Player Ratings: Philadelphia Union 2, Chicago Fire 2

Amidst a totally chaotic match, the Fire departed from their opening day trip to Philadelphia with a 2-2 stalemate. The team took the lead in the 39th minute via a Brian Gutiérrez banger, but right after halftime Philly piled the pressure on, with Mikael Uhre equalizing in the 55th. Fabian Herbers restored the Fire’s lead in the 81st minute after a frenzy in the box, but Dániel Gazdag brought the Union back level in stoppage time. Despite both teams having clear-cut chances within the final seven minutes, the match ended all square. Here is a recap of the Fire’s individual performers.

*Players are listed in the order they lined up, followed by substitutes in the order they appeared.

Starting XI

Chris Brady (6.5) – Going largely untested most of the evening, Brady did well when called upon, as he registered three saves, and given the goals conceded by the team, there was minimal he could have done to stop them. The youngster did struggle with the ball at his feet though, as he only yielded a pass accuracy of 45.8%, notably giving away possession cheaply a handful of times.

Andrew Gutman (N/R) – In what should have been a full debut for the academy product, Gutman faced a non-contact injury within the first two minutes of the match and was unable to carry on further from that point. He was replaced by Chase Gasper. 

Rafael Czichos (6.5) – In his first match in quite some time without the captain’s armband, Czichos was fairly passive, and failed to complete any tackles and only engaged in five total duels. A lot of the Union’s attacking play came from the left, but most crosses whipped past the German and onto the back post, leaving him largely helpless to stop them. When called upon, he did well, but some greater defensive competence could have seen the Fire leave with all three points. 

Mauricio Pineda (7.5) – Mauri started the match off sluggish, but ultimately put in a good shift on the right side of the center back pairing. Similarly to Czichos, Pineda has had matches in the past where his presence was more felt, but he also faced a bit more pressure than his partner early on in the game. The Chicago native registered eight defensive actions and was involved in possession pretty often, which should help make the case for his continual presence as a starter in the backline.

Allan Arigoni (7.5) – Arigoni had a convincing showing In his full debut, as he held the Union’s attack at bay on the left side of the pitch, and was very involved in transition play when the team was playing largely on the counter. The Swiss defender engaged in 10 total duels and tried to get the attack flowing on the right side of the pitch often. Although the final ball was lacking, his link-up with his teammates was great, and Arigoni showed that he may be a clear upgrade over the absent Arnaud Souquet.

Fabian Herbers (8) – In what may have been a surprise start for some, and not at all for others, Herbers came up big-time for Chicago as he grabbed an assist and a goal. While his assist may have been a miscontrolled pass from Xherdan Shaqiri, his goal came from a great team hustle. As the Fire looked to work an opportunity through the right side with quick combinations, Fabi and Brian Gutiérrez moved it back and forth rapidly to give the German a clear opportunity to bury it in the back of the net in the 82nd minute. It is also worth noting that while this happened, he was also wearing the captain’s armband. Besides that, Herbers was extremely involved across all areas of the pitch today, suggesting his extension was the correct choice.

Gastón Giménez (6.5) – With a return to his Designated Player tag coming on Thursday, Gastón also provided a performance more reminiscent of those when he held the tag previously. Despite having the team’s joint-highest passing accuracy at 90.5%, the Paraguayan failed to make a real impression on either end of the pitch, having won a sole ground duel while also only creating 0.01 expected goals and assists. With Kellyn Acosta seemingly eager to make an impact at the Fire, time will tell badly Gastón wants a starting spot in the midfield.

Brian Gutiérrez (8.5) – In addition to opening the team’s scoring for 2024 with an absolute screamer, Guti had a wonderful match to start the season, also grabbing a well-played assist. The homegrown was extremely impactful in transition for the Fire, and was active on the left wing until Xherdan Shaqiri’s substitution made way for the youngster to move into the number 10 role. For the second goal, Kellyn Acosta and Allan Arigoni connected well together to weave the ball centrally, with Fabian Herbers and Guti doing the same less than six yards in afterward, ending the sequence in a beautiful layoff for Herbers to smash home to get the Fire ahead in the 82nd minute. Despite this, coach Klopas opted for fresh legs to try and kill the game, as the youngster was eventually substituted for Federico Navarro in the 88th minute. 

Xherdan Shaqiri (6) – The team’s captain on the night, the armband did not seem to push Shaqiri to perform any better than he had in 2023. The evening was characterized by a lack of attacking prowess and fairly easy turnovers. One major note from the previous season was the team’s poor delivery from set-pieces, but nothing here suggested that improvement is on the horizon, as two of Shaq’s corners failed to beat the first man. The Swiss was substituted for the debut of Kellyn Acosta in the 73rd minute, which ended a fairly quiet performance. 

Maren Haile-Selassie (7.5) – As a driving force behind the team’s counter-attacking play, Maren had a good showing for a full 90 minutes. His combinations with Allan Arigoni and Xherdan Shaqiri were a notable feature of his game, as the three looked very comfortable playing with each other on the right side. The winger completed three successful dribbles, and when substitutes came on, his level of play stayed consistent despite the changes in personnel. 

Hugo Cuypers (6.5) – The Fire’s club-record signing did not have the debut he had likely hoped for, as the Belgian never really looked to be a threat in front of goal besides a header that went wide. His lack of potency, though, was seemingly caused by the shortcomings of his teammates, as he often was dropping into the midfield to pick up balls and drop them off to his fellow forwards almost as a playmaker. His hold up play was a positive, but many fans may have been expecting more. Time to settle will be necessary, and with a few flashes of quality, I am sure there is nothing to be worried about. Cuypers was substituted for Tom Barlow in the 88th minute. 

Substitutes

Chase Gasper (6) – Coming on within the first two minutes of the match for Andrew Gutman, Gasper had some bright spots throughout his time on the pitch, but was fairly inconsistent with his passing, as well as suffering a handful of lapses in defensive concentration that should have been costly if not for Philly’s knack for running offsides. It was a game where Gasper likely was not expecting to play as much as he did, and given that it was the first game of the season, there is not much to look into here. Gasper was substituted in the 73rd minute to make way for Jonathan Dean.

Kellyn Acosta (6.5) – Making his debut for the club as a substitute for Xherdan Shaqiri in the 73rd minute, Acosta was solid during his short spell on the field. Besides winning the mental battle against the Union players, the Texan completed 10 of his 11 passes and entered three duels. When he arrives at full fitness, it is clear that Acosta can make a major difference for the team in both while defending and going forward.

Jonathan Dean (6.5) – Replacing Chase Gasper in the 73rd minute, Dean did well to try and limit the onslaught that was occurring on the right side of the field as he grabbed three blocks and entered two duels during his short stint. Despite the final ball that saw Philly go ahead in the dying minutes of the match, it was a solid cameo from the defender, who has a real chance of starting at the home opener against FC Cincinnati.

Tom Barlow (6) – Taking off Hugo Cuypers in the 88th minute, Barlow could have had the perfect debut as a substitute for the club when he got on the end of a beautiful Fabian Herbers through ball with a few minutes to go, however it was simply not meant to be as the striker nailed goalkeeper Oliver Semmle instead of finding a more creative way to finish.

Federico Navarro (n/a) – Fede came on in the 88th minute in place of Brian Gutiérrez looking to solidify all three points with some extra defensive presence. Despite conceding, the Argentine looked to be his normal self. He only registered eight touches, therefore was unable to get involved enough to be ranked.

Manager

Frank Klopas (7.5) – Now able to drop the interim title once again, Klopas lined the Fire up as most could expect. Klopas stuck with his guns, and besides the midfield pairing that started the match, it was what most fans would have expected. The team came ready to play, and they brought the fight to Philly, which is not something many other teams do, showcasing that Klopas still knows how to get the men in red moving. Besides the entire omission of Chris Mueller and the selection of Tom Barlow instead of Georgios Koutsias, everything was as expected.