It was a return to normality for the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night. They fell 3-2 away from home to the Portland Timbers to essentially leave their playoff hopes barren, especially after Orlando City picked up a crucial three points on the same evening.
Any hopes that fans had entering the contest were dashed when the starting line-ups were announced as Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic decided to leave plenty of starters at home. Portland would take advantage of this, scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes. Things only got worse for Chicago soon after when Aleksandar Katai was sent off for elbowing a Timbers player.