There were questions – predictable questions, really – as to whether or not Bastian Schweinsteiger had any gas left in his tank when the Chicago Fire signed him last week. He hadn't played much in the last 12 months, after all, and he's suffered a number of knee injuries. On top of that, few 32-year-olds have logged as many miles on the pitch.
But the 90-minute shift he put in during Saturday's ultimately disappointing 2-2 draw against Montreal should lay those fears to rest for now. He scored a goal and proved probably the best player on the pitch for either team, looking every bit a DP-caliber player.
He is not, however, a cure-all for Chicago's woes. The right side of their defense was, once again, flimsy. Goalkeeper Jorge Bava struggled to make necessary saves, and Nemanja Nikolic still seemed mostly lost.
And so they squandered a 1-0 lead, surrendered two soft goals, and far too frequently failed to create penetration out of their possession. There were large chunks of the game in which Schweinsteiger, Dax McCarty, and Juninho weren't so great at working together. It was only after rookie Daniel Johnson – a more attack-minded midfielder – subbed in that the Fire were able to create the kind of up-the-gut chances for which one would hope:
This is good stuff. Fire have gotten more penetration in last 5 mins than when they were playing 11v11. #CHIvMTLpic.twitter.com/BKhLUVeIYq
— Matthew Doyle (@MLSAnalyst) April 1, 2017
Schweinsteiger's through-ball there was beautiful. Johnson's patience on the pass before the pass, though, shouldn't go underappreciated. Neither should the fact that Schweinsteiger completed two through-balls in this game, and both came off of passes from Johnson, who has a knack for operating in different pockets of space than the rest of the Chicago midfielders.
I'm not going to suggest even for a second, that Juninho (who will miss the next game after picking up a red card) should be benched permanently. Nor am I going to suggest that Montreal's own defensive frailties after subbing out Marco Donadel weren't at play over the final 15 minutes as the game opened up. The Impact are a different team when he's on the bench, and Chicago took advantage of that.
Nonetheless I think the question of how Schweinsteiger, McCarty, and Juninho will all work together remains fair, and still open. Talent alone doesn't win. There needs to be balance, and there needs to be fit.
Saturday's performance, as encouraging as it was at times, showed it's not all there yet for Chicago. The predictable questions about Schweinsteiger may have been answered, but the bigger-picture questions about the team as a whole remain up for debate.
