Berhalter urges defensive improvement as Lewandowski's Chicago host Messi's Miami

Gregg Berhalter believes his Chicago Fire side have "got to be better at defending" ahead of their huge clash with Inter Miami.

Chicago host Miami on Wednesday at Soldier Field, with just five points separating the two sides in second and third in the Eastern Conference (Miami are second).

The Fire head into the game on the back of three consecutive draws, most recently sharing the points in an eight-goal thriller with Toronto FC.

Chicago took the lead twice throughout the contest, including a 4-3 advantage thanks to Robert Lewandowski's strike, but they had to settle for just a point after conceding in stoppage time.

The Fire are yet to keep a clean sheet in MLS since returning from the World Cup break, and Berhalter admitted improvements are needed.

"The feeling in the locker room was disappointment, and I think that's a good thing, because we expected to win and we didn’t do it," Berhalter said about their draw with Toronto.

"So what we talked about was the focus at the end of the game. We got ourselves back into it, we took the lead, and it was really about how do we prevent that one attack that they had at the end? And we didn't do it well, and they ended up getting the tie.

"For us, we’ve got to be better at defending, we've got to be more compact. Offensively, we’re creating enough. We're doing enough to score goals."

Miami, meanwhile, have struggled since their Leagues Cup campaign, winning just one of their five MLS games since (D2 L2).

Casemiro and Luis Suarez both scored last time out against Atlanta United, with Lionel Messi assisting the former, but a Breel Embolo penalty saw the Herons settle for a 2-2 draw.

A win for Chicago in this fixture could close the gap to just two points between the two sides, while the Fire also have a game in hand.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chicago Fire – Robert Lewandowski

Lewandowski has scored five goals in eight games for the Fire, becoming the fifth Fire player to score at least five goals in his first eight regular-season matches.

The team record is seven in a player’s first nine games for the Fire, set by Mike Magee in July 2013.

Inter Miami – Lionel Messi

Messi provided the primary assist to Casemiro for Miami’s opening goal Saturday, the 16th different goalscorer to whom Messi has registered the primary assist since he joined the league in 2023, third most in that time behind Evander (21) and Cristian Espinoza (19).

Messi is the only player to provide primary assists to more than 15 different teammates with one team since 2023.

MATCH PREDICTION – CHICAGO FIRE WIN

Chicago are unbeaten in their last six regular-season matches (W3 D3), the Fire’s longest unbeaten run since an 11-game stretch from May to July 2017.

The Fire have won each of their last three home league games, and the last time they won four straight at home was a team-record nine straight from April to August 2017.

Miami have dropped points in three of the last four games they have led at half-time (W1 D3), including their draw with Atlanta. Miami have done this one other time in regular-season play, losing three times in a four-game span when leading at half-time from October 2020 to April 2021.

However, Miami have lost only one of five meetings with Chicago since the start of the 2024 season (W3 D1), including posting a 3–2 home win on July 22. The Herons have avoided defeat in each of their last two visits to Chicago, winning in August 2024 and drawing in April 2025.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chicago Fire – 42%

Draw – 26.7%

Inter Miami – 31.3%