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player ready...FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Chicago Fire jumped out to an early two-goal lead and withstood a furious second-half comeback led by Luis Suárez in a 5-3 win over Inter Miami on Tuesday night.
With the victory, the Fire (15-11-6) secured their first MLS playoff berth since 2017 and improved to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Fire are in their first season under former U.S. national team coach Gregg Berhalter, who took over a last-place team that had made only one postseason appearance in the previous 12 seasons. The Fire haven’t won a playoff round since reaching the conference finals in 2009.
Lionel Messi was held scoreless for the second straight game as Inter Miami, which already clinched a playoff spot, slipped to 16-7-8. The loss hurt Miami’s hopes of winning the Supporters’ Shield. The Philadelphia Union can secure the regular-season title with a win over New York City FC.
The Fire seized the lead early as Dje D’Avilla opened the scoring with a header in the 11th minute and Jonathan Dean scored on a breakaway in the 31st.
Miami cut the deficit to 2-1 when Tomás Avilés scored at the 39-minute mark, but Chicago’s Romingue Kouamé restored the two-goal advantage just before halftime.
Suárez pulled Miami within one with a goal in the 57th minute, and the Uruguayan tied the score at 3 when he scored off an assist from Jordi Alba in the 74th.
Justin Reynolds’ tap-in at the back post in the 80th minute put the Fire back in front 4-3, and Brian Gutierrez added an insurance goal on a hard shot from just outside the box in the 83rd.
The game was originally scheduled for Aug. 30 but was postponed when Inter Miami made the Leagues Cup Final, which it lost to Seattle 3-0.
Miami made five changes to the lineup it used in a 1-1 tie with Toronto on Saturday, including replacing all defenders except Jordi Alba. That tie halted a three-game MLS winning streak.