Chicago Fire Demolish MLS Champions Atlanta United, 5-1

Chicago Fire snapped their seven-game cold-streak by smashing the champions Atlanta United 5-1 tonight. Veljko Paunovic’s boys presented one of the best performances since the start of the season, by trashing the ruling champs.

It was something which nobody expected, especially after the recent performances of the franchise form Windy City. But how they played in the first 45 minutes, will be remembered for a long time. Fire scored all five goals within the first half, threatening to inflict Atlanta the worst defeat in their history.

“I can’t say that there is anything that this team didn’t show in the past or last games except execution,” coach Paunović said on how his team played. “In the first half, it was almost perfect.”

And it really was like that. Except for the execution, Chicago was better in every single aspect of the game. They had 7 shots on goal, compared to one by the guests, had been dominant in corner-kicks 6-0, and had a ball possession of an astonishing 76% percent.

The game opened superbly for the home team, after just four minutes. Francisco Calvo, the Costa Rican defender, broke the lock of Atlanta’s defense, in his first appearance after coming back from the Gold Cup. It was a header after one corner kick.

“His goal helped open the game well, ” said Paunovic who emphasized Calvo’s positive influence on Chicago’s squad. “He’s a very good tandem with Basti (Bastian Schweinsteiger) and helps also other teammates around him to perform better.”

Only three minutes afterward, CJ Sapong netted his first goal of the night. Leandro Gonzales Pirez from United misjudged the path of the ball, which ended in Sapong’s possession. He fired it through the legs of Brad Guzan and doubled the lead for his side.

Pirez’s nightmare continued. He had to go out in the 13th minute, because of a red card! The 27-year old handballed in the box, and not only did he received a red card, but the referee awarded a penalty kick to the hosts.

It was Nico Gaitan who executed this chance for the Fire, and already in those moments, it was evident that the home team is about to demolish the champs. Sapong’s second hit in the 37th minute and Fabian Herber’s one minute before the halftime made it 5-0 for Chicago.

We have to be ashamed for those 45 minutes, for our fans,” Atlanta’s coach Frank de Boer stated following the contest. “We come here, and we were really embarrassing today, especially the first half of course.”

The pace of the game decreased in the second half, which suited more for the guests. Chicago’s players relaxed, and they even allowed one goal, while not scoring at all. That was something which hadn’t been in their plans according to Paunovic, who wasn’t happy at all with the second 45 minutes. The aim was to keep the clean sheet, but Fire failed to do that.

“Unfortunately, in the second half, we didn’t achieve our goals, and that is something I am not happy about.”

The scorer for Atlanta was Brandon Vasquez from the penalty kick.

Chicago is one point behind the playoff zone. At the moment, Paunovic’s team is sitting at the 8th spot with 22 points, while Toronto at No.7 has 23 and a game fewer. On the other side, Atlanta is 4th with 29 points, and still has a chance to chase the top position in the East. Philadelphia Union is first at the moment with 35 points, but also, two matches more.

United faces New York Red Bulls this Sunday at home, while Chicago goes to Kansas City to meet with Sporting, one day earlier.