Chicago Fire FC (16-11-7, 55 points) closed out the 2026 MLS Regular Season with a 4-3 loss to the Columbus Crew (13-13-7, 46 points) on Saturday afternoon at SeatGeek Stadium.
Chicago finished the season in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, its highest position since finishing third in 2017. Forward Robert Lewandowski recorded his second multi-goal appearance with Chicago as winger Maren Haile-Selassie scored in a sixth consecutive home match.
Lewandowski kicked off the match with a shot that was handled in the box by a Columbus defender just minutes in. The referee pointed to the spot and the Polish striker sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to score for the second game in a row.
After Columbus forward Gonzalo Tapia tied the match in the 16th minute, the referee gave the Fire another penalty, this time on a foul to winger Philip Zinckernagel. Lewandowski again took the kick, this time placing a ball beyond the reach of the Crew's Patrick Schulte to put Chicago up 2-1 in the 22nd minute.
The lead was short-lived as Columbus equalized seconds later, but the Fire regained the lead before halftime. Four minutes into first half stoppage time, Zinckernagel sent a ball forward to captain Anton Salétros on the right wing, who crossed toward Lewandowski. The Polish striker nearly had a hat trick, but his header instead glanced off the near post and into the path of Haile-Selassie to finish easily.
Seeking a home match in the upcoming postseason, Tapia leveled the score for a second time in the afternoon just past the hour mark. Both sides sprinted forward looking for a lead through the end of regulation time, but Columbus got the final say with a goal three minutes into stoppage time to clinch seventh place in the East.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago heads to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive year, taking on Charlotte FC for the first time in postseason play. Information about the dates, times, and locations of the upcoming Best-of-3 series will be published in the coming days. The match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV, and transmitted locally on wlsam.com in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 on the Uforia platform in Spanish.
Match Notes:
- Chicago wrapped up the 2026 MLS Regular Season with 55 points and fourth place in the East, both the highest since the 2017 campaign. The three goals scored against Columbus helped the 2026 squad finish the campaign with 65 goals, the third-highest scoring season in Club history behind last year's record of 68 and the 67 scored in 2000.
- Forward Robert Lewandowski recorded his second multi-goal appearance of the regular season – and his second straight with two goal contributions – finishing with nine goals and five assists. He also finished the year with three penalty goals without a miss after his pair today.
- Winger Maren Haile-Selassie clinched a share of the team's 2026 Golden Boot with his team-leading 13th goal of the season, his eighth at home. It marked his sixth consecutive home match with a goal, the longest home scoring streak in Club history since Nemanja Nikolić scored in seven straight from 2017 to 2018.
- Midfielder André Franco made his first appearance at home since the 2025 season. His last home match also came against Columbus on Sept. 27, 2025, recording an assist in the 1-1 draw against the Crew at Soldier Field.
- With a postseason spot clinched, Chicago has secured qualification for Leagues Cup 2027, the annual Concacaf-sanctioned competition featuring 18 qualifying MLS clubs and all 18 LIGA MX clubs.
- Defender Sam Rogers (Lower Body) and midfielders Robin Lod (Lower Body) and Mauricio Pineda (Lower Body) were not available for selection.
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Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 3:4 Columbus Crew
Goals:
CHI - Lewandowski (8) (Penalty) (WATCH) 8’
CLB - Tapia (5) (Habroune 5, Rodríguez 8) (WATCH) 16’
CHI - Lewandowski (9) (Penalty) (WATCH) 22’
CLB - Zaroury (3) (WATCH) 23’
CHI - Haile-Selassie (13) (WATCH) 45+4’
CLB - Tapia (6) (Amundsen 3, Habroune 6) (WATCH) 62’
CLB - Méndez (6) (WATCH) 90+3’
Discipline:
CHI - Allen (Caution) 11’
CHI - Mbokazi (Caution) 27’
CHI - Bamba (Caution) 53’
CLB - Tapia (Caution) 63'
CLB - Mekvabishvili (Caution) 74'
CLB - Rodríguez (Caution) 79'
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Hanche-Olsen, D Mbokazi (Elliott, 68'), D Allen (Gutman, 46'), M Salétros (capt.), M D'Avilla (Mekvabishvili, 46'), M Zinckernagel (Dithejane, 83'), M Bamba (Franco, 69'), F Lewandowski, F Haile-Selassie
Subs not used: GK Cohen, D Barroso, M Oregel, Jr., F Gómez
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
Columbus Crew: GK Schulte, D Farsi (Lennon, 83'), D Moreira, D Zawadzki (capt.), D Amundsen, M Zaroury (Herrera, 83'), M Chambost (Gomes, 78'), M Bangoura (Méndez, 46'), M Habroune, F Rodríguez, F Tapia (Thiaré, 90+1')
Subs not used: GK Hagen, D Bailly, M Giaccone, F Martínez
Head Coach: Laurent Courtois (Interim)
Stats Summary: CHI / CLB
Shots: 14 / 11
Shots on Goal: 6 / 6
Saves: 2 / 3
Passing Accuracy: 87.5% / 85%
Corners: 6 / 4
Fouls: 15 / 14
Offsides: 3 / 1
Possession: 51.3% / 48.7%
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Illinois)
Attendance: 19,419
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Mike Nickerson
Fourth Official: Igor Bych
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
AVAR: Kathryn Nesbitt