Coming off a disappointing loss to Columbus Crew last weekend, Toronto FC needed a bounce back performance at home against Bastian Schweinsteiger and the Chicago Fire at BMO Field on Friday. While Toronto’s quality had been on display for long stretches in a bit of a stuttering start to their 2017 MLS campaign, the club entered this fixture on a run in which both amateurish defensive breakdowns and an inability to finish had seen them sitting in lower part of the Eastern Conference table. Within that context, it was encouraging to see Toronto deliver a dominant and complete performance in what turned out to be a relatively easy 3-1 win over Chicago.
The Opening 45
In a sometimes chippy first half, Michael Bradley and company made it clear they were not going to allow Schweinsteiger much time or space on the ball in his maiden visit to BMO Field. In a surprise start, Marky Delgado paired up with Bradley in the midfield and delivered a solid two-way performance.
Beating Chicago like it's 2007.
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TFC opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Víctor Vázquez set up Sebastian Giovinco, with the Italian International delivering an exquisite finish to beat Fire keeper Jorge Bava.
The Reds doubled their lead in the 32nd minute when defender Eriq Zavaleta delivered a well-placed header after a corner kick.
Some fine defensive work by Nick Hagglund enabled Toronto to keep the Fire in check, as Toronto went into the half-time break with a solid lead.
The Second Half
The second forty-five minutes was a relatively pedestrian affair, as the Fire struggled to generate scoring chances against a solid TFC defense.
Giovinco punctuated the eventual victory for Toronto in the 82nd minute when the Italian forward delivered a marvelous free kick goal from just outside the Chicago penalty area.
The Fire denied Alex Bono a clean sheet when David Accam scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute.
Man of the Match
Sebastian Giovinco
The Atomic Ant was back to his best for Toronto on Saturday, scoring a brace and clearly earning a decisive knockout in the superstar marquee match-up against German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger. Taking nothing away from Giovinco’s performance, the Fire did allow the Toronto forward more space than the opposition has in previous fixtures. In that vein, it will be interesting to see how the Italian prodigy excels in future matches.
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