- After a season-opener last week in which they were on their heels for most of the first half, the Chicago Fire flipped the script Saturday at Toyota Park, controlling play and scoring twice in the game’s first 20 minutes against Real Salt Lake. The fast start positioned the Men In Red for an eventual 2-0 victory that sent the Fire faithful home happy, if not warm.
Match Highlights | Single-Game Tickets
Below are a few news and notes to emerge from the match:
- Nemanja Nikolic and Arturo Alvarez -- who were teammates from 2013-15 while with Hungarian side Videoton FC -- each found net for the first time in the young season, with Nikolic’s fortuitous 11th-minute finish his first in Major League Soccer. Alvarez’ goal was his 30th in 214 MLS appearances (135 starts), and his second in two games against RSL since joining the Fire last season. Alvarez played 16 games for the Claret and Cobalt in the 2011 season.
- Johan Kappelhof picked up an assist on Alvarez’ 15th-minute goal, his first point registered in MLS.
- Jorge Rodrigo Bava recorded his first MLS shutout, needing just one official save in the process. RSL was credited with 12 total shots, with five off target and six blocked by the Men In Red.
- Chicago’s win over Real Salt Lake was its first in the series since Sept. 28, 2011, breaking a five-game unbeaten run (3-0-2) for RSL. Prior to Saturday, the Fire hadn’t notched a regular season home win against Real Salt Lake since August 1, 2009.
- Chicago took all three points from a home opener for the first time since 2012, when it opened at Toyota Park with a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union. The Fire won five of six home openers between 2007 and 2012.
- Gametime temperature Saturday was a cool 28 degrees, the coldest recorded temp at kickoff of a Fire home opener. The previous recorded low (dating to 2001) was 29 degrees on March 23, 2014.
- Entering the match as a stoppage-time substitute, 18-year-old midfielder Djordje Mihailovic became the eighth Homegrown player to appear in a Fire first team match. Mihailovic’s appearance came just one week after fellow Homegrown Drew Conner made his debut, also coming on for a short stint in added time against Columbus.
- Midfielder and third-round MLS SuperDraft selection Brandt Bronico also made his MLS debut, replacing Nikolic in the 85th minute.
- After missing the 2017 season opener due to suspension, midfielder Juninho wore the captain’s armband for the Men In Red Saturday in his first-ever match with the club. Juninho’s introduction to the team, in place of the now-injured John Goossens, was Veljko Paunovic’s lone change to the starting XI from week 1.
- The Fire stand at four points through two games and stand alone in second in the Eastern Conference, pending the outcome of Sunday’s NYCFC-D.C. United matchup.
- Then there are these defensive figures for Chicago's backline, which withstood a consistent barrage of crosses and corners throughout the second half:
- Finally, our friends at Opta remind us that the Fire have lost just once (6-1-7) in their last 14 matches at home dating to last season. After a road trip next Saturday to Atlanta United FC, the Fire have a chance to add to their ledger of home success with three straight home contests on April 1, April 8 and April 15.
