Monterrey vs Chicago Fire — Leagues Cup: stats, lineups & analysis
Match Events
- 29′Monterrey, yellow card:
- 37′Chicago Fire, yellow card:
- 42′Monterrey, missed penalty:Missed penalty
- 45′Monterrey, goal:1–0assist
- 45+3′Chicago Fire, yellow card:
- Half-time1 – 0
- 57′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 57′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 59′Chicago Fire, goal:1–1assist
- 63′Chicago Fire, yellow card:
- 72′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 80′Chicago Fire, yellow card:
- 83′Monterrey, goal:2–1
- 84′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 86′Monterrey, substitution:off
- 87′Monterrey, yellow card:
- 90+1′Monterrey, substitution:off
- 90+1′Monterrey, substitution:off
- 90+3′Monterrey, yellow card:
- 90+5′Monterrey, substitution:off
- 90+5′Monterrey, substitution:off
- Full-time2 – 1
Lineups
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Key Stats
Top Performers
Best rated
Goals
Assists
Player Ratings
Monterrey
Chicago Fire
Match report
Monterrey edge Chicago Fire in Leagues Cup quarter-final thriller
Monterrey beat Chicago Fire 2-1 in the Leagues Cup quarter-finals, holding off a spirited response from the visitors after leading at the break. The result continued a strong recent run for Almeyda's side despite a mixed run of league form in the weeks before this tie.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Víctor Guzmán broke the deadlock deep into first-half stoppage time, turning in a chance created by Gerardo Arteaga to send Monterrey in 1-0 up at half-time. Chicago Fire responded early in the second half through Philip Zinckernagel, who finished off a assist from Andrew Gutman to level the score at 1-1 in the 59th minute. Orbelín Pineda then restored Monterrey's advantage in the 83rd minute, settling the contest at 2-1.
Monterrey were the more direct side in front of goal, registering 16 shots to Chicago Fire's eight, despite the visitors enjoying more of the ball with 55 percent possession to Monterrey's 45. Chicago Fire arrived on the back of five straight unbeaten results, but it was Monterrey's clinical edge in front of goal that proved decisive on the night.
Víctor Guzmán scored the opening goal in first-half stoppage time and finished with the highest rating on the pitch at 8.2, edging out fellow scorers Orbelín Pineda and Philip Zinckernagel who both rated 7.9.
Monterrey more than doubled Chicago Fire's shot count, firing 16 attempts to the visitors' eight despite having less of the ball.
Monterrey beat Chicago Fire 2–1 (half-time 1–0).
Monterrey met Chicago Fire in the Leagues Cup (Quarter-finals). Kick-off was Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 00:30 UTC at SeatGeek Stadium. Referee: Rubiel Vazquez.
Team pages: Monterrey · Chicago Fire · Leagues Cup
Key moments
- 45' Goal: Víctor Guzmán (assist: Gerardo Arteaga) — 1–0
- 59' Goal: Philip Zinckernagel (assist: Andrew Gutman) — 1–1
- 83' Goal: Orbelín Pineda — 2–1
Starting line-ups
Monterrey (4-2-3-1)
Chicago Fire (4-3-3)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Monterrey 27%, the draw 27%, Chicago Fire 46%. It finished Monterrey 2–1 Chicago Fire.
Chicago Fire's rating edge, but the draw is in play — Chicago Fire are the stronger side on our strength rating, and neutral ground on top gives Chicago Fire the lean. The draw at 27% is about what a gap this size usually leaves.
Why Chicago Fire at 46%?
Chicago Fire sit 113 points higher on our strength rating — 1521 to 1634. Sides with a 100–200-point rating edge on the road won 40.1% of 13,091 such games. A final at a neutral venue: Monterrey lose the usual home lift, so the class read is re-centred. On grounds we detect as neutral, listed-home sides won 44.5% of 27,022 games vs 45.2% at real homes.
Why only 46%?
Monterrey hold 10 more possession points (60 to 50 in recent games) across a 113-point rating gap. Control now carries a receipt beyond near-equals too: sides with this control edge at a 75–150-point rating gap won 42.6% of 8,622 such games where the class table expected 41.3%.
Why is the draw second, level with the Monterrey win?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 27.2%. These teams' recent games average 3.0 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.6% of 24,869. Neutral ground takes 1.5 points off the draw. The control factor adds 1.2 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Chicago Fire scored +0.36 goals per game beyond chance-quality lately — hot streaks like that have cooled off. Measured across 2,793 games at this rating gap, hot-finishing sides won 42.1% vs 42.9% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it scores 0 until the receipt clears its evidence bar. Monterrey arrive with 15 fully-tracked matches, so their strength number is a first estimate that will move quickly; Chicago Fire bring a 421-game record. New-to-the-record sides are where our rating knows least.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Monterrey vs Chicago Fire final score and result, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Leagues Cup fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
The full match report above covers the goals, key moments and stats. Explore more on the Monterrey and Chicago Fire team pages or the Leagues Cup page.