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Chicago Fire close in on No. 4 playoff seed, riding Jonathan Bamba’s 1st career multigoal game to 4-2 win
The Fire's Jonathan Bamba, second from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his first of two goals during the first half against the Rapids on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Commerce City, Colo. The Fire won 4-2. (Ray Bahner/Getty)
The Fire’s Jonathan Bamba, second from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his first of two goals during the first half against the Rapids on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Commerce City, Colo. The Fire won 4-2. (Ray Bahner/Getty)

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Jonathan Bamba scored two goals, Robert Lewandowski and Puso Dithejane each added a goal and the Chicago Fire beat the Colorado Rapids 4-2 on Saturday night.

The Fire (16-10-7, 55 points) are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with one regular-season match remaining. They sit one point behind third-place Inter Miami, which has two games left, and two points ahead of fifth-place Charlotte, which has one match to play. The No. 4 seed has home-field advantage in a best-of-three first-round playoff series.

The Fire play host to the Columbus Crew on the final day of the regular season Saturday at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.

Robert Lewandowski, from left, Jonathan Dean and Andrew Gutman celebrate the Fire's fourth goal during the second half against the Rapids on Saturday ,Oct. 31, 2026, in Commerce City, Colo. The Fire won 4-2. (Ray Bahner/Getty)
Robert Lewandowski, from left, Jonathan Dean and Andrew Gutman celebrate the Fire's fourth goal during the second half against the Rapids on Saturday ,Oct. 31, 2026, in Commerce City, Colo. The Fire won 4-2. (Ray Bahner/Getty)

Lewandowski, on a counterattack, ran onto a ball played ahead by Philip Zinckernagel near the top of the penalty, cut to evade goalkeeper Nico Hansen, who charged off his line, and scored from point-blank range to give the Fire a 3-2 lead in the 74th minute.

Bamba scored a goal in the 41st minute to make it 1-1 at halftime and gave the Fire a 2-1 lead in the 56th, his first multigoal game in MLS. Dithejane put away a feed from Lewandowski to cap the scoring in the 88th.

Morgan Whittaker opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and Paxten Aaronson added a goal in the 58th for the Rapids. Whittaker scored a goal for the third consecutive game.

The Rapids (12-14-7) had their five-game unbeaten streak snapped. They have 43 points, eight in the Western Conference and one point ahead of 10th-place Real Salt Lake.

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