Toronto FC would have liked to get back to winning ways after two draws before the international break. Historically Toronto FC has always had a good record against Chicago Fire, last losing to them at home in September 2013. Unfortunately, Chicago Fire came with everything they had.
In the first half of the match possession by Toronto FC was far superior but both the teams played equally well. With Toronto FC’s Matty Longstaff getting a chance in the 14th minute and Toronto continuing to press well, Chicago Fire broke the gridlock in the 41st minute with a header from Maren Haile-Selussie. Toronto retaliated in perfect time with a goal from Toronto’s captain Insigne in the 44th minute of the match. VAR reviewed the goal and when allowed, the voice of the fans could be heard all around the stadium.
Chicago Fire started the second half strong scoring a goal in the 57th minute from the centre of the box by Hugo Cuypers. They did not waste any time and continued to press Toronto FC’s defence allowing Chicago’s defender Pineda to score from outside the box to make it 3-1. In the 66th minute, it looked like Chicago would put in another but the shot was blocked. In the 89th minute, a beautiful shot from Chicago’s Arigoni was put past Toronto’s goalkeeper Gravan to make the score 4-1.
It is no secret that Bernadeshi was missed for Toronto FC, having 12 goal contributions in his last 8 matches. He picked up a red card playing against New York City FC and was forced to miss this match.
During the post-match conference Toronto FC head coach John Herdman said this
”I apologize to the fans. We gave goals away tonight at home. The loss is very raw and the real us have to show up on Wednesday.
Toronto FC head coach John Herdman post-match comments after todays 4-1 loss
One of the main focuses after the match was if Toronto FC took Chicago Fire seriously enough. Now everyone must see what happens on the 19th of June when Toronto play Nashville at home. Hoping to get the team back on track to winning ways.