DC United saw their five-match unbeaten streak end Wednesday night as they lost 3-1 to the Chicago Fire before 11,243 at Audi Field. Tai Baribo was able to notch his seventh goal of the season, but three unanswered second half goals by Chicago proved to be the difference.

Baribo was back in the lineup for the first time since returning from injury, and he was able to pair up alongside Louis Munteanu for the first time this season. Still, the match felt different from when the two teams met almost exactly two months ago. Both teams tried to get their open looks, but weren’t able to generate much in the first 35 minutes of the match. The best sequence in the first third of the match was in the 15th minute, when João Peglow had a dazzling display of dribbling to juke a defender, and then launched a rocket from 30 yards out on the left side. The shot went high over the net, but not by much.

In the 41st minute, Baribo opened the scoring. Louis Munteau got the ball inside the box and made a no look heel flick pass behind him to Baribo. Standing about 6 yards from goal, Baribo was able to smash it home to give DC United the 1-0 lead.

“Louis is a great player. He showed that. He’s still showing this. We are still building the connection,” Baribo said after the match. “We could play with each other a lot. It was a good goal, good assist for him, but again, it was not enough for today, unfortunately.”

DC United would take the 1-0 lead into halftime, and the second half began with no changes on either side. DC United tried to continue bringing the intensity even as the skies opened up in the 57th minute with torrential rain. In the 62nd minute, Chicago drew level. After some slow buildup, the ball got sent into the box by Philip Zinckernagel. Robin Lod got the head on it and put it past Sean Johnson to make it 1-1.

In the 69th minute, disaster struck for DC United. Nikola Markovic was called for a penalty after apparently taking down substitute Puso Dithejane. Zinckernagel took the penalty, which Sean Johnson saved in epic fashion to his right. However, somehow Andrew Gutman got to the ball first and flicked it back toward goal, where Hugo Cuypers put it in to give Chicago the 2-1 lead.

Chicago continued to apply the pressure on DC United. In the 76th minute, the Fire had another chance for a goal, but Sean Johnson came way off his line to make a great save on Puso Dithejane, who was on the break, to keep the ball out of the net.

As the rain intensified, DC United hoped it could help spur them to equalize. A huge flash of lightning and a large crack of thunder with about 8 minutes left before stoppage made everyone worry that the final minutes would be delayed. However, play continued as DC hoped to get the goal they needed to rescue a result.

Ultimately, it was Chicago that had the final knockout punch. In the 87th minute, it was another set piece for the Fire. Philip Zinckernagel fired a long shot from 40 yards that Sean Johnson blocked away. But it was Maren Haile-Selassie on the rebound, and he fired a shot into the upper right corner to make it 3-1 to the Fire.

Just as the match entered second half stoppage, Andrew Gutman had another chance, firing a long shot that required a Sean Johnson save. DC United wasn’t able to mount a challenge, and the whistle sounded to end the match.

“We have to respect the quality of Chicago. This is a strong team,” René Weiler said after the match. “And me, I felt it even in the first half when we scored this single goal. No, no, it’s not always about us. It’s often about the quality of the opponent and that we have to respect and to accept.”

Weiler started rookie Nikola Markovic at right back as a replacement for Silvan Hefti, who was serving a one-game suspension for the red card he picked up over the weekend. When asked why Markovic got the starting nod over Aaron Herrera or Conner Antley, who are more natural right backs, Weiler said the reason was simple: Aaron Herrera informed the club that he wishes to leave.

“Yeah, Herrera wants to leave. So that is a fact and he told us that,” Weiler said flatly. “And I gave the chance to Markovic because he has the future and he’s not the fullback, but he’s a young guy with a good mentality. And I gave him this chance to play on this position even when I knew that it’s not his favorite position.”

Guys were not able to pinpoint what went wrong in the second half that led to the match flipping on its head. “I want to go back and watch the video. I think it was just more so a momentum change than anything,” Brandon Servania said. You know, obviously that first [goal was]…unfortunately goes in and then the momentum kind of switched and we weren’t able to take it back in our way. So, yeah, we gotta. We gotta manage that and look forward.”

René Weiler was not happy with the thought that DC United was in a good place in the table with their five-game unbeaten streak snapped. He spoke about some of the complacency he had seen on the club’s recent success. “You know, now we have to rest well, but I feel it a little bit even here inside that some people there are surprised that we lost this game,” he exclaimed. What the people are thinking we had now five games in a row, positive games. But what do you think now we are overnight a top team. We have to play on our boundaries every game. So, hey, come on, it was tough at the end because now it’s a defeat. But we have to recover well and then we will prepare the next game and it will be again a very tough and tight game.

“That is our reality. So I don’t start to dream and nobody should start to dream. We have to accept our reality and where we came from and who we are now.”  

As he exited the press conference, he turned back towards the media with some fiery words, as he wanted everyone to be rid of any complacency and focus on the next result:

DC United hope to regroup before facing St. Louis City at home on Saturday night.