Atlanta United played Chicago Fire FC to a 0-0 draw Saturday night at Soldier Field and secured a crucial road point to stay within striking distance of the Eastern Conference playoff line. Rocco Rios Novo made three saves to secure the club’s first clean sheet since June 19.
Throughout an evenly played match, Atlanta controlled most of the play in the first half, out-shooting Chicago 8-4 while maintaining 60 percent of possession. Chicago then appeared to take the lead in the 54th minute as Xherdan Shaqiri finished off a close-range attempt from a broken play. But he started the play offside and video review intervened to disallow the goal.
Andrew Gutman came on for Luiz Araújo in the 75th minute to make his first appearance since May 21 when he sustained an injury to his left quadriceps tendon. Atlanta then made a triple substitution in the 82nd minute, bringing on Dom Dwyer, Marcelino Moreno, and Franco Ibarra to help see off the draw.
Atlanta (6-9-7, 25 points) returns home to play Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday, Aug. 6. (3 p.m., ABC, Sports Radio 92-9 The Game, La Mejor).
Photo: Courtesy of ATLUTD