Nashville SC vs Chicago Fire — Major League Soccer: stats, lineups & analysis
HighlightsMajor League SoccerYouTubeMatch Events
play_arrow3 clips- 33′Nashville SC, goal:1–0assist
- 36′Nashville SC, yellow card:
- Half-time1 – 0
- 57′Chicago Fire, yellow card:
- 68′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 68′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 68′Nashville SC, substitution:off
- 75′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 78′Nashville SC, goal:2–0assist
- 79′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 79′Chicago Fire, substitution:off
- 83′Nashville SC, substitution:off
- 83′Nashville SC, substitution:off
- 87′Nashville SC, goal:3–0assist
- 90+1′Nashville SC, substitution:off
- 90+1′Nashville SC, substitution:off
- Full-time3 – 0
Lineups
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Key Stats
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Player Ratings
Nashville SC
Chicago Fire
Match report
Nashville SC cruise past Chicago Fire to stay top of the table
Nashville SC secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Chicago Fire at Geodis Park in Major League Soccer's Regular Season - 26, extending their grip on top spot in the standings. Samuel Surridge opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, finishing off a Reed Baker-Whiting assist to send Nashville into the break a goal to the good.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
The hosts pulled away in the second half as Cristian Espinoza doubled the lead in the 78th minute, converting a pass from Andy Najar. Nine minutes later Espinoza turned provider himself, teeing up Hany Mukhtar to complete the scoring in the 87th minute and put the result beyond any doubt.
Nashville dominated proceedings throughout, holding 56 percent of possession and outshooting their visitors 13 to 9, with five shots on target compared to just one for Chicago. The home side's 2.07 expected goals figure against Chicago's 0.96 reflected the gulf in quality chances created over the ninety minutes, as Brian Callaghan's side moved to 57 points from 26 games while Mario Barcena's Chicago remain 11th.
Cristian Espinoza scored once and set up another as Nashville pulled clear in the second half, finishing with a match-high rating of 8.04.
Nashville's 13 shots to Chicago's 9, backed by a superior expected goals return of 2.07 to 0.96, underlined their control of the match.
Nashville SC beat Chicago Fire 3–0 (half-time 1–0).
Nashville SC met Chicago Fire in the Major League Soccer (Regular Season - 26). Kick-off was Sunday, 20 September 2026, 01:30 UTC at Geodis Park. Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez. Attendance: 25,521.
Team pages: Nashville SC · Chicago Fire · Major League Soccer
Key moments
- 33' Goal: Sam Surridge (assist: Reed Baker-Whiting) — 1–0 · Watch Sam Surridge's goal video (33')
- 78' Goal: Cristian Espinoza (assist: Andy Najar) — 2–0 · Watch Cristian Espinoza's goal video (78')
- 87' Goal: Hany Mukhtar (assist: Cristian Espinoza) — 3–0 · Watch Hany Mukhtar's goal video (87')
Starting line-ups
Nashville SC (4-2-3-1)
Chicago Fire (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Nashville SC 63%, the draw 22%, Chicago Fire 15%. It finished Nashville SC 3–0 Chicago Fire.
Nashville SC's rating edge carries it — Nashville SC are the stronger side on our strength rating, and Major League Soccer home advantage on top gives Nashville SC a clear lead. The draw at 22% is held down by a high-scoring environment.
Why Nashville SC at 63%?
Nashville SC sit 116 points higher on our strength rating — 1722 to 1606. Sides with a 100–200-point rating edge at home won 57.1% of 12,822 such games. Major League Soccer home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to away wins (25.8% vs 30.2%). Major League Soccer homes won 49.3% of 5,175 games vs 44.9% across all 100,303 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly. The 300 most similar past games finished 59–21–20.
Why only 63%?
No scored evidence points the other way. 63% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 22% and Chicago Fire at 15%.
Why is the draw only 22%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 24.1%. These teams' recent games average 3.3 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 22.8% of 17,242. The goals environment takes 2.1 points off the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Nashville SC scored +1.20 goals per game beyond chance-quality lately — hot streaks like that have cooled off. Measured across 2,876 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. Chicago Fire scored +0.35 goals per game beyond chance-quality lately — hot streaks like that have cooled off. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
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 Nashville SC vs Chicago Fire final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Major League Soccer 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.
- Watch Sam Surridge's goal against Chicago Fire (33').
- Watch Cristian Espinoza's goal against Chicago Fire (78').
- Watch Hany Mukhtar's goal against Chicago Fire (87').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Nashville SC 3–0 Chicago Fire. Explore more on the Nashville SC and Chicago Fire team pages or the Major League Soccer page.