CHICAGO, IL—The largest soccer crowd at Soldier Field since the 2003 renovation saw Real Madrid defeat the MLS All-Stars, 4-2 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. It was the third largest All-Star Game crowd in MLS history.
The first half was a physical encounter, and unfortunately Atlanta United’s Greg Garza was a victim of that separating a shoulder in just the 2nd minute of the match and was substituted in favor of DaMarcus Beasley in the 7th minute.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Beasley who played at Soldier Field with the Fire from 2000 to 2004.
“It was great,” said Beasley. “I got a lot of fan support here. I heard my named called a couple times from the old fans from the 2000 days. I love this city. The Fire always have a special place in my heart because they are the first team that gave me chance to be a professional so for me it was great to be back and I really enjoyed it.”
Real Madrid also peppered the MLS All-Stars goal regardless of whether it was Tim Howard or Seattle’s Stefan Frei in net. The visitors had 30 shots on the night including a record 19 in the first half, but just five on target, and one in the net. That goal came in the 59th minute when Borja Mayoral’s shot deflected off a defender and out of the reach of Stefan Frei. Outside of that, just wasteful finishing and two denied penalty appeals prevented Real from scoring more.
The MLS All-Stars had their chances as well with David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco just wide in the first half and Nemanja Nikolic hitting the side netting in the second. But the goal finally came for the MLS All-Stars in the 87th minute after Dax McCarty’s initial shot off a corner hit the post and off Giovanni dos Santos before Dom Dwyer headed the rebound in.
“It was a great header by Dax,” said Dwyer. “He was very unlucky not to score. I think it just bounced off the post and off a couple bodies and it’s a striker’s dream and I was at the right place at the right time.
“It’s amazing [scoring in an All-Star Game and against Real Madrid]. Definitely one to remember. It was a special experience.”
Penalty kicks were required to decide this one like they did in 2009. And like 2009 against Everton (when they had Tim Howard in goal), the MLS All-Stars came up short. Luca Zidane saved Dwyer’s spot kick while dos Santos struck the crossbar. Real Madrid (Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovacic, and Marcelo) made all four of their spot kicks for the win.
“MLS is a really good level [of soccer],” said Real head coach Zinedine Zidane in the postmatch press conference. “We’ve seen really good players tonight. We saw a good game. The fans enjoyed it and that’s the most important thing.
“We are happy to be here. The truth is that we would have liked to have better results [on this US tour]but we’re happy. We’re happy with the tour and the work we did physically. I’ve said it and I repeat myself a lot, I think that in the end this has been the success for us. We had 2-3 weeks to work and after that I think it’s important to be here.”
“I’m very happy with the result tonight, the experience we had playing one of the best clubs in the world,” said MLS All-Stars and Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic. “We appreciate the opportunity and I think we did well. We didn’t start the game well because of the injury to [Greg] Garza so we had to adjust real quick. But as soon the second half started and fresh guys came on we had a good start. We fought hard and had to play more defensively but I’m very proud of our guys and gave their best and tied the game. And with penalties, you never know, but it was a real great experience. I believe that the league showed a good team against a great team, but I know we have to keep working and improving over the next five years – hopefully sooner – but I would like to face Real Madrid again and see where we stand then.
“It was an overall great experience. I believe the league showed a good face against one of the best teams in the world. Also, I think we have to still keep working and improving.”
The atmosphere was great despite the rain for most of the first half as was this entire All-Star Week in Chicago culminating in an entertaining, if not high-scoring, match.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable,” said Fire midfielder Dax McCarty. “Sold-out stadium, sold-out Soldier Field, my first time playing here actually. Unbelievable feeling. It’s truly a beautiful stadium. I think the atmosphere was amazing all night. It was full right from the first minute even when it was raining, the fans stayed, the fireworks, everything. It was a great spectacle for everyone. You want to entertain people, you want them to leave having fun so I think the fans of Chicago have had certainly a very positive year with the Fire doing as well as we have and obviously the All-Star Game here against Real Madrid. Obviously a win would have been nice but I think they got a great game.”
It’s back to business on Saturday as MLS returns to league play and the Fire host New England. Kickoff is at 7:30pm on CSN Chicago Plus.
SCORING SUMMARY:
RMA-Borja Mayoral (Ceballos) 59
MLS-Dom Dwyer (Dos Santos) 87
BOOKING SUMMARY:
None
PENALTY SUMMARY:
MLS-Dom Dwyer (saved)
RMA-Karim Benzema (goal)
MLS-Giovanni dos Santos (miss)
RMA-Gareth Bale (goal)
MLS-Diego Valeri (goal)
RMA-Mateo Kovacic (goal)
MLS-Miguel Almiron (goal)
RMA-Marcelo (goal)
MLS ALL-STARS (4-3-3): #1-Tim Howard (#24-Stefan Frei 46); #8-Graham Zusi (#2-Hernan Grana 46), #16-Johan Kappelhof (#21-Matt Hedges 46), #37-Jelle Van Damme (#3-Michael Parkhurst 46), #15-Greg Garza (#12-DaMarcus Beasley 7; #23-Kellyn Acosta 46); #4-Michael Bradley (#9-Diego Valeri 46), #31-Bastian Schweinsteiger (#6-Dax McCarty 46), #10-Kaka (#26-Miguel Almiron 46); #7-David Villa (#14-Dom Dwyer 46), #17-Jozy Altidore (#28-Ignacio Piatti 31; #11-Giovanni dos Santos 62), #5-Sebastian Giovinco (#22-Nemanja Nikolic 46)
REAL MADRID (4-3-3): #1-Keylor Navas (#25-Ruben Yañez 46; #30-Luca Zidane 72); #34-Achraf Hakimi (#2-Daniel Carvajal 61), #6-Nacho (#27-Alvaro Tejero 72), #4-Sergio Ramos (#3-Jesus Vallejo 46), #15-Theo Hernandez (#16-Mateo Kovacic 61); #22-Isco (#12-Marcelo 61), #18-Marcos Llorente (#14-Casemiro 61), #8-Toni Kroos (#24-Dani Ceballos 46); #17-Lucas Vazquez (#32-Oscar 72), #21-Borja Mayoral (#9-Karim Benzema 61), #20-Marco Asensio (#11-Gareth Bale 61)
Subs not used: #13-Kiko Casilla #5-Raphael Varane, #10-Luka Modric
TOTAL SHOTS: MLS 10-30 RMA
SHOTS ON GOAL: MLS 2-5 RMA
FOULS: MLS 8-4 RMA
OFFSIDES: MLS 4-2 RMA
CORNER KICKS: MLS 4-8 RMA
SAVES: MLS 4-1 RMA
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Jeremy Hanson
Fourth Official: Jose Carlos Rivero
Weather: Rain and 74º
Attendance: 61,428
Man of the Match: Borja Mayoral (RMA)
Chicago Fire
MLS All-Star
