By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Chicago Fire FC rallied from an early deficit Saturday night to defeat Atlanta United FC 3-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, clinching the club’s first regular-season league victory at the Atlanta venue.
The win moved the Fire to 15-10-6 on the season with 51 points, keeping the club in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with the MLS Cup Playoffs approaching. Three different goal scorers contributed to the comeback against Atlanta, which fell to 8-17-6.
Atlanta struck first in the fourth minute when a turnover in the Chicago defensive third sparked a counterattack. The hosts converted, and the Fire found themselves chasing the game early.
Chicago mounted sustained pressure, earning five corner kicks in the first half alone, according to the match recap on the Fire’s website. On the fourth corner, winger Philip Zinckernagel’s kick was headed by forward Robert Lewandowski before being cleared. Midfielder Anton Salétros recovered the ball outside the box and sent a low shot through traffic to equalize in the 30th minute.
The Fire carried that momentum into the second half. Midfielder Anzor Mekvabishvili, who entered at halftime, pounced on a loose pass off a goal kick just six minutes after the break to give Chicago a 2-1 lead. It was Mekvabishvili’s first goal in Major League Soccer in only his third appearance with the club.
Zinckernagel extended the advantage to 3-1 in the 60th minute, blasting a short-range shot to the top of the net after Salétros set up an indirect free kick inside the Atlanta penalty area. The goal was Zinckernagel’s seventh of the campaign and his team-leading fifth game-winning goal of 2026, tying Andy Herron (2006) and Nemanja Nikolić (2017) for the fourth-most in a single season in club history, according to the team.
Atlanta forward Breel Embolo headed home a second goal in the 68th minute to cut the deficit, and the match turned physical down the stretch. Referees issued a combined five yellow cards in the final 22 minutes.
The Fire held on to secure three points that clinched back-to-back 15-win seasons for the first time since 2001, according to the club. Chicago also reached 50 or more points in consecutive campaigns for the first time in 25 years.
Director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter has now collected 30 wins since taking over in 2025, the most for a Fire coach in his first two seasons since Bob Bradley’s 38 victories in 1998 and 1999, according to the team’s match notes.
Salétros recorded his first multi-goal-contribution match with Chicago, scoring his fourth goal of the season and adding the assist on Zinckernagel’s strike. Mekvabishvili led all but two players on the field with seven recoveries in 45 minutes of play.
Chicago held 60 percent possession and outshot Atlanta 12-8 on the night, with each side putting three shots on target.
Defenders Jack Elliott (suspension), Sam Rogers (lower body), and midfielders André Franco (lower body) and Robin Lod (lower body) were unavailable for the match.
The Fire return home Wednesday to host Orlando City SC at SeatGeek Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. The match opens the final two-game week of the MLS regular season.
