Chicago Fire rallies in final minutes to burn CF Montreal 4-3

CF Montreal midfielder Nathan-Dylan Saliba, left, and Chicago Fire midfielder Fabian Herbers battle the ball during the second half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, March 16, 2024, in Chicago. (Matt Marton/The Associated Press)

Kellyn Acosta scored from beyond midfield in the 99th minute on a misplayed ball by the goalkeeper and Chicago Fire FC completed a stunning 4-3 comeback win over CF Montreal for its first win of the Major League Soccer season on Saturday.

With a strong wind off Lake Michigan, Acosta — a recent free-agent pickup — lofted the ball following a Montreal clear. Jonathan Sirois ran to cover but came in too far under it and his desperate attempt to haul it in bounced off his outstretched hands and rolled into the goal.

Montreal posted leads of 2-0 and 3-1 and seemed on the verge of securing its 10th point in four road games to start the season before Chicago rallied and Montreal cratered.

Raheem Edwards, a former member of the Fire (1-2-1), was shown a red card in the 82nd minute and sent off. Brian Gutiérrez converted the penalty going to the right as Sirois dove left, reducing the deficit to a goal.

At the 95th minute, Hugo Cuypers knotted it at 3-3 when he found the high centre of the goal from the left side of the box. Carlos Terán was credited with the assist off a header following a corner.

Matías Cóccaro scored two early goals on penalty kicks in the seventh and 12th minutes for a 2-0 Montreal lead.

Maren Haile-Selassie got the Fire on the board at the eighth minute of stoppage time in the first half.

Dominik Yankov appeared to have cemented it for Montreal (2-1-1) when he found the bottom left corner off an assist by Josef Martínez for a 3-1 lead in the 70th minute.