ATLANTA — For the first time ever, the Chicago Fire have won an MLS game in Atlanta.
They did so in style, coming from behind to outclass Tata Martino's side 3-2 in a game that sets the Men in Red back on track heading into the regular season's home stretch.
For the second straight Saturday, the Fire faced an Eastern Conference foe on an NFL turf field. Atlanta posed a different challenge than New England, but Gregg Berhalter made only two lineup changes: Noah Allen for Andrew Gutman and Jonathan Dean for Leo Barroso. Djé D'Avilla got the nod in midfield in the stadium where he had his breakout MLS start last season, while Mbekezeli Mbokazi retained his place at a venue where he represented South Africa at this summer's World Cup.
Between the strong lineup and table mismatch, everything pointed to a bounce-back night for the Fire. That's not quite what happened. Atlanta got off to a dream start, taking the lead via a counter attacking in the fourth minute, with Tomás Jacob completing the sequence. Breel Embolo nearly doubled the advantage shortly after, but his spectacular bicycle kick attempt was nowhere near the mark.
Philip Zinckernagel has been a fairly quiet presence in the Fire attack in recent weeks, but he was responsible for his team's first big chance of the game in the 25th minute. The Danish Designated Player, after cutting in off of the left side, rattled the crossbar with a curled shot from outside the box. It was the biggest moment of an otherwise dominant spell for the Fire against an Atlanta team happy to sit back and soak up pressure after unexpectedly taking the lead early.
In the 30th minute, the pressure eventually paid off. A ball off of a set piece popped out to vice-captain Anton Salétros outside the box, and the Swedish midfielder blasted the ball into the net with his preferred left foot. The goal quickly opened things up for the Fire, who nearly took the lead 90 seconds later through Maren Haile-Selassie.
Chris Brady's biggest save of the first came in the 35th minute, denying Embolo from point-blank range. It was a great stop, with the USMNT goalkeeper in the right place at the right time to deny the star Swiss center-forward; however, the powerful shot did leave a sting. Brady had to be aided by medical staff in the aftermath of the save.
Late in the first half, D'Avilla picked up a booking, ruling him out of the next game against Orlando due to yellow card accumulation. However, he spared the Fire's blushes in the final moments of the half, skillfully intervening inside the six-yard box when Giuliano Galoppo seemed certain to score after some chaos in the penalty box.
D'Avilla's yellow card meant he was substituted at halftime, with Berhalter hoping to alleviate the risk of repeating what happened with Jack Elliott last week against Philadelphia (and resulted in a two-game suspension). Anzor Mekvabishvili made his third MLS appearance, coming on as the #6.
Mekvabishvili made an immediate impact, pressing high on an Atlanta goal kick in the 51st minute. The Georgian international picked off Lucas Hoyo's attempted goal kick, and made a straightforward finish to give the Fire a 2-1 lead.
Hoyos' night got even worse when he picked up a backpass inside his own six-yard box. The Fire were awarded an indirect free kick, and after a comically long build-up, Zinckernagel blasted the ball into the net to make it 3-1. Salétros added an assist to his tally, providing the extra touch to tee up Zinckernagel.
Embolo gave Atlanta hope with two big chances around the 70-minute mark. He scored the first, excellently heading home to draw Atlanta back within a goal; he missed the second from an arguably much simpler chance, skying a one-on-one against Brady.
Robert Lewandowski had another very anonymous night. He was substituted in the 69th minute, having failed to score for a seventh straight MLS match. Johan Gómez replaced him, with Puso Dithejane and Andrew Gutman also introduced for Zinckernagel and Allen as part of a triple sub.
Jonathan Dean, playing in his home state of Georgia, came up big defensively in the final moments. The right back headed a cross away in the 90th minute, preventing Atlanta from capitalizing on their late attacking pressure and keeping the score at 3-2.
With the win, the Fire snap a two-game losing skid as the regular season nears its conclusion. They have ensured that they can now finish no lower than 7th place, thus avoiding the Wild Card spots and surpassing their 8th-place finish from 2025.
Three games remain in the regular season: the Fire will host Orlando, travel to Colorado, and wrap up the campaign at SeatGeek Stadium against Columbus.
Starting XI (4-3-3) — Brady (6); Allen (5.5), Mbokazi (7), Hanche-Olsen (7), Dean (6.5); Salétros (7.5), D'Avilla (6.5), Haile-Selassie (6.5); Bamba (7), Lewandowski (5.5), Zinckernagel (7.5)
Substitutes — Mekvabishvili (8), Gómez (6.5), Dithejane (6.5), Gutman (7), Barroso (NR)
