/