Bastian Schweinsteiger’s comments regarding MLS the other week were less a criticism of the league than a dash of honesty — the Chicago Fire, World Cup hopefuls though they may be, are not as good as Manchester United or Bayern Munich. Dax McCarty isn’t Paul Pogba, David Accam isn’t Arjen Robben and Nemanja Nikolic isn’t Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Schweinsteiger said he isn’t blaming anyone but himself for any misgivings that might arouse. He’s simply going to adapt to his new surroundings and drive the Fire forward. But goddamn, he must’ve been wishing Nikolic was anyone else on the planet after this brilliant piece of individual skill.
With the Fire leading 1-0 against DC United on Saturday, Schweini got on the ball near the corner flag with the expectation of keeping the ball, wasting time and collecting the three points…but this is Bastian Schweinsteiger we’re talking about.
He beats three defenders, including crushing one with a nutmeg and twisting and turning past another, before delivering Chicago a certain three points by serving it on a platter for Nikolic. D’oh.
In the end, thankfully, it didn’t matter. The Fire would hold on for a 1-0 victory. Since Schweinsteiger’s debut against Montreal on April 1, the Fire have gone 5-2-2, climbing to second place behind 2016 MLS Cup finalists Toronto FC.
Here’s another clip of Schweinsteiger’s skillful work sans the blemish at the end.
Bastian got 'em real bad. pic.twitter.com/vyZHL9Jv2X
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 20, 2017
The Fire return to action on Thursday in Chicago against Western Conference power FC Dallas. Bastian Schweinsteiger vs. Kellyn Acosta? We’ll be there.
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