CHICAGO (AP) — Philip Zinckernagel scored early in the second half, Maren Haile-Selassie had a late goal and an assist, and the Chicago Fire beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Tuesday night in a matchup of former Bayern Munich teammates Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller.
Lewandowski and Müller spent eight seasons together at Bayern from 2014-22. The stars were supposed to reunite in Major League Soccer months ago before wildfires postponed the highly anticipated matchup.
Lewandowski’s unselfish pass to a wide-open Haile-Selassie at the back post capped the scoring in the 88th minute. Lewandowski, who returned to Chicago early from international duty with Poland after a yellow-card suspension ruled him out of Monday’s match, has six goals and three assists through his first 12 MLS appearances.
Chicago (13-8-6) moved past Charlotte into fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The top four finishers earn home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Vancouver (15-7-5) remains atop the Western Conference with 50 points, three ahead of St. Louis and Dallas.
Jonathan Bamba opened the scoring in the ninth minute for his first goal since March 21. The Fire’s designated player dribbled to the top of the 18-yard box and bent a shot past goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
Zinckernagel finished a nice give-and-go with Haile-Selassie to make it 2-0 in the 50th. Zinckernagel’s first goal since May came after he missed a penalty kick in the first half.
Vancouver defender Mathias Laborda scored in the 73rd by heading in Oliver Larraz’s corner kick.
UP NEXT
Whitecaps: Visit LAFC on Saturday.
Fire: Host New York City FC on Saturday.
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The Associated Press
