HARRISON, N.J. — Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored the winner on a penalty kick during first-half stoppage time as the New York Red Bulls rallied to beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 on Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The loss ended the Fire’s five-match unbeaten streak and three-match road winning streak. They play host to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on April 13 at Soldier Field.
Choupo-Moting put the Red Bulls (3-2-2) up 2-1 at halftime when he scored two minutes into stoppage time after Dylan Nealis drew a foul on Kellyn Acosta. It was the third goal for Choupo-Moting and his fourth straight match with a goal contribution.
The Fire (3-2-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute on the first career goal by Jonathan Bamba, who used assists from Philip Zinckernagel and Hugo Cuypers to send a left-footed shot from the center of the box into the net.
The Red Bulls answered with the equalizer in the 41st minute on a header from 19-year-old defender Serge Ngoma. It was Ngoma’s first goal of the season.
Carlos Coronel had five saves in goal for the Red Bulls. Chris Brady saved four shots for the Fire.
The Red Bulls, who improved to 3-0-1 at home this season, beat the Fire for the first time since April 2022 — going 0-2-3 in the previous five matchups. It was the 70th meeting in a series the Fire lead 32-22-16.
