Sports

Schweinsteiger scores in his Major League Soccer debut, Chicago Fire tie Montreal Impact 2-2

Schweinsteiger scores in his Major League Soccer debut, Chicago Fire tie Montreal Impact 2-2

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chicago Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (31) celebrates after scoring a goal in the first half of an MLS soccer game against the Montreal Impact at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, on Saturday, April 1, 2017. Photo: AP

BRIDGEVIEW: Bastian Schweinsteiger scored in his MLS debut, Luis Solignac scored in second-half stoppage time, and the Chicago Fire tied the Montreal Impact 2-2 on Saturday. Schweinsteiger, a World Cup winner with Germany, was acquired from Manchester United on March 21st after the 32-year-old struggled to replicate the highs of his Bayern Munich career. 'I was not nervous, but I was looking forward to play football,' he said after his Fire debut. Schweinsteiger headed in David Accam's cross in the 17th minute to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. The Fire played the short option on a corner kick and Schweinsteiger was unmarked in the box. 'Perfect cross from David and the header,' said Schweinsteiger, who played the full 90 minutes. 'It was a good feeling at first, but I'm a little bit sad and not so happy that we couldn't win the game.' In the third minute of second-half stoppage time, Solignac chested a long pass from Dax McCarty and turned on a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. Matteo Mancosu headed in Chris Duvall's cross at the back post as Montreal tied it at 1-all in the 61st minute. Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, making his first MLS start, sent a shot from distance in the 90th minute to give Montreal a 2-1 lead. Chicago's Juninho was shown his second yellow card in the 71st for breaking up a counter attack near midfield. Montreal's Víctor Cabrera was given a red card in the 80th for bringing down Solignac on a breakaway. 'A debut with a goal is always something that we all dream of,' Fire coach Veljko Paunovic said about Schweinsteiger. 'You know, starting and opening the game how we did with his goal, I think it was an important thing for our team.'