Chicago Fire FC stuns Cruz Azul with Dithejane brace in stoppage time

Chicago Fire FC pulled off an agonizing 2-1 win over Cruz Azul at SeatGeek Stadium, in a match for group 1 of the tournament both clubs are competing in, settled in the dying seconds of stoppage time by a Puso Dithejane brace. Cruz Azul had leveled the score with ten minutes left, but couldn't hold on and ended up falling right as the match was fading out.

A match decided in the final twenty minutes

The first 45 minutes were even and scoreless, with both sides creating clear chances without converting them: Gabriel Fernandez fired a header just wide of the top corner and Jose Paradela tested the keeper from outside the box, while for Chicago Fire, Robert Lewandowski and Philip Zinckernagel also had half-chances without luck. The second half opened in similar fashion until, in the 66th minute, Dithejane struck a right-footed shot from the center of the box to put Fire up 1-0.

Cruz Azul refused to fold and found the equalizer in the 80th minute: Nicolas Ibanez, who had come on just minutes earlier, finished low with his right foot after a through ball from Paradela, a goal that needed VAR confirmation before it was allowed to stand. The draw looked set to split the points, but deep into stoppage time, in the 92nd minute, Dithejane struck again, this time assisted by Maren Haile-Selassie, to complete his brace and make it a final 1-2.

The numbers behind the match

Possession was almost evenly split, but Cruz Azul was the team that got off more shots, though without the sharpness needed in the key moments.

According to our xG estimate calculated from the match's shots, Chicago Fire generated 2.10 expected goals compared to Cruz Azul's 1.591, a gap that reflects how much better the home side made use of its clearest chances at SeatGeek Stadium, even as Cruz Azul held the edge in shot volume.

What the preview said versus what happened on the field

The projection published ahead of the match gave Chicago Fire a 39% chance of winning, Cruz Azul 37% and a draw 24%, with a combined expected goals total of 3.68. The final result ended up lining up with that forecast favoring the visitors, though the path there was far more dramatic than expected: Cruz Azul managed to level the score and only surrendered the lead in stoppage time.

What the result means

With this win, Chicago Fire FC stays atop group 1 with 9 points from 3 matches played, having won all three. Cruz Azul, for its part, doesn't appear in this table, since the group is made up of Major League Soccer clubs. The match highlighted the Mexican side's ability to fight back, having earned at least a share of the points for what it produced in the second half, but it also showcased Dithejane's lethal finishing, as he scored both goals that delivered the three points for the Chicago side in the closing moments.