Luka Stojanović drove home the tie-breaking goal in the third minute of stoppage time, and the visiting Chicago Fire stunned reeling FC Cincinnati with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday night.
Just two minutes after Cincinnati's Tyler Blackett clipped in a cross amid traffic to tie the match at 3-3, Stojanović drilled a laser from outside of the top of the box that just cleared the arm of leaping FCC goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń. It's just the second road victory of the season for Chicago (8-16-7, 31 points), which like Cincinnati, has already been eliminated from playoff contention.
CHICAGO WINS IT WITH A ROCKET!
Luka Stojanovic with basically the last kick of the game gives @ChicagoFire the W. pic.twitter.com/g4deTGDfvV— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 21, 2021
After the Fire blew an early 2-0 advantage, Álvaro Medrán put his team back up 3-2 in the 71st minute off a free kick from roughly 20 yards out.
Chicago back on top!
Álvaro Medrán with the free-kick to give #cffc the lead. pic.twitter.com/AI2zvY3sb3— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 21, 2021
However, Blackett responded for Cincinnati (4-18-8, 20 points), but FCC was unable to hold on for a point and has now lost a franchise-worst eight consecutive matches.
Tyler Blackett in stoppage time with his first MLS goal! pic.twitter.com/TfedJ8Chwk
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 21, 2021
Within the first 17 minutes, Robert Berić scored twice over a three-minute span to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. However, Luciano Acosta pulled one back for FC Cincinnati in the 28th minute and Brandon Vazquez tied it eight minutes later.
From 2-0 down to 2-2 in the first half!
Brandon Vazquez brings @fccincinnati level with the touch and finish. pic.twitter.com/m3Datm1n3w— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 21, 2021
Cincinnati drew the first serious scoring chance just six minutes into the match. But Vazquez's point-blank, bounced header was batted over the crossbar by 17-year-old Chicago goalkeeper Gaga Slonina.
From there, it was Berić's time to shine. His first goal of the night came off an easy rebound of Tytoń's initial save in the 14th minute. Three minutes later, Berić took advantage of a misplay of the ball by Tytoń, to tap in an intended cross from teammate Ignacio Aliseda for the 2-0 Chicago edge.
However, FCC did not sulk and stepped up its own pressure, and it was rewarded when Acosta kicked in Vazquez's service near the left post just before the half-hour mark. Vazquez then got in on the scoring when he outraced Chicago defender Jonathan Bornstein to Rónald Matarrita's long ball, then beat Slonina to level the match at 2-2.