Chicago Fire 2-1 New York City FC: how it happened
Down a goal and down a man, Chicago flipped the script at Soldier Field — and climbed to second in the East.
Chicago Fire FC spent the entire second half a man short on Saturday and still beat New York City FC 2-1 at Soldier Field — a comeback that lifted the Fire (14-8-6, 48 points) into second place in the Eastern Conference with the playoffs looming.
How it unfolded
NYCFC struck first through Hannes Wolf in the 19th minute, pouncing after a turnover, with Ojeda and Martínez credited with the assists in the box score. Things got worse for Chicago before the break: midfielder Dje D'Avilla, booked in the 20th minute, collected a second yellow in the 43rd, leaving Gregg Berhalter's side to chase the game with ten men.
Instead of bunkering, the Fire pushed. Anton Salétros headed home the equalizer in the 55th minute — his first MLS goal — from Maren Haile-Selassie's delivery, with Robert Lewandowski also involved in the move. Then, in the 87th, Haile-Selassie chased down a loose pass off a New York goal kick, drove into the box and finished the winner.
The Haile-Selassie season rolls on
The goal and assist gave Haile-Selassie 10 goals and 10 assists on the season, making him just the second player in Fire history to post a 10/10 campaign, after Philip Zinckernagel's 15-and-15 in 2025, according to the club. It was also his second straight match with both a goal and an assist, a first in his MLS career.
What it means
For Chicago, 48 points and second in the East is serious positioning, and the manner of this one — rallying shorthanded in front of 31,893 — is the kind of result teams point to in November. For NYCFC (8-11-9, 33 points), blowing a lead against ten men deepens a difficult season. The Fire close a three-game homestand against Philadelphia on Wednesday night.