Fire squander two leads, settle for 2-2 tie against Los Angeles FC
Denis Bouanga scored on a penalty kick in the 81st minute to rally Los Angeles FC to a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire on Saturday at SeatGeek Stadium.
Bouanga notched his 14th goal of the season for LAFC (10-6-7) after subbing in for Mathieu Choinière in the 61st minute. The PK was awarded after Son Heung-Min — in his debut with the club — was fouled by defender Carlos Terán.
Chicago (10-9-6) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute on Terán's first goal this season. Philip Zinckernagel collected an assist on the score. Terán has totaled one goal in five straight campaigns.
LAFC pulled even in the 19th minute on a goal by defender Ryan Hollingshead — his second. Nineteen-year-old midfielder David Martínez picked up his first assist this season after notching two in 17 appearances last year.
The Fire took a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute on a goal by Jonathan Bamba — his fourth in his first season in the league. Zinckernagel snagged another assist — his 13th — and Brian Gutiérrez earned his second.
It was the first of three straight home matches in Bridgeview for the Fire whose home these days is Soldier Field. Chicago is 102-55-72 in regular-season play at SeatGeek.
Chris Brady saved four shots for Chicago.
Hugo Lloris totaled one save for LAFC.
It was the third all-time matchup between the clubs with Chicago beating LAFC 3-1 in Bridgeview in 2018 before playing to a 0-0 draw in Los Angeles in 2019.
Chicago began the day in possession of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as it tries to make the postseason for the first time since 2017.
LAFC entered the day sixth in the Western Conference, but the club has at least two matches in hand on all five teams above it.
LAFC stays on the road to play the New England Revolution on Saturday. The Fire will host St. Louis City on Saturday.