A packed crowd saw the Fire fall 1-0 to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Los Angeles Galaxy on a blistery Saturday afternoon.
“Zlatan-mania” hit Chicago, as days prior to the game, the club announced that the game was sold out. The wet, rainy conditions were not a deterrent as fans hoped to get a look at the former Manchester United player.
Just as important, fans were also there in hopes to see Jonathan Dos Santos and his brother, Giovani. Jonathan played while Giovani was did not as he’s still out injured.
It was a tight affair as both teams seemed well-matched despite the individual talent that the Galaxy possess.
The Galaxy had the best chance in the 36th minute of the first half as a back pass from a Fire defender was intercepted by Ibrahimovic. The Swede’s attempt was blocked by the Fire goalkeeper, Richard Sanchez.
Zlatan eventually got the only goal of the game during stoppage time of the first half. The Galaxy left-back, Ashley Cole, swung a cross in from the left as Zlatan connected with a header past the the Fire goalkeeper.
In the goal, Ibrahimovic was able to slip in between Schweinsteiger and the other Fire defender.
The Swede’s height played a factor as Schweinsteiger was unable to jump high enough to deflect the cross. There was also nothing Sanchez could do as he was coming across his goal when Zlatan connected.
When asked about conceding at the end of the half and how it changed the game, Coach Paunovic said, “The hardest thing, after doing an almost perfect job defensively speaking, when giving up a goal like that is it’s normal that people will feel let down. What you have to do is bring the players up so they can regain their confidence.”
The Fire came out strong in the second half, as they’ve done so far this season, in search of an equalizer. Coach Paunovic subbed off Alan Gordon for Aleksandar Katai in the 67th minute.
Katai had the Fire’s best chance of the game six minutes later off a pass from Tony Tchani. Katai’s shot was saved, but the Fire looked closer to tying the game than the Galaxy looked to scoring a second.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be subbed off in the 80th minute to a warm reception by the Fire faithful as the larger-than-life player definitely made his presence known.
As the rain started to come down heavier, the Fire continued their pursuit. Dax McCarty found himself with an open header off a corner in the dying minutes but could not give it any direction.
The Galaxy keeper took his time playing the ball and when he did, the referee blew the final whistle as Zlatan’s goal proved to be the difference.
Los Angeles were able to get off their two-game skid while the Fire have now lost three out their first five games, two of those at home.
Despite the loss, Paunovic seemed optimistic as he believed his team showed progress and began to look like the team that made the playoffs last season.
He said, “This was actually a very competitive game and it reminds me of my time when I was a player in Europe. You have two teams that are playing good soccer. They’re two teams that are executing their plan and then one mistake decides everything. That shows me that we’ve made a step forward in maturity and understanding the importance of the tactical, organization, execution, discipline, character, and adjustments that we did in the second half.”
Paunovic was again full of praise for Bastian Schweinsteiger and his performance in the game.
He said, “The talent that Bastian has is amazing. One day we should a statue here in front of [Toyota Park] just like Michael Jordan has his, so definitely he’s, as I said, very important for us and we appreciate a lot how much talent he has that he can apply to different roles on our team.”
Perhaps lost in the hoopla of Zlatan-fever was that first-round pick, Jon Bakero, finally made his debut for the Fire. The son of former Barcelona player, Jose Maria Bakero, came on in the 85th minute and played well in his limited time.
With the win, the Galaxy move up second in the western conference. The loss moves the Fire down to 10th with one separating them and the last place team. The Fire’s next game will be on the road against the New York Red Bulls.
Announced attendance: 21,195
Ernesto Hernandez
Sports Editor
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