CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 24, 2026

Gregg Berhalter

Press Conference

A.

Chicago Fire FC 3, Atlanta 2.

GREGG BERHALTER: Thought it was a good win by the boys. It had a lot of different layers to it, this game. I loved the resiliency of the guys to come back from 1-0 down, get control of the game, and then I think, you know, a little bit disappointed with the end phase of the game. But again, it showed the fight and the tenacity to not give something up and to stay strong, and that's going to go a long way.

Overall, happy, Atlanta, it was in a position where they needed to win to stay in it, so that's always a dangerous opponent, and to get the win is important.

Q. What did you see from the midfield because it seemed so difficult for Atlanta to break the Fire down through the center of the park tonight, especially after Anzor came on.

GREGG BERHALTER: I thought that they took up some good positions. I thought our high pressing from the whole group was really good. It was nice to get the goal on a high-pressing action because we have been working hard on it.

You know, overall, I think they worked well. When D'Avilla was trying to win the second balls, he got a fall so we had to take him out. And then Anzor came in and did a good job. Anton, like typical Anton, never stops running.

Overall, happy with the group. Happy with how they played.

Q. You had some spells where you were really dominant and some spells where you were under a lot of pressure.

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah.

Q. What caused the second half to be as wide open and back and forth as it?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think for the end of the game, they had the upper hand. For large portions of the game, 3-1, we were well in control of the game.

Credit their big striker up top. He made it difficult and he held up the balls, and then the guys can join the attack. And that became an issue. We started moving Anzor back in to screen him. That helped a little bit. But the big boy did a good job.

Q. And it took ten seasons for the Fire to win in this stadium in MLS. Is it extra satisfying, especially after what happened here last year?

GREGG BERHALTER: What happened here last year? No, I didn't even realize that it. But I think that's good.

Q. What was your strategy -- to get the victory?

GREGG BERHALTER: It was to be aggressive. We wanted to press them. We wanted to get after them. We wanted to make it difficult and to move the ball into spaces that would hurt them, and then behind them.

Besides giving up the goal, I thought the first 65 minutes of the game were very good, and then like I said at the end, it was really about the mental toughness and resilience of the team to stick together and grind out a win.

Q. A big part of the win was the mistake that the goalkeeper made on the Atlanta side.

GREGG BERHALTER: I don't love to comment on other team and their individual performances.

Q. What does it mean to you that your son is playing well?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think any time one of your kids is able to realize one of their dreams through hard work and effort and sustained effort over a long period of time, as a parent, you're more than proud. There's not even words to describe it.

But you know, knowing Sebastian, the journey is just beginning, and the hard work needs to continue and will never stop.

Q. I have to ask, back passes, when is the last time you saw one called like that in a professional game leading up to Zinckernagel's goal, and could you ever practice an indirect free kick from six yards out? Because that can't seem like something you ever plan on.

GREGG BERHALTER: We don't practice them but I think the strategy is exactly what Phil did is shoot it high, hit it high. And it's very difficult to defend. He did a great job in that.

But I think you rarely see it but it was very clear and very obvious. I'm glad the referee called it.

Q. That's the first game that this group has won this year when conceding multiple goals. Does that give you a little bit of a boost to know that the resilience is there?

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, I didn't even know that. Thanks for sharing that with us.

But I think, you know, it shows that we've been good defensively all year. A lot of our wins have been close wins, and we haven't been giving up a ton of goals in those. So I think there's positive to take from it.

Q. On Wednesday coming up, Orlando, you're going to be without Jay and without Mbo. Thoughts on preparing?

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, that's part of the reason why Anzor went in at halftime, to prepare him, and from what I understand, Jack will be back ready to go. So here we go.