Chicago's 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday afternoon was their first of the season, and their first of the Veljko Paunovic era. The conditions were not good:
And in all honesty, the performance wasn't that good either. The Union hit the woodwork three times and – even after going down a man – were able to carve out multiple chances. They outshot the hosts 18-10, and allowed the Fire to put only two shots on target over the course of the game.
But a win's a win, and a third straight good defensive performance is worth celebrating for the Men in Red. Since getting torched in the season-opener against NYCFC (a 4-3 loss), Chicago have allowed just a single goal in 270 minutes. They've done it while alternating between 5-man and 4-man backlines, and by playing almost exclusively on the counter. When they do manage to put together some possession they generally lack incisiveness in the final third.
So they continue to be a work in progress.
I do think, however, that they've figured a few things out through the midfield. One of them is the role of Mikey Stephens, who played as a true No. 8, covering touchline to touchline and box-to-box. The lineup lists him as a central midfielder next to Matt Polster, but the their respective responsibilities are different: In attack, Polster drops deep and initiates possessions from the back while Stephens shuttles the ball to either sideline, getting service to the fullbacks.
Defensively, Polster plugs the middle, while Stephens goes hunting to stop breakouts:
This is the kind of specificity and diversity of roles that was often lacking over the past, like, six years. Bringing it back is, in and of itself, a good thing even as Polster struggles through some early yips with his distribution and a penchant for yellow cards.
Is it enough to make the Fire a playoff team? Not yet. But at least they're pointed in the right direction, and have some pieces in place to pull the franchise out of its rut.
