- Xherdan Shaqiri - 10' Pen
- Brian Gutierrez - 78'
- Ibrahim Aliyu - 65'
Brian Gutierrez's goal carries Fire past Dynamo
Brian Gutierrez scored his third goal of the season in the 78th minute on a finish of Xherdan Shaqiri's service to lift the Chicago Fire to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.
Shaqiri also scored the opening goal from the penalty spot for Chicago (2-3-2, 8 points), which won its second at home in three attempts.
It was the Swiss international's first match with multiple goal contributions since he scored twice in a 4-1 win on Oct. 4 against an Inter Miami side that played without Lionel Messi.
Ibrahim Aliyu scored his team-leading third goal of the season for Houston (3-2-1, 10 points), which had its three-match win streak halted in just its second away match of the campaign.
The Dynamo, who began a stretch with five of seven matches away, conceded multiple goals for the first time since a 2-1 home defeat to the New York Red Bulls on March 2.
Chicago struggled to create chances in the second half, but suddenly had an excellent one when Shaqiri took a pass right at the midfield stripe and sprayed a through ball across his body onto Gutierrez's vertical run.
Goalkeeper Steve Clark charged off his line, but Gutierrez reached the ball first and extended his leg to send a long, gentle looping finish over Clark that eventually came down and bounced across the goal line.
The Fire were sloppy in giving up the equalizer, with Aliyu making a relatively simple interception in Chicago's defensive end.
But the Nigerian still had a lot to do, and he did so, unleashing a perfectly placed right-footed finish from the edge of the penalty area that sailed into the top right corner beyond the diving Chris Brady.
Chicago went in front 10 minutes after earning a penalty from a foul drawn by center back Rafael Czichos coming forward on a corner kick, committed by Houston fullback Franco Escobar.
Shaqiri stepped up, got Clark to guess to his right, then smashed a finish into the opposite half of the net in the 10th minute for his second goal and second from the penalty spot.
--Field Level Media
Game Information
- Referees:
- Malik Badawi
MLS Standings
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LAFC | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | +18 | 40 |
Real Salt Lake | 21 | 11 | 7 | 3 | +18 | 40 |
LA Galaxy | 21 | 11 | 7 | 3 | +14 | 40 |
Vancouver Whitecaps | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | +5 | 31 |
Colorado Rapids | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | +3 | 31 |
Portland Timbers | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | +4 | 30 |
Houston Dynamo FC | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | +3 | 30 |
Minnesota United FC | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | -1 | 29 |
Seattle Sounders FC | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | +3 | 28 |
Austin FC | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | -7 | 27 |
St. Louis CITY SC | 21 | 4 | 10 | 7 | -6 | 22 |
FC Dallas | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 20 |
Sporting Kansas City | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | -11 | 17 |
San Jose Earthquakes | 21 | 3 | 2 | 16 | -27 | 11 |
MLS Standings
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inter Miami CF | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | +19 | 47 |
FC Cincinnati | 21 | 14 | 3 | 4 | +11 | 45 |
Columbus Crew | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | +18 | 36 |
New York City FC | 21 | 11 | 2 | 8 | +7 | 35 |
New York Red Bulls | 21 | 9 | 8 | 4 | +9 | 35 |
Charlotte FC | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | +1 | 32 |
Nashville SC | 21 | 6 | 8 | 7 | -3 | 26 |
Toronto FC | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | -9 | 24 |
Atlanta United FC | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | +2 | 24 |
Orlando City SC | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | -9 | 24 |
New England Revolution | 19 | 7 | 1 | 11 | -16 | 22 |
CF Montréal | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | -15 | 22 |
Chicago Fire FC | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | -11 | 21 |
Philadelphia Union | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | -3 | 20 |
D.C. United | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | -12 | 20 |