Ten-Man Chicago Fire Blank CF Montréal 3-0 in Home Opener as Cuypers and Lod Strike in Stoppage Time

For most of the second half, the Chicago Fire looked like a team counting down the seconds. A man short since the 56th minute, clinging to a one-goal lead, staring at 12 minutes of stoppage time. Then Hugo Cuypers buried a penalty, Robin Lod buried the dagger, and a nervy afternoon turned into a party.

The Fire beat CF Montréal 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field in their home opener, with Jonathan Bamba scoring in the 27th minute before Cuypers (90+4) and Lod (90+10) piled on deep in added time. Chicago improved to 1-0-1 with three points in front of 20,872 fans. Montréal, beaten 5-0 at San Diego FC on opening weekend, is 0-0-2 and still looking for its first goal of the MLS season.

Bamba Breaks the Seal

Chicago controlled the first half without needing the ball much. Montréal finished with more possession, 56.4 percent, but the Fire were the side carrying all the threat. Bamba had a shot blocked from outside the box in the 17th minute. Maren Haile-Selassie made Thomas Gillier work from the left side of the box in the 20th. Anton Salétros had a long-range effort blocked in the 23rd.

The breakthrough came in the 27th minute. According to the Fire, Leonardo Barroso overlapped on the right and whipped in a cross that Gillier got a hand to, and the loose ball fell straight to Bamba. He did not need a second invitation, sweeping a left-footed finish home from the left side of the six-yard box. It was his first start and appearance of 2026, per the club, and he made it count.

The Fire kept leaning on Gillier after that. Cuypers forced a save from the center of the box in the 34th minute, and center back Mbekezeli Mbokazi wandered forward to test him again in the 37th. Montréal's only first-half attempt was a Jalen Neal header that got blocked in the 41st. Brayan Vera and Philip Zinckernagel were both booked before the break, and Chicago took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.

The Turning Point

The match flipped from comfortable to chaotic in the 50s. A VAR review upgraded left back Jonathan Dean's card, and he was sent off in the 56th minute, leaving Chicago with 10 men and a long way to go.

Gregg Berhalter replaced the goalscorer Bamba with Joel Waterman in the 57th minute. Then came the strange part: Montréal never found a way through, and the shorthanded hosts kept attacking anyway. Mbokazi headed over from a corner in the 67th minute. Cuypers forced Gillier into a save low to the bottom right corner in the 69th. Between the 71st and 73rd minutes, Mbokazi had a header blocked, Waterman fired high from a corner, Zinckernagel forced Gillier into a save from distance and Cuypers saw another header saved. The 10-man side looked like the team with the extra player.

Montréal's best moment came in the 88th minute, when substitute Wiki Carmona hit a left-footed shot from outside the box that Chris Brady saved. That was about it.

Stoppage Time Belongs to Chicago

The fourth official signaled 12 added minutes, and a one-goal margin still felt fragile. Then Cuypers was fouled in the box by Gillier on a counterattack, per the club, and the Montréal keeper was booked. Cuypers stepped up and sent a right-footed penalty down the middle four minutes into stoppage time. Ice in the veins.

Lod came on for Zinckernagel two minutes later, and his cameo was perfectly scripted. Gillier saved a Barroso drive in the seventh added minute, but three minutes later Lod finished from the left side of the six-yard box into the bottom left corner. Synchuk forced one last save out of Brady, but by then the stadium was already in celebration mode.

The Standouts

Hugo Cuypers was relentless. Four shots, four on target, one goal, and a penalty he earned himself. It was his second goal in as many matches after scoring in the opening loss at Houston, and the club said it was his first time scoring in back-to-back contests since July 2025.

Jonathan Bamba made his first appearance of 2026 count. One goal from two shots, and the club noted it was the second game-winning goal of his MLS career.

Robin Lod needed about four minutes to make an impact. The goal was his first with Chicago, per the Fire, and his 35th all-time in MLS regular season play in his 160th career appearance.

Thomas Gillier deserves a mention in defeat. Seven saves, several on shots from inside the box, kept this from becoming a rout much earlier.

Mbekezeli Mbokazi had three shots, two on target. Not bad for a center back.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Chicago 17, Montréal 4.
• Shots on target: Chicago 11, Montréal 2.
• Saves: Gillier made seven, Brady two.
• Corners: Chicago 9, Montréal 3.
• Possession: Montréal 56.4 percent, Chicago 43.6 percent, which tells you exactly how little possession mattered.

The Associated Press had the expected goals at 4.0 for Chicago and 0.1 for Montréal. That is not a typo.

What It Means

For Chicago, this was the bounce-back it needed after a 2-1 loss at Houston to open the season. The AP said the win extended the Fire's unbeaten streak against Canadian opponents to six matches dating to 2024. The club added that it was the first time Chicago scored twice in stoppage time since a 4-3 comeback win over Montréal on March 16, 2024, and the first home opener victory in front of fans since 2017. Next up is a trip to the Columbus Crew on Saturday, March 7.

Montréal has a bigger problem. Two matches, two shutout defeats and just four shots in this one. The trip to Red Bull New York on March 8 suddenly looks like a must-show-something game.

Closing Take

Down a man, up a goal and staring at 12 extra minutes, most teams would have parked the bus, the car and the bike rack in front of goal. Chicago went looking for more and found two. It was the kind of late-game finish that turns a white-knuckle home opener into a highlight reel, and the 20,872 in the stands got both versions.

For Montréal, it was a reminder that you cannot win a game you do not shoot in. For the Fire, it was proof that 10 men with a plan can still look like the best team on the field.

Stats from ESPN's match data and the Associated Press recap via ESPN. Club notes from Chicago Fire FC (chicagofirefc.com).