Charlotte FC clinched a playoff berth in a 4-3 win over Chicago Fire FC

Charlotte FC secured their spot in the MLS playoffs with a 4-3 win over Chicago Fire FC.

Charlotte’s attack picked up where they left off in their last home match, scoring their first goal in the ninth minute. The goal came from a great sequence of play by the whole team, with Karol Świderski capping it off with the goal being assisted by Pep Biel.

Charlotte’s attack kept the pressure on the Chicago defense with a near miss in the 13^th minute when Pep Biel cut in for a shot that missed just wide at the far post. A couple minutes later, Charlotte had another big chance when Brandt Bronico carried the ball into the attacking third then passed it to Liel Abada on the left wing, who crossed the ball to Świderski in the box for a shot that was saved by the Chicago goalkeeper, Chris Brady. Brady made another save on a Charlotte shot in the 20^th minute, when Pep Biel fired a shot from outside the box that forced Brady to make a save near the crossbar.

Chicago evened the score in the 25^th minute when a ball in was deflected resulting in a header from Fabian Herbers beating Kahlina to the far post. Charlotte was able to retake the lead just minutes later in the 30^th minute on a header from Júnior Urso assisted by Pep Biel.

Charlotte had another big chance in the 39^th minute on a counterattack. Abada passed the ball to Pep Biel at the edge of the box, who took a shot with his first touch and hit the crossbar. Świderski had a chance to put it away on the rebound for another Charlotte goal but could not get a clean strike on the ball.

Charlotte added a third goal in added time with a ball in from Nathan Byrne leading to a Świderski header for a first half brace and a 3-1 lead at halftime.

Charlotte came out of the half still on the attack, forcing Chicago to make two saves in the first 10 minutes, one close range save on a shot from Świderski and another on a Bronico shot from the edge of the box.

In the 58^th minute, Charlotte scored their fourth goal of the match. Abada had his first shot deflected, falling to Świderski, who passed back to Abada for another shot that beat the goalkeeper at the near post, putting Charlotte up 4-1.

Kristijan Kahlina made a diving save on a long shot in the 60^th minute. Chicago stayed on the attack, putting another shot on goal in the 62^nd minute that was easily saved by Kahlina. Chicago scored their second goal of the match in the 67^th minute on a long shot from Kellyn Acosta. They added another goal late in the match when Chris Mueller got behind the Charlotte defense on a run, having his shot saved and coming back to him before passing to Thomas Barlow for the goal.

For each of Chicago’s last two goals, Charlotte appealed that they were offside in the buildup, but neither was checked on VAR.

Charlotte will remain at home to take on CF Montréal on Saturday, October 5 for their final home match of the season. A win or draw for Charlotte will guarantee a finish inside of the top seven, meaning they would avoid the play-in match. Kickoff for Saturday’s match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST and will be streaming on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.