Story & Photos by Shawn Payne
HARRISON, N.J. — Red Bull New York hosted the Chicago Fire Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium, but this wasn’t a regular weekend or just another game in the MLS schedule.
The two Eastern Conference clubs arrived in New Jersey heading in very different directions.
Chicago entered Saturday as one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer, carrying a six-match winning streak across all competitions and an 11-6-2 MLS record with 35 points. The Fire’s run had built considerable momentum coming out of the summer break and placed them firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The Red Bulls were searching for momentum of their own. New York entered the match with 25 points and looking to turn around a difficult stretch in which results had become increasingly hard to find.
But the teams’ recent form wasn’t the only reason this particular Saturday night felt different.
There was also Robert Lewandowski.
The arrival of the Polish international in Chicago this summer brought one of world soccer’s most recognizable names to Major League Soccer. Lewandowski came to the Fire following a decorated European career that included Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, along with more than 700 goals for club and country.
His presence with the visiting Fire brought an additional level of attention to Saturday’s match in Harrison, with fans getting an opportunity to see one of the game’s most accomplished strikers at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Lewandowski began the night among Chicago’s substitutes, leaving the focus at kickoff on two teams with very different objectives — Chicago looking to extend its winning streak and New York trying to stop its slide.
Once the match got underway, Chicago struck first.
The Fire broke through in the 38th minute following an attack that developed from their own half. Jonathan Bamba helped move Chicago forward before the ball eventually reached Viktor Radojević on the left. Radojević found Maren Haile-Selassie near the edge of the penalty area, and Haile-Selassie curled his finish into the upper corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Chicago took that advantage into halftime and continued protecting it as New York searched for an equalizer.
Then, in the 65th minute, the moment many inside Sports Illustrated Stadium had been waiting for arrived.
Lewandowski entered the match for Philip Zinckernagel, making his first appearance at Sports Illustrated Stadium as a Chicago Fire player.
With Lewandowski now leading the Chicago attack, the Red Bulls continued pressing for a way back into the game.
New York head coach Michael Bradley had already begun turning to his bench. Omar Valencia entered in the 56th minute, followed shortly afterward by veteran forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. As the match moved toward its closing stages, those changes helped New York increase the pressure on Chicago.
The breakthrough finally came in the 86th minute.
Valencia and Choupo-Moting helped create the opportunity before Cameron Harper, another Red Bulls substitute, met the ensuing cross with a header that beat Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady and brought Sports Illustrated Stadium to life.
After spending nearly 50 minutes chasing Chicago’s lead, New York was level at 1-1.
Neither side found another goal before the final whistle.
For the Red Bulls, Harper’s late equalizer salvaged a point on a night when they had trailed since the first half.
For Chicago, the result ended its six-match winning streak but extended its unbeaten run across all competitions to seven matches — the club’s longest such streak since 2017.
And on a Saturday night that began with much of the attention surrounding Lewandowski’s arrival in New Jersey, it was ultimately a Red Bulls substitute who delivered the final defining moment.
Red Bull New York 1, Chicago Fire 1.
