ATLANTA (Oct. 24, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC (15-10-6, 51 points) rallied for a 3-2 victory over Atlanta United FC (8-17-6, 30 points) on Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Three different goal scorers gave the Fire their first win in Atlanta in league play.
The hosts took an early lead when a turnover in their box became a counter on the opposite end. Chicago mounted the pressure, earning five corner kicks in the half. On the fourth, winger Philip Zinckernagel's kick was headed by forward Robert Lewandowski before being cleared. Midfielder Anton Salétros recovered the brought down the ball outside the box and sent a low shot that slipped through traffic and in for the equalizer.
The pressure remained through the halftime break, helping the Fire take the lead six minutes into the second half. After sparking a counter that resulted in a miss by winger Maren Haile-Selassie, Anzor Mekvabishvili pounced on a pass off the ensuing goal kick for his first goal with Chicago and the 2-1 lead.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Men in Red forced a back pass in the Atlanta box that the referee called an indirect free kick for. After endless jostling in the six-yard box, Salétros tapped the ball toward Zinckernagel, who made it 3-1 with a blast to the top of the net from short range.
With postseason hopes fading, Atlanta pushed on, finding a second goal off the head of forward Breel Embolo in the 68th minute. The match turned chippy with a combined five yellow cards after Embolo's strike, but the Fire maintained their cool and came away with three crucial points that kept them in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with the postseason around the corner.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago kicks off the final two-game match week of the regular season by playing host to Orlando City SC on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV, and transmitted locally on wlsam.com in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 and Uforia by TREBEL app in Spanish.
Match Notes:
- Six minutes after coming into the match at halftime, Anzor Mekvabishvili tallied his first goal in Major League Soccer in only his third appearance with Chicago. The midfielder was active around the ball, leading all but two players with seven recoveries in just 45 minutes of play.
- Anton Salétros had multiple goal contributions in a match for the first time with Chicago. After scoring his fourth goal of the regular season, the midfielder took the indirect kick on Philip Zinckernagel's goal, giving him a second game-winning assist in 2026.
- Zinckernagel's seventh goal of the campaign was also his team-leading fifth game-winning goal of 2026. The five game-winning goals are tied for fourth-most in a single season with Andy Herron in 2006 and Nemanja Nikolić in 2017.
- One match after clinching back-to-back postseason berths, the Fire also clinched back-to-back 15-win seasons for the first time since 2001. The three points in Atlanta also gave Chicago consecutive campaigns with 50 points or more for the first time since 2001, when a 16-6-5 record gave the Men in Red 53 points and a playoff spot for the fourth year in a row.
- Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter’s 30 wins since 2025 are the most for a Fire coach in his first two seasons since Bob Bradley’s 38 in 1998 and 1999. It is also the most in any two-year stretch since Frank Klopas’ 31 wins between 2012 and 2013. He joins Bradley as the only coaches to have back-to-back 15-win seasons in Club history.
- The victory in Atlanta was Chicago's first in MLS regular season play in nine matches. The Fire fell in their first meeting all-time at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2017, before going seven league matches without a win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. However, the Men in Red have come away with victory at the venue outside league play, defeating the hosts 1-0 on June 20, 2018 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16.
- Defenders Jack Elliott (Suspended) and Sam Rogers (Lower Body), and midfielders André Franco (Lower Body) and Robin Lod (Lower Body) were not available for selection.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #cf97 #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
Box Score:
Atlanta United FC 2:3 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
ATL - Jacob (4) (Almirón 8, Amaro 1) (WATCH) 4'
CHI - Salétros (2) (WATCH) 30'
CHI - Mekvabishvili (1) (WATCH) 51'
CHI - Zinckernagel (7) (Salétros 4) (WATCH) 60'
ATL - Embolo (3) (Báez 6, Amaro 2) (WATCH) 68'
Discipline:
CHI - D'Avilla (Caution) 38’
ATL - Hoyos (Caution) 59'
ATL - DÃaz (Caution) 74'
CHI - Mekvabishvili (Caution) 79'
CHI - Mbokazi (Caution) 81'
CHI - Gómez (Caution) 84'
ATL - Alonso (Caution) 84'
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Dean, D Hanche-Olsen, D Mbokazi, D Allen (Gutman, 68'), M Zinckernagel (Dithejane, 68'), M Salétros (capt.), M D'Avilla (Mekvabishvili, 46'), M Bamba (Barroso, 90+1'), F Lewandowski (Gómez, 68'), F Haile-Selassie
Subs not used: GK Cohen, M Pineda, M Poreba, M Oregel Jr.
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
Atlanta United: GK Hoyos, D Jacob, D DÃaz (Edwards, 80'), D Alonso, D Báez, M Galoppo (Brennan, 87'), M Amaro, M Miranchuk (Picault, 62'), M Fortune (Muyumba, 62'), M Almirón (capt.), F Embolo
Subs not used: GK Hibbert, D Mihaj, M Alzate, M Sanchez, F Santos
Head Coach: Gerardo Martino
\\Stats Summary: ATL / CHI
\\Shots: 8 / 12
Shots on Goal: 3 / 3
Saves: 0 / 1
Passing Accuracy: 76.7% / 80.8%
Corners: 4 / 5
Fouls: 8 / 14
Offsides: 5 / 5
Possession: 40% / 60%
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Diego Blas
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
AVAR: Tom Felice
