Charlotte FC dealt a rare home loss to Chicago Fire as MLS playoff chase heats up

Charlotte FC’s Saturday night got off to a fast and historic start, but it ended in a rare home loss that might sting for a while.

Despite a goal from veteran Yordy Reyna in the first minute — the 26th second, in fact — MLS Eastern Conference foe Chicago Fire fought back and then outlasted the Queen City side for a 3-2 win in Bank of America Stadium.

Saturday night marked only the fourth home loss of the season for the newest MLS expansion team.

“I am very proud of our boys,” head coach Christian Lattanzio told reporters post-match. “I’m very proud because they played to score goals. They played to create. They played until the end. And so, yes, sometimes they conceded an offensive transition. But to get the right balance between playing and not conceding, I think even the biggest team in the world, they have difficulties in doing that. I’d rather have my team trying to create chances and score goals.”

The loss temporarily bumps Charlotte out of the seven-team MLS Eastern Conference playoff picture. It’s a particularly unfortunate result considering the fact that FC is next visiting some of the league’s best teams in Los Angeles and New York — running a real risk of dropping three straight and losing touch in a playoff field that, at present, is remarkably tight: CFC is in the No. 11 position and has accumulated 29 points; the four teams above CFC each have 30 apiece.

Charlotte FC is looking to be only the sixth expansion team in MLS history to make the playoffs in its inaugural season.

“We have 10 games to go,” Lattanzio added. “There is still time. Obviously, we are all disappointed tonight. But listen, we have to grow as a club, and the road to grow also goes through these kinds of games.”

Reyna’s goal made him only the first player in MLS history to have scored in the first 30 seconds of a match on two separate occasions in the same season. The first time? He scored in the 25th second at Inter Miami in July.

Other goals were scored by Charlotte FC’s Karol Swiderski (45th minute), his second in two games, and Chicago’s Kacper Przybylko (21st and 52nd minute) and Federico Navarro (24th minute).

Here’s what else you need to know.

Guzman Corujo: a second big loss

Guzman Corujo, one of the team’s most valuable defenders and leaders who “always plays with his heart,” exited Saturday’s match in the first half after sustaining a lower-body injury.

“I just talked with the medical department, and they said it doesn’t look great,” Lattanzio said, a bit deflated.

He added that he believes it is an injury of the defender’s knee, and that “sometimes things look worse than they really are, so we need to be conservative and wait for the extent of the injury.”

The coach added: “This is what saddened me most, if I have to be honest. Obviously I’m not happy with the result, but what makes me more sad tonight is the fact that it looks like Guzman is... we are still evaluating because he needs to do exams. But it doesn’t look great.”

Jaylin Lindsey on the game’s physicality

Jaylin Lindsey played well on Saturday. It was only his third start since the beginning of June.

The defender’s biggest highlight arrived in the first minute, when he intercepted a Chicago Fire clear attempt down the sideline, took a touch and dropped in a beautiful cross to Reyna, who headed the ball in for the goal.

It marked Lindsey’s second assist on the season. He called earning that assist a “relief” after a slew of promising opportunities earlier this season that didn’t quite pan out.

He also addressed the match’s physicality: Saturday saw a lot of 50-50 balls turn into full-speed collisions, and even a few shoving matches broke out on the pitch.

Said Lindsey: “I feel like that’s something our team needs, a little chippy-ness. To let teams know that they can’t just come into our place and just play around. They’re coming here and we’re going to give them a little knock here and there, and show them we’re actually here, you know what I mean? I think this is that first game in that step to be more aggressive.”

Christian Fuchs returns to starting lineup

Veteran and headlining defender Christian Fuchs notched his first start since July 23, when the team traveled to Toronto and fell 4-0. The former Premier League champion and current Charlotte FC captain came off the bench in CFC’s 3-0 victory over D.C. United earlier this week.

“When you don’t play a full game for a few weeks, it doesn’t matter how experienced you are, it takes a little bit,” Lattanzio said.

After Corujo’s early exit, Fuchs shifted from left-back to sweeper. Lattanzio gave Fuchs credit for his leadership and adaptability.

The coach also addressed the most important play of the second half, which saw a deep ball turn into a one-on-one matchup between Fuchs and Przybylko.

The play resulted in Przybylko’s second goal on the night, which delivered Chicago a 3-2 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“In the end, when it’s 1-v-1, the guy (Przybylko) is very good, and he has a big space to attack, and his finish was good, so we have to give him credit for that,” Lattanzio said.

Clint Dempsey the subject of Charlotte FC coronation

Clint Dempsey, one of the all-time best American soccer players, was honored pre-match in Bank of America Stadium.

The U.S. Men’s National Team legend was the subject of CFC’s coronation on Saturday night — seated atop his perch at the “throne” in the supporter’s section, wearing a powder-blue jersey and CFC scarf, mean-mugging for the cameras. He had a crown placed on his head by a fan to complete the ceremony.

Other notes

▪ Per the club, the match’s attendance was 32,538 on Saturday night.

▪ Fans saw and met Dempsey, a USMNT legend of old, but they also were offered a glimpse of a goalkeeper who some say can be the USMNT star of the future. Gabriel Slonina, who’s on loan in Chicago from Premier League giant Chelsea, has started for the U.S. at the U-15 level all the way up to U-20. He’s only 18.

▪ FC made several roster additions earlier this week on MLS deadline day. The acquisitions: attacking midfielder Nuno Santos, defender Adilson Malanda and defender Nathan Byrne. Lattanzio said Byrne and Malanda have already begun training with the team, and that he introduced himself to Santos prior to Saturday’s match.