Miami (AFP) – Chicago Fire booked their place in the Major League Soccer playoffs on Tuesday with a roller coaster 5-3 victory over Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. Miami striker Luis Suarez scored twice to level it at 3-3 after Inter had trailed 3-1 against Gregg Berhalter’s well-organized Chicago side. But Suarez’s second-half brace was in vain as a weary Miami — playing their sixth game in 17 days — ran out of steam before conceding two late goals at home in Fort Lauderdale.
Chicago’s win sees them return to the MLS postseason for the first time since 2017, and marks a successful return to club management for Berhalter, the former United States coach who was sacked from the national team last year. “It was an objective of ours to reach the playoffs, and we’ve achieved it with two games left,” Berhalter said afterwards. “But for us it’s about continuing to build a strong team that can win.”
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Despite Miami dominating possession, Chicago’s energy on the counterattack repeatedly troubled Miami in the first half. Ivorian midfielder Dje D’Avilla headed Chicago in front from a corner in the 11th minute before a superb goal on the break from Jonathan Dean made it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark. Although Miami pulled one back from Tomas Aviles in the 39th minute, another breakaway goal from Rominingue Kouame just before half-time restored Chicago’s two-goal lead.
Uruguayan veteran Suarez led a Miami fightback after the break, tucking away a low finish in the 57th minute before curling in an equalizer to make it 3-3 in the 74th minute. But Miami’s suspect defense conceded a soft goal tapped in from close range by Justin Pledger Reynolds in the 80th minute to put Chicago 4-3 up. There was little Miami could do about Chicago’s fifth though, with US international Brian Gutierrez unleashing a rocket which flew into the top corner from 25 yards in the 83rd minute.
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