Chicago City Wire

Chicago Fire FC faced a 2-1 defeat against FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on Saturday night. The result leaves Chicago with a record of 8-8-4 and 28 points, while Cincinnati improved to 13-5-3 with 42 points. Philip Zinckernagel scored his ninth goal of the season for Chicago, marking his seventh goal away from home.

FC Cincinnati took an early lead in the match when midfielder Evander scored in the 19th minute. He found the net after navigating through high pressure from beyond the box. Early in the second half, Evander assisted Kevin Denkey for another goal, extending Cincinnati's lead.

Chicago managed to respond in the 56th minute when Jonathan Bamba set up Andrew Gutman, who then assisted Zinckernagel for a goal. Despite this effort, Cincinnati's defense secured their seventh home win of the season.

Looking ahead, Chicago will host San Diego FC at Soldier Field. This interconference match is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available globally on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Notable performances included Zinckernagel tying Jaime Moreno and Ronald Cerritos for consecutive road matches with goal contributions in Major League Soccer history. Jonathan Bamba matched Zinckernagel’s team-leading assists total with eight this season.

The game saw several key players unavailable due to various reasons including international duty and injuries. Goalkeeper Jeff Gal made two saves during his sixth appearance of the year but could not prevent Chicago's second loss at TQL Stadium since their last defeat there in 2023.

Attendance at TQL Stadium was recorded at 25,513 fans, with Pierre-Luc Lauziere officiating as referee alongside assistant referees Eric Weisbrod and Gerard-Kader Lebuis.