New England 1-0 Chicago Fire: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings
MLS · Saturday 17 October 2026 · Boston Stadium, Foxborough · referee N. Bensalah · full time
Full time: New England 1-0 Chicago Fire
New England beat Chicago Fire 1-0 in MLS on Saturday 17 October 2026 at Boston Stadium. The goals: Matt Polster 26'.
How New England won it
The opening goal came in the 26th minute: Matt Polster for New England, set up by Carles Gil.
It was 1-0 at half-time, and nothing changed after the break.
The referee, N. Bensalah, showed 2 yellow cards: 1 to New England and 1 to Chicago Fire.
New England: M. Mitrovic, 4-3-3 · Chicago Fire: G. Berhalter, 4-2-3-1.
Moneyball's prediction against the result
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Why it went this way
On the day the expected goals were 1.33 for New England and 0.37 for Chicago Fire.
New England had 4 shots on target, Chicago Fire 6.
New England's goalkeeper made 6 saves.
Chicago Fire had 62% of the ball, but New England took the points.
Where the two sides stood before this match
New England came into it with 34 MLS matches played, scoring 1.6 and conceding 1.4 a match, with 1.52 expected goals for and 1.57 against, and had won 53% of their matches.
Chicago Fire came into it with 34 MLS matches played, scoring 1.9 and conceding 1.6 a match, with 1.88 expected goals for and 1.42 against, and had won 47% of their matches.
New England vs Chicago Fire: the match in numbers
| New England | Match statistics | Chicago Fire |
|---|---|---|
| 38% | Ball possession | 62% |
| 1.33 | Expected goals (xG) | 0.37 |
| 5 | Total shots | 19 |
| 4 | Shots on target | 6 |
| 0 | Big chances | 1 |
| 362 | Total passes | 573 |
| 85% | Pass accuracy | 90% |
| 0 | Corners | 10 |
| 9 | Fouls | 17 |
| 1 | Offsides | 1 |
| 13 | Tackles | 20 |
| 6 | Saves | 3 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 1 |
Team statistics from Sportmonks.
Player ratings and man of the match
Man of the match: Matt Turner (New England), rated 8.3 by Sportmonks.
New England
- Matt Turner 8.3
- Joshua Wynder 7.5
- Peyton Miller 7.4
- Matt Polster 7.2 1 goal
- Carles Gil 7.2 1 assist
Chicago Fire
- Anton Salétros 7.3
- Anzor Mekvabishvili 7.2
- Philip Zinckernagel 7.0
- Djé D'Avilla 6.9
- Jonathan Bamba 6.9
The lowest-rated starter was Andrew Gutman at 6.6. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.
What comes next
- New England: New England vs Philadelphia Union Saturday 21 November 2026 · MLS
- Chicago Fire: Chicago Fire vs Charlotte Sunday 22 November 2026 · MLS
Each preview has Moneyball's estimate for the next match, published before kick-off and marked against the result afterwards, as this one is.
Questions about New England vs Chicago Fire
What was the score in New England vs Chicago Fire?
New England 1-0 Chicago Fire (half-time 1-0), MLS, Saturday 17 October 2026.
Who scored in New England vs Chicago Fire?
Matt Polster 26'.
Did Moneyball predict New England vs Chicago Fire correctly?
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Who was man of the match in New England vs Chicago Fire?
Matt Turner, rated 8.3 by Sportmonks.
Who refereed New England vs Chicago Fire?
N. Bensalah.
Every match, before and after
Moneyball writes a preview with its estimate before every match of Europe's top five leagues and the European cups, then marks it against the result, hits and misses alike.
Moneyball is a football statistics site. No model predicts football reliably: every figure is an estimate.