The Polish striker had his second multi-goal appearance of the season on Decision Day against Columbus Crew
CHICAGO (Nov. 9, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC forward Robert Lewandowski was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday bench for Matchday 35 following his performance in Saturday's Decision Day 4-3 loss against the Columbus Crew at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois.
Lewandowski received his second consecutive mention on the MLS Team of the Matchday following two goals against the Crew on Saturday. The forward kicked off the match with a shot that was handled in the box by a Columbus defender before sending the goalkeeper the wrong way in the ensuing penalty kick. In the 22nd minute, he converted again after winger Philip Zinckernagel was fouled in the box. He nearly secured a hat trick in first half stoppage time, but his header glanced off the post instead and into the path of winger Maren Haile-Selassie for an easy finish.
Poland’s all-time leading goal scorer finishes the season with five mentions on the list, this one coming just a week after another goal-scoring performance in the 4-2 win at the Colorado Rapids. His brace against Columbus raised his season total to nine goals, the third-highest mark on the team, to go with five assists for a total of 14 goal contributions with the postseason set to begin.
MLS Team of the Matchday – Matchday 35
F: Sam Surridge (NSH), Gonzalo Tapia (CLB), Liel Abada (CLT)
M: Albert Rusnák (SEA), Kaick (DAL), Braian Ojeda (ORL), Cavan Sullivan (PHI)
D: Mihail Gherasimencov (VAN), Lukas MacNaughton (STL), Zach Booth (RSL)
GK: Andrew Thomas (SEA)
Coach: Pablo Mastroeni (RSL)
Bench: Brian Schwake (NSH), Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (RBNY), Patrick Yazbek (NSH), Adri Mehmeti (RBNY), Nectarios Triantis (MIN), Kristoffer Velde (POR), Cheikh Sabaly (VAN), Quinn Sullivan (PHI), Robert Lewandowski (CHI)
The Men in Red head to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive year, facing Charlotte FC in the Round One Best-of-3 Series. The Men in Red will host Charlotte in Game 1 on Sunday, Nov. 22 at SeatGeek Stadium before traveling to the Queen City the following Saturday, Nov. 28 for Game 2. If necessary, a third match will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at SeatGeek Stadium.
Every match of the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs will be available on Apple TV, with select matches – including Game 1 – on FS1 and FOX Deportes in the U.S. All Fire postseason matches will also be transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 in Spanish.
