Chicago Fire FC (2-4-3, 9 points) fell 4-0 to Real Salt Lake (4-2-3, 15 points) on Saturday night at Soldier Field.
Both teams pushed forward consistently to start the match but it was Real Salt Lake who scored first, breaking through in the 24th minute with a goal from midfielder Carlos Andres Gomez that snuck past Chris Brady into the lower right corner of the net.
Salt Lake’s second goal came in the 33rd minute after an errant pass was played into the path of RSL striker Chicho Arango, who didn’t think twice before slipping it into the goal. Arango scored his second goal of the night in the 37th minute off a corner kick. Bryan Oviedo sent in a curling cross to the back post for Arango to head home from close range.
Chicago appeared to pull one back in the 87th minute but forward Georgios Koutsias was deemed to be in an offside position. Real Salt Lake closed out the scoring with a goal in the 90+3rd minute with a finish from Diego Luna.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will play host to Atlanta United FC on Saturday, April 27, in the Club’s second game of a three-game homestand. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT and Soldier Field, and the match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass and transmitted locally via wlsam.com in English and WRTO 1200 AM in Spanish.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Notes:
- Chicago’s record against Real Salt Lake now stands at 8-8-8 through 24 regular season matches in the head-to-head series.
- The result marked the first time Chicago has been held scoreless at Soldier Field this season.
- The Fire’s home record now stands at 2-2-0 to start the 2024 season.
- Midfielder Federico Navarro started his first match of the season, replacing Brian Gutiérrez who was injured during warmups.
- Defender Carlos Terán returned to the starting XI, stepping in for Tobias Salquist who left the previous match with a head injury.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 0:4 Real Salt Lake
Goals:
RSL - Gomez (1) (Katranis, 2) (WATCH) 24’
RSL- Arango (7) (Crooks, 2) (WATCH) 33’
RSL - Arango (8) (Oviedo, 1) (WATCH) 37’
RSL - Luna (1) (Arango, 5) (WATCH) 90+3’
Discipline:
CHI - Acosta (Yellow Card) 15’
RSL - Gomez (Yellow Card) 31’
CHI: GK Brady, D Souquet, D Terán, D Czichos, D Arigoni, M Mueller, M Shaqiri (capt.) (Koutsias, 28’), M Navarro (Giménez, 46’, Barlow, 60’), M Herbers, M Acosta, F Cuypers
Subs not used: GK Richey, D Gutman, D Omsberg, D Pineda, D Dean
RSL: GK Beavers, D Brody, D Oviedo, D Hidalgo, D Katranis (Quinton, 74’), M Ojeda (Palacio, 73’), M Gomez (Luna, 56’), M Eneli, M Barajas (Chang, 82’), M Crooks (Julio, 82’), F Arango (capt.)
Subs not used: GK MacMath, D Storlie, F Gozo
Stats Summary: CHI / RSL
Shots: 12 / 16
Shots on Goal: 5 / 7
Saves: 3 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 85% / 89.2%
Corners: 5 / 5
Fouls: 16 / 11
Offsides: 2 / 0
Possession: 49.9% / 50.1%
Attendance: 14,247
Referee: Marcos de Oliveira
Assistant Referees: Jose da Silva, Adam Wienckowski
Fourth Official: Calin Radosav
VAR: Joe Dickerson
Assistant VAR: Claudiu Badea