Photo by Joe Pearson
A club-record crowd of 62,358 packed into Soldier Field for the chance to watch Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team on Sunday afternoon. Although Messi missed the last two Inter Miami matches in Chicago due to injury, this was his second match in the city in the last year.
The match moved slowly before a late surge in action. Chicago, coached by Gregg Berhalter, held Messi and his former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez to a handful of scoring opportunities. Messi played the entire match and missed a shot on goal in the fourth minute, and two opportunities to score on free kicks in the second half in his first match against the Chicago Fire since joining the MLS in July 2023.
“It’s nice to see the stadium filled,” Chicago Fire coach Gregg Berhalter said after the match. “I think both teams put on a good effort and a good show for the fans.”
Chicago came close to scoring twice in the opening half with Mauricio Pineda forcing Oscar Ustari into a full stretch save and Philip Zinckernagel struck the outside of the post from a narrow angle. The Fire also missed two moments late in the match to pull off the upset when Jonathan Bamba was stopped twice by Inter Miami goalie Oscar Ustari in the 88th and 89th minutes.
Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady posted his first clean sheet of the season and handed Inter Miami its first scoreless match of the 2025 MLS season. Dje D’Avilla made his MLS debut when he replaced Mauricio Pineda in the 80th minute. The Fire’s new acquisition had a few touches but didn’t make much of an impact on the match in just over ten minutes on the pitch.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will return to Soldier Field for an Eastern Conference match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, April 19. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.