Lewandowski outduels Griezmann as Chicago Fire continue surge | OneFootball

By Alex Calabrese

ORLANDO – Chicago Fire FC have won six games in a row for the first time since 1998. They largely have their newest superstar to thank for it.

In a battle between two of MLS’ most exciting summer arrivals, it was Chicago's Robert Lewandowski coming out on top of  Antoine Griezmann and Orlando City, 2-1, at Inter.co Stadium Wednesday.

“When you look at everything we had to overcome today, the guys did an incredible job,” Fire FC coach Gregg Berhalter said postgame. “You have residual fatigue from the heavy fixtures. You have the heat of Orlando. You have a weather delay. You have them coming back in the game and equalizing.

"You name it, we had it in this game. It just shows how strong the mentality of the group is.”

Lewy effect

With Chicago leading 1-0 just before the halftime break, a 100-minute weather delay broke the away side's momentum and ensured the second half would not kick off until well past 10 pm ET.

Shortly after the game’s resumption, Orlando’s David Brekalo tied things up from a header, capitalizing on a great corner from Griezmann.

However, it was Lewandowski who had the last laugh. The former Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern Munich, and FC Barcelona striker won a penalty in the 68th minute and duly converted past Maxime Crépeau for the game-winner.

“If you see the play that led to the penalty, it’s an amazing, dynamic play from Robert,” Berhalter said. “It shows his quality, and it’s up to us to get him the ball in positions where he can do things like that.”

Lewandowski’s presence made it a particularly special debut for David Poreba – a product of the Fire’s academy and a Polish-American. The 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot and MVP winner finally had his moment with his hometown team in MLS, starting and playing 60 minutes.

Poreba is the only other Polish speaker in the first team, and now has the unique opportunity to learn under the player whom he described as his idol growing up.

“Honestly, it’s surreal,” Poreba said. “It shows you that life can have surprises. At the end of the day, I’m just super grateful because, after all I’ve been through as well, it’s an amazing, amazing moment for me.”

“It’s crazy. You go from looking up to this guy your whole life, and now you’re friends and teammates with him. It’s amazing, and I only have good things to say about him. Everyone knows him as a fantastic footballer, but people should know that he’s an amazing person.

"That’s where it starts. I’m just truly grateful to have a relationship with him.”

Sky-high vibes

Poreba is not the only teammate who's been positively affected by Lewandowski's arrival. South African star Puso Dithejane has caught fire of late and opened the scoring less than four minutes into the match, signaling a blazing start to the action.

It was Dithejane’s fourth goal since the World Cup break; the 22-year-old has been one of the breakthrough stars of MLS’ return to play, stealing the show with a recent goal against Inter Miami and a brace against Cruz Azul in Leagues Cup.

“Puso is difficult to play against,” Berhalter said. “He’s a livewire. He times his runs very well. His finishing has improved. And he’s been a revelation for us this season.”

The hard-fought 2-1 win has the Fire truly believing in their chances of lifting a trophy this season. Not only has their six-game winning streak catapulted them into third in the East (35 points), but it's brought along the good vibes as well.

“The vibes are great,” Dithejane said postgame. “Every player wants to work and wants to win, so our mentality is the same. That’s why we go into games, and we want to win.”

“We told ourselves we have a lot of games coming, and we have to win all those games. It’s all in the mind. Our mentality has to be right going into a game, and we have to go to win.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire FC | August 19, 2026