Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller dominated together for years, playing 228 Bundesliga matches together as Bayern Munich’s star striker and attacking midfielder.
Now, they’ll finally face each other in MLS when Muller’s Vancouver Whitecaps visit Lewandowski’s Chicago Fire on Tuesday.
The match was originally scheduled for July 16, as Major League Soccer was just coming out of its World Cup break. Wildfire smoke at the time created dangerous air quality, and the match was postponed.
Lewandowski made his MLS debut six days later against Inter Miami and has since tallied six goals and two assists in 11 league matches. He’s helped lift the Fire (12-8-6, 42 points) into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
It was no sure thing that Lewandowski would be available for Chicago on Tuesday, as he still stars for the Polish national team, which is competing in the UEFA Nations League. He scored a hat trick Friday in a 6-0 win over Romania, but he also picked up his second yellow card in as many matches, triggering a one-game suspension for Poland’s last game of the current window, a 1-0 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday.
So the 38-year-old returned to his club early, and the Fire’s official X account tagged him in a post that read, “See you on Tuesday.”
The Fire are confident as they prepare to face the best team in the West.
“I think Vancouver is a very intense team, obviously doing well in their conference,” midfielder Mauricio Pineda said. “We’ve been preparing well for that, like we approached the Charlotte game and played with some guys missing, but Robert’s back. … So, yeah, nothing less than three points is the expectation for us, too.”
Vancouver (15-6-5, 50 points) leads the Western Conference by three points with a match in hand entering the week, and Muller has been a big reason why.
In his first full MLS season, he has tallied nine goals and eight assists in 22 matches and was named an All-Star.
The 37-year-old signed an extension with Vancouver last week through the 2027 sprint season.
“Vancouver has been very open and welcoming to me, and I’ve felt that same spirit throughout the club,” Muller said in a statement. “We have an offensive, possession-based style that is fun to play and fun to watch, and you can really feel the excitement around the team and the city right now. The fans are enjoying it, and I think everyone wants to be part of what we are building.”
–Field Level Media
