CHESTER, Pa. (Aug. 23, 2025) – Chicago Fire (11-10-6, 39 points) fell 4-0 to the Philadelphia Union (16-6-6, 54 points) Saturday night at Subaru Park. Midfielder André Franco made his Major League Soccer debut in the 69th minute of the match.
Philadelphia took the lead in the 35th minute when left back Kai Wagner crossed to his near post, where forward Tai Baribo closed in to finish. The Fire nearly equalized in the 59th minute when midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr. one-timed a shot from beyond the box that glanced off the crossbar.
Five minutes later, the Union added to their lead on a free kick as defender Kai Wagner struck a shot under a moving wall and into the goal. Philadelphia continued its strong home form, with defender Danley Jean Jacques and Milan Ilaski scoring in the closing 20 minutes to clinch the match and first place in the Eastern Conference.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will have a week off before returning home to face the New England Revolution on Saturday, Sept. 6. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and transmitted locally on wlsam.com (English) and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App (Spanish). A replay will be available on Marquee Sports Network on Monday, Sept. 8 at 10 p.m. CT.
Notes:
- Midfielder André Franco made his Major League Soccer debut on Saturday night, coming in for Dje D’Avilla in the 69th minute of the match. The Portuguese midfielder became the 14th player to make his Fire debut and 12th to make his league debut with the Men in Red this season.
- The result marked the first time that Chicago was shut out on the road all season. Coming into the match, the Fire had scored at least once in all 13 of its previous away games for a total of 33 goals, the most in Club history.
- Midfielders Rominigue Kouamé (lower body) and David Poreba (lower body) were unavailable for selection. Newly acquired defender Joel Waterman is awaiting the receipt of his P-1 visa and thus was also unavailable.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:
Philadelphia Union 4:0 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
PHI - Baribo (16) (Wagner 10, Sullivan 9) (WATCH) 34’
PHI - Wagner (2) (Iloski 1) (WATCH) 64’
PHI - Jean Jacques (3) (WATCH) 73’
PHI - Iloski (1) (WATCH) 80’
Discipline:
PHI - Lukic (Yellow Card) 37’
CHI - Barroso (Yellow Card) 38’
CHI - Oregel Jr. (Yellow Card) 57’
PHI - Baribo (Yellow Card) 59’
PHI - Makhanya (Yellow Card) 66’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Barroso (Dean, 46’), D Cupps, D Elliott (capt.), D Gutman, M D’Avilla (Franco, 69’), M Oregel Jr. (Acosta, 75’), M Gutiérrez, F Zinckernagel (Haile-Selassie, 69’), F Cuypers (Barlow, 75’), F Bamba
Subs not used: GK Gal, D Rogers, D González, M Pineda
Philadelphia Union: GK Rick, D Westfield, D Glesnes (capt.), D Makhanya, D Wagner, M Q. Sullivan (C. Sullivan, 74’), M Lukic (Rafanello, 84’), M Jean Jacques, M Iloski (Bedoya, 84’), F Baribo (Donovan, 81’), F Damiani (Uhre, 74’)
Subs not used: GK Holbrook, D Mbaizo, D Harriel, M Bueno
Stats Summary: PHI / CHIShots: 23 / 9
Shots on Goal: 7 / 2
Saves: 2 / 3
Passing Accuracy: 85.9% / 83.4%
Corners: 6 / 4
Fouls: 16 / 10
Offsides: 3 / 1
Possession: 50.8% / 49.2%
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referees: Corey Rockwell, Justin Howard
Fourth Official: Servando Berna
VAR: Kevin Stott
AVAR: Tony Obas
