Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 2-2 as Lions Blow Two-Goal Lead in Chicago

After dropping two points at the death Saturday against New York City FC, Orlando City entered Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field needing a win and a Dallas win over Columbus to clinch a seventh consecutive playoff berth. For a while, it seemed that the Lions would take care of their part of that scenario, but despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead against the run of play, Orlando City (12-13-7, 43 points) conceded twice in the second half to finish in a 2-2 draw on the road against the Chicago Fire (15-10-7, 52 points).

Ivan Angulo and Antoine Griezmann provided a couple of moments of magic to lead the Lions to a 2-0 halftime advantage. But Jonathan Bamba and Maren Haile-Selasse struck back for a Chicago team that had plenty of opportunities to take even more from the game than a single point.

“It was a first half where the guys performed and did a complete job,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game. “In the second half, we are facing a really good team. I think we did fine. We couldn’t do as well as we want. We competed – it’s a point and we’re not happy.”

This has been a common statement the last couple of weeks as Orlando has given up the lead three times in four games, conceding the tying goal at Toronto in the 90th minute on Oct. 14, in the 10th minute of stoppage time Saturday vs. New York City FC, and tonight in the 69th minute, as the Lions have dropped six points from a winning position in the last four matches.

Perelman made three changes for this game from the team that started on Saturday at home. Maxime Crepeau continued his hot second half of the season in goal behind a back line of Vinicius Nogueira, David Brekalo, Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Luis Otavio and Braian Ojeda started in the central midfield (with Eduard Atuesta out with a suspension for yellow card accumulation) with Angulo and Justin Ellis filling the outside channels as the wingers. Martin Ojeda and Griezmann started up top.

The game started with a ton of pressure from Chicago. Three opportunities in the first 60 seconds was a worrying way to start, and Orlando never really got anything put together on the offensive end until Griezmann turned Angulo loose down the left side in the sixth minute. Angulo pushed his way into the box, held off Leonardo Barroso, and slotted the opening goal inside the far post.

Chicago continued the onslaught of possession for the next five minutes until Griezmann took the ball into the box but couldn’t get anything on his first-time shot after trying to gather in a pass that was a bit behind him. That provided no relief to Orlando, and at the 15-minute mark, Anton Saletros, given too much space outside the area, ripped a shot on goal that a fully outstretched Crepeau was able to parry away with a big diving save. It was the Fire’s first real threat, even with all their pressure.

Robert Lewandowski volleyed a cross off the far post in the 18^th minute as the Lions could find no way to maintain possession and get themselves some rest. Brekalo lunged in for a tackle on Lewandowski in the 20^th minute and gave away a free kick from 25 yards away but Philip Zinckernagel fired it over the crossbar.

The only threat Orlando showed was on counters and, in the 24^th minute, Otavio broke down the left side and tried to cross it in to Martin Ojeda, but it was deflected out for a corner. Five minutes later, Sergio Oregel Jr. hacked down Griezmann outside the box and picked up a yellow card. Martin Ojeda fired the ensuing free kick through the wall but right at goalkeeper Chris Brady and he didn’t allow a rebound.

In the 33^rd minute, Barroso crossed it to Saletros in the center of the box but his header went over the crossbar. On the ensuing possession by the Lions, Griezmann waited for the back line to drop and put him back onside, took a Nogueira pass at the 35-minute mark, touched the ball left to use the defender as a screen, and fired a 25-yarder to the top left corner that Brady had no shot to get to. Orlando could not possess the ball all game but seemed to find gaps on counters, and Griezmann scored in his fifth straight game to go with his earlier assist.

Things almost went sideways for Orlando as the first half wrapped to a close. Jack Elliott fouled Justin Ellis hard at the 45-minute mark, and picked up a yellow card for it, but Ellis responded with a kick out at Elliott. It was soft, but the video assistant referee called referee Marcos de Oliveira over to the monitor to review it, and he chose to issue Ellis a yellow card. Issuing a red card would’ve been harsh but justified.

Chicago owned the first half stats, leading in possession (58%-42%), shots (12-6), passing accuracy (91%-87%), and corners (2-1). Orlando led in shots on target (4-3) and obviously the most important stat, holding a 2-0 lead.

At the half, Bamba came on for Oregel. Chicago continued its bad behavior of not sharing the ball to start the second half. When the Lions finally got the ball, Martin Ojeda was turned loose down the middle by Angulo in the 51^st minute, but he couldn’t gather the ball at a good angle and ended up taking a tight-angled shot that missed the target. Bamba fired one over the crossbar on a pass from Anzor Mekvabishvili on the ensuing possession.

All Orlando could do over the next few minutes was clear the ball out of the defensive areas, either for corners or throw-ins. Finally, the wall broke under the pressure, and in the 57^th minute Barroso chased down a wide clearance and crossed it to Bamba, who headed it past Crepeau.

Brekalo failed to run out a wayward pass by Iago in the 62^nd minute, which luckily turned into nothing but was emblematic of Orlando’s inability to secure and retain the ball. Martin Ojeda ran offside on a through ball on the possession after that, and that was Orlando’s only real threat in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Lewandowski was slipped in by Saletros in the 66^th minute, but he fired it wide right as his scoreless streak continued.

The ongoing field tilt eventually broke again in the 69^th minute as Haile-Selassie fired one past Crepeau once Bamba laid it off for him at the back post.

That second Chicago goal was the 74th conceded by Orlando in 2026, tying the club’s single-season record for most goals conceded set back in 2018. There are two matches remaining and both against teams in the top five of the Eastern Conference.

Chicago continued to own the ball and Brekalo, who had been flirting with a card all night, picked one up in the 76^th minute for shouldering Lewandowski in the chest to the ground to prevent a dangerous counter. Orlando City then subbed in Daryl Dike for Ellis as the first sub of the game — well after the state of the game had changed, and quite late for a team that had played just three days earlier.

At the 80-minute mark, Haile-Selassie shook off emergency defending from Dike on the wing and centered the ball to Philip Zinckernagel. He fired a shot at the back post but didn’t get enough bend on it and it went wide.

Perelman finally brought on more fresh legs in the 82^nd minute by subbing in Adrian Marin for Nogueira and Marco Pasalic for Martin Ojeda. Chicago also swapped two out, putting Jonathan Dean in for Barroso and Noah Allen in for Andrew Gutman.

Dike’s presence as a true target forward allowed Orlando to hold up play once or twice and relieve pressure. It didn’t change the overall tenor, but it did provide minimal relief as it provided an outlet the team hadn’t had.

Bamba continued to try to take over the game and rifled one from outside the box in the 89^th minute but it was blocked. The block led to a counter by Orlando City but Pasalic’s shot was wasted high and right.

As the teams were lining up for a corner in the third minute of added time, Perelman broke convention and subbed in Wilder Cartagena for Braian Ojeda to bring in height. In the recycling action after the corner, Puso Dithejane beat Marin down the right side and crossed a ball to Bamba at the spot. Bamba scuffed it softly right to Crepeau as the last threatening action of the game.

The stats told the same story at the end of the game that they did at halftime. Chicago led in possession (59%-41%), shots (21-9), passing accuracy (90%-84%), and corners (8-3), while shots on target were tied (6-6).

“We started strong but unfortunately had a bad second half and conceded two goals because we dropped our level,” Otavio said.

“I think this group of players has been fighting a lot. Now we’re at the end, fighting to secure that (playoff) spot,” Perelman said. “I think it’s important to remind (everyone) where we come from, how did we start the season, and where we are now. The entire club gave effort during the season to earn every point we have and we’ll do the same thing to finish the season.”

With the draw, Orlando remains in seventh, tied with Cincinnati in eighth on points, but holding a slight edge in the wins tiebreaker.

The Lions complete their two-game road trip in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon.