Costly Mistakes Lead to 3–0 Chicago Fire Loss to Philadelphia

Photo Credit: philadelphiaunion.com

Chicago Fire FC was eliminated from the 2025 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs after a 3-0 loss against Philadelphia Union on Nov. 1 at SeatGeek Stadium. 

After losing an action-packed penalty shootout to the Union in the first game, a young Chicago squad had its back against the wall with a chance to regain momentum with a win in Bridgeview.

Prior to the match, Chicago’s starting goalkeeper Chris Brady was removed from the starting lineup before kickoff due to a lower body injury. 

Concerns quickly arose after the starting lineup was announced, cutting the Fire's chances of sending the best-of-three series back to Philadelphia for a deciding game three.

The sudden injury led to Chicago Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter making the decision to start Jeffrey Gal - the decision resulted in two goal contributing errors made by the goalkeeper and the downfall of Chicago’s season. 

Minutes after the starting kickoff whistle was blown, everything that could've gone wrong for Chicago's sudden goalkeeper change went horribly wrong.

In the 8th minute of the match, Gal was pickpocketed by Philadelphia’s Tai Baribo after taking a hard touch, setting up a clear shot for the Union to gain an early 1-0 lead. 

Gal had not made an appearance for Chicago’s First Team since a regular season match on July 5 against FC Cincinnati. 

“It happens to everybody. Mistakes are part of the game of soccer, and we're gonna have to support Jeff,” Berhalter said. “The team's gonna have to support him, the staff's gonna have to support him. He lacked some rhythm, but that's the situation that we're in.”

Shortly after, Baribo recorded a brace within the first 16 minutes of the match after receiving a cross from teammate Kai Wagner to score an unmarked header towards goal.

The first 20 minutes of the match served as a nightmare for Chicago, giving away two preventable goals mixed with a series of unforced errors. 

In the 30th minute, Chicago Fire defender Jack Elliott was fouled in the penalty area, giving his team hope for a turnaround. 

Despite the timely penalty opportunity, Chicago Fire midfielder Brian Gutiérrez missed the penalty, adding on to Chicago’s disastrous series of events.

In an attempted clearance near goal in the 35th minute, Gal’s effort was deflected, and Philadelphia's Bruno Damiani scored a goal off a volley to increase the Union’s lead to 3-0. 

Despite the tough loss at home, Chicago FC winger Philip Zinckernagel remains hopeful for the future, having seen the potential of his team and concluding his first season as an MLS player.

“There's a lot of potential in this team and what Gregg has done this season and the project we are starting to build now, and we can take steps next season,” Zinckernagel said. “It's a good future, we really need a new stadium, and I think everyone can't wait for that to be a reality.”

Many Chicago fans expressed their disappointment by chanting discriminatory language after every Philadelphia goal kick.

The match was stopped in the 77th minute due to the discriminatory language and a second stoppage in the 86th minute. 

“I think that it's not who we are, it's not who we've been all year,” Berhalter said. “We want a type of environment where people love coming to the stadium, love celebrating the game of soccer, and that chant has nothing to do with the game of soccer.”

The chanting continued up until the final whistle.