Chicago Fire FC defeated LA Galaxy 1-0 in the team’s fourth and final match of the Coachella Valley Invitational Saturday afternoon at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California. Brian Gutiérrez scored his third goal in Coachella with a 22nd minute strike from long range that was the difference in the match.
The 2024 MLS Cup champions pushed early on, forcing Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady to make a spectacular one-handed save in the 17th minute and even hitting the crossbar two minutes later. But the Fire kept afloat, and their high press paid dividends quickly. In the 22nd minute, Philip Zinckernagel forced a turnover and immediately passed on to Tom Barlow. The forward laid it up for Gutiérrez, who lashed it home from outside the box to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
With the regular season one week away, both teams kept their starting lineup largely in place to start the second half. Chicago continued to concede possession, hitting back on counter attacks when possible. But Brady became the star of the match, making several saves and cutting off many balls in the air from potential Galaxy chances. His efforts earned him his first clean sheet of the preseason as the team moved on to regular season play next week at Columbus.
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 1:0 LA Galaxy
Goals:
CHI - Gutiérrez (3) (Barlow 1) 22’
Discipline:
LA - Garces (Yellow Card) 53’
CHI - Bamba (Yellow Card) 62’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Terán, D Elliott (Rogers, 46’) , D Gutman, M Oregel Jr., M Acosta (capt.), M Gutiérrez, M Zinckernagel (Kouamé, 60’), M Bamba, F Barlow
Subs not used: None.
LA Galaxy: GK Micovic, D Nelson (Aude, 76’), D Yamane, D Yoshida (Zanka, 72’), D Garces (Cuevas, 82’), M Cerrillo, M Fagundez, M Sanabria (Ramos, Jr., 72’), M Pec, M Reus (Wynder, 46’), F Ramirez (Berry, 72’)
Subs not used: GK Marcinkowski, GK Scott, GK McCarthy, D Zavaleta, D Essengue, M Parente, M Lepley, M Paintsil, M Davis, M Karani, F Bibout
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Ben Pilgrim, Bennett Savage
Fourth Official: Mark Verso