The club that entered the weekend as the consensus best team in MLS this season came to Toyota Park Saturday and added more evidence to support that claim, as Toronto FC held off the Fire to earn the first win by a visiting team at Toyota Park in 2017. See some of the news and notes from Saturday night's 3-1 outcome in Bridgeview:
- Chicago's 14-match home unbeaten run (11-0-3) had begun last fall following a September 10 loss to Toronto FC, and it ended Saturday at the hands of that same TFC side. Toronto's second straight road win at Toyota Park also represented its second-ever road win over the Fire, who are now 5-2-5 all-time at home against Toronto FC.
- The club's unprecedented nine-game home winning streak also came to a halt Saturday night.
- After beginning the season with an 11-3-5 record, the Fire now stand 12-8-5 after losses in five of their last six outings, but currently remain in third place (41 points) in the Eastern Conference.
Postmatch Reaction: Paunovic | Schweinsteiger | Accam
- The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,891, the highest attendance for a Fire regular-season match in Toyota Park history. It was the Fire's fourth straight sold-out home game and its fifth of the season.
- David Accam was in the right place at the right time to record his 32nd career MLS goal, redirecting a shot off the post by Bastian Schweinsteiger into an open TFC net in the 54th minute. Accam is now tied with Josh Wolff(1998-2002) for third on the club's list of leading goal-scorers in league play, and remains fourth with 37 goals in all competitions.
- Accam's 13 goals this season rank fifth in MLS. He scored the lone goal for the Fire in each of the club's two meetings with Toronto FC this season.
- After a midweek appearance off the bench on Wednesday, recently acquired defender Christian Deanmade his first start in central defense as a member of the Fire Saturday night. Dean, who made 12 career appearances for the Vancouver Whitecaps prior to his move to Chicago, had last started an MLS match on April 8.
- Before conceding three goals on Saturday, the Fire had allowed only five goals in their first 11 home matches of the season.
- Defenders Joao Meira (calf), Matt Polster (knee strain) and Brandon Vincent (quad) all were absent from the matchday roster due to injuries.
- Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco capped the game's scoring in the 90th minute, adding to a career haul against the Fire that now stands at 6 goals and 4 assists in six matches.
- Chicago finished with a 53-47 percent advantage in possession while Toronto outshot the Fire 18-15 overall and 9-7 in shots on goal.
- The Fire continue their stretch of four home games in five next Saturday (August 26) when they host their first-ever MLS meeting with expansion side Minnesota United FC at 7:30 p.m. (TICKETS).
