Dejan Joveljic Scores Twice on Sounders Debut, but Lewandowski Rescues Fire in 2-2 Draw

Dejan Joveljic arrived in Seattle earlier in the week as a $6 million bet, per MLS. By Saturday afternoon he had two goals and Lumen Field buzzing. Then Robert Lewandowski wrote a twist ending worthy of M. Night Shyamalan.

Joveljic scored in each half of his Sounders debut, but Maren Haile-Selassie and Lewandowski answered for the Chicago Fire, and Seattle Sounders FC and Chicago Fire FC played to a 2-2 draw in front of 38,287 fans, the crowd figure listed by the Fire. Neither side got the win, and the Sounders are still searching for their first league victory since May.

A Dream Start for the New No. 9

Seattle needed 12 minutes to get its new striker on the board. Rookie Sebastian Gomez slipped the ball to Joveljic in the middle of the box, and Joveljic finished through the center of the goal. It was his first goal in Rave Green, and the AP noted it was his ninth goal of the season overall after arriving from Sporting Kansas City.

Chicago responded by taking control of the ball. Philip Zinckernagel and Djé D'Avilla both forced saves from Andy Thomas in the 24th and 27th minutes. Then Chicago knocked twice in two minutes. Zinckernagel hit the crossbar from the middle of the box in the 37th minute, and a minute later Haile-Selassie leveled it. According to the Fire, Andrew Gutman's ball found Lewandowski, who laid it across for Haile-Selassie, and the winger controlled it and drove a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner. It was his fifth goal of the season.

Chicago kept pressing before the break. Thomas saved from Zinckernagel in the 41st minute and from D'Avilla's header in stoppage time.

Joveljic Strikes Again

The second half was three minutes old when Joveljic turned the afternoon into a coronation. Albert Rusnák found him outside the box, and Joveljic struck a right-footed shot into the top left corner for 2-1. Two shots, two goals.

From there Chicago dominated the territory and the shot count. Thomas made save after save: Haile-Selassie in the 52nd minute, Jack Elliott from distance in the 74th, Jonathan Bamba in the 78th. Seattle's Cristian Roldan, Hassani Dotson and Jordan Morris all came off the bench, with MLS noting Roldan and Morris were returning after injuries.

Lewandowski finally broke through in the 82nd minute. Puso Dithejane, on since the 63rd, delivered a cross and Lewandowski headed it into the top left corner from close range. ESPN credits Dithejane with the assist; the Fire and the AP also credited Haile-Selassie with a secondary assist. Thomas then stopped Lewandowski again a minute later, and Bamba forced one more save in stoppage time. Thomas finished with nine saves.

Joveljic's Debut, by the Numbers

Per MLS, Joveljic became just the second player of the Sounders' MLS era to score twice on his debut, joining Fredy Montero, who did it in the club's first MLS match in 2009. The AP added that he is the fifth player to score on his Sounders debut. MLS also noted it was Seattle's first multi-goal game since its last win, 3-2 over San Jose on May 13. The two goals give Joveljic 10 for the season between Kansas City and Seattle, by the AP's count and the Fire's box score. Rusnák's assist on the second was his eighth of the year, and Gomez picked up the first assist of his rookie season on the opener, per the AP.

"The feeling was amazing," Joveljic told Apple TV, per MLS. "They gave us the push that we needed, and I'm very happy."

Head coach Brian Schmetzer framed it bigger than one match. "You saw glimpses of not just what Dejan can do," he said. "He's going to help this team get in the playoffs and try to get back to MLS Cup."

On the other side, Lewandowski had a goal, an assist and two shots on target. Haile-Selassie had a goal and two shots on target, and the Fire say his 46 all-time goal contributions now rank 12th in club history. Chris Brady made just one save, but per the Fire he passed 10,000 career minutes in the 34th minute, becoming the club's second homegrown player and first homegrown goalkeeper to reach that mark.

The Turning Point: Thomas Bends, Then Breaks

Seattle was up 2-1 with a goalkeeper in the middle of a nine-save day. Chicago had 11 shots on target, and Thomas stopped nine of them. The equalizer came from the most dangerous striker on the field, at the moment Seattle was trying to see the game out. One clean cross, one clean header, and the debut party turned into a draw.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Chicago 20, Seattle 11.
• Shots on target: Chicago 11, Seattle 3.
• Saves: Thomas 9, Brady 1.
• Possession: Chicago 55.8 percent.
• Clearances: Seattle made 34, Chicago 21. The Sounders spent a long time defending.

What It Means

Chicago moved to 11-4-6 with 37 points and is unbeaten in five league matches, a run that includes wins over Charlotte, Portland and Orlando City and draws at Red Bull New York and Seattle. The Fire say they remain third in the Eastern Conference, and they went six wins, two draws and one loss across all competitions in August. Chicago visits Toronto FC next.

Seattle moved to 7-5-9 with 26 points. The draw stretched its winless league run to 10 matches, per MLS, though the league also noted the Sounders sit within two points of a Western Conference playoff spot. The Red Bulls visit Lumen Field next.

Schmetzer said Joveljic told him after the game that he came to win, not just score. That is the right message for a team that has not won since spring. "He is a humble guy," Schmetzer said.

A Premiere With a Twist

It had the makings of a perfect Hollywood premiere: a big-money signing, an afternoon kickoff, two goals and a big crowd. Then Lewandowski showed up in the final act like a scene-stealing cameo nobody in Seattle wanted. Joveljic got the reviews. Chicago got the point.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLS (mlssoccer.com); additional details from the AP and Chicago Fire FC (chicagofirefc.com).