Fire knock off Inter Miami, snap eight-year postseason drought

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM INTER MIAMI CF V CHICAGO FIRE FC MLS GAME AT CHASE STADIUM  RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 30, 2025) (SOCCER UNITED MARKETING – Editorial use only. No more than two minutes use per match. Must on screen courtesy 'MLS on Apple'. No use after December 31, 2025. No monetisation. No resales. No sublicensing.)  1. KICK-OFF  FIRST HALF  2. CHICAGO FIRE JONATHAN BAMBA'S LEFT FOOTED SHOT FROM THE CENTRE OF THE BOX IS SAVED BY INTER MIAMI GOALKEEPER OSCAR USTARI  3. CORNER FROM THE LEFT, EXECUTED BY CHICAGO FIRE’S MAREN HAILE-SELASSIE  4. CHICAGO FIRE’S DJE D’AVILLA SCORES WITH HEADER FROM THE CENTRE OF THE BOX TO THE TOP LEFT CORNER IN THE 11TH MINUTE AND CELEBRATING  5. REPLAY OF GOAL   6. CHICAGO FIRE’S JONATHAN DEAN SCORES WITH RIGHT FOOTED SHOT FROM THE CENTRE OF THE BOX TO THE LOWER RIGHT ZONE IN THE 31ST MINUTE   7. CORNER FROM THE RIGHT, EXECUTED BY INTER MIAMI'S LIONEL MESSI   8. INTER MIAMI’S TOMAS AVILES SCORES WITH RIGHT FOOTED SHOT FROM THE CENTRE OF THE BOX TO THE MIDDLE RIGHT ZONE IN THE 39TH MINUTE   9. AVILES CELEBRATING WITH TEAMMATES  10. CROWD CHEERING   11. KIDS CHEERING  12. FIREWORKS OVER STADIUM  13. CHICAGO FIRE’S ROMINIGUE KOUAME SCORED WITH RIGHT FOOTED SHOT FROM THE CENTRE OF THE BOX TO THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER IN THE 43RD MINUTE  14. REPLAY OF GOAL  SECOND HALF  15. MESSI HITS THE RIGHT POST / INTER MIAMI’S TADEO ALLENDE’S SHOT HITS THE CROSS BAR IN THE FOLLOW-UP OPPORTUNITY  16. REPLAY OF MESSI’S SHOT HITTING THE POST AND ALLENDE HITTING THE CROSS BAR    17. INTER MIAMI’S IAN FRAY'S RIGHT-FOOTED SHOT FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BOX IS SAVED BY CHICAGO FIRE GOALKEEPER CHRIS BRADY  18. INTER MIAMI’S LUIS SUAREZ SCORES WITH RIGHT-FOOTED SHOT FROM THE CENTRE OF THE BOX IN THE 57TH MINUTE AND CELEBRATING  19. CHICAGO FIRE’S JUSTIN REYNOLDS SCORES WITH LEFT FOOTED SHOT FROM THE CENTRE OF THE BOX TO THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER IN THE 80TH MINUTE  20. REPLAY OF THE GOAL  21. LUIS SUAREZ'S RIGHT FOOTED SHOT IS SAVED BY CHRIS BRADY  22. CHICAGO FIRE’S BRIAN GUTIERREZ SCORED WITH RIGHT FOOTED SHOT TO THE TOP RIGHT CORNER IN THE 83RD MINUTE AND CELEBRATING  23. CROWD CHEERING / USTARI REACTS  24. CHICAGO FIRE PLAYERS CELEBRATING / FAN REACTS  25. REPLAYS X 2 OF GUTIERREZ’S GOAL  26. SLOW-MOTION REPLAY OF GUTIERREZ CELEBRATION  27. FINAL WHISTLE  28. MESSI WALKING BACK AFTER INTER MIAMI'S 3-5 DEFEAT  STORY: Justin Reynolds and Brian Gutierrez scored late to lift the visiting Chicago Fire to a playoff-clinching 5-3 victory on Tuesday (September 30) over Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, bringing a wild end to the league's longest active postseason drought. Dje D'Avilla, Jonathan Dean and Rominigue Kouame also scored and Maren Haile-Selassie notched two assists for Chicago (15-11-6, 51 points), which guaranteed its first playoff qualification since 2017 and moved above Columbus into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Luis Suarez scored his eighth and ninth goals to erase Miami's two-goal deficit in the second half. But the Herons missed a crucial opportunity to close ground on the Philadelphia Union in the Supporters' Shield race. Tomas Aviles also scored for Miami (16-7-8, 56 points), which remained fourth in the Eastern Conference with the defeat. The Herons will be eliminated from contention for the Shield and the top East spot if Philadelphia wins one of its final two matches. Miami pressured for much of the second half, but struggled with transition defending all game long. That showed up on Chicago's decisive goal during a slow-developing counterattack in the 80th minute. Hugo Cuypers twice had pass attempts near the top of the box blocked during the sequence, But even after that, Gutierrez had time to play a give-and-go with Mauricio Pineda before getting to the byline and guiding a low cross to the back post for Reynolds' easy finish. Gutierrez added an exclamation point three minutes later, unfurling a ferocious strike from about 25 yards out that left goalkeeper Oscar Ustari little chance as it sailed into the top right corner. After Messi and Tadeo Allende both hit the woodwork in the 52nd minute, Suarez cut Miami's deficit to 3-2 with an off-balance finish in the 57th minute. Baltasar Rodriguez provided the line-breaking pass to put Suarez into the box, and the veteran Uruguayan striker rode Jack Elliot's challenge while driving a low finish past Chris Brady inside the right post. Seventeen minutes later, Suarez showed the finishing class that once made him a 20-plus goal-scorer nine times between Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona. After Rodriguez found Jordi Alba wide left, Suarez received Alba's ball into the box with his first touch. Then, with his second, he snapped off a perfect finish inside the right post from about 15 yards out. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

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