BRIDGEVIEW, Illinois (AP) - Bastian Schweinsteiger capped his MLS debut with a brilliantly taken first-half goal to help the Chicago Fire snatch a dramatic 2-2 draw with Montreal Impact on Saturday.
A World Cup winner with Germany, Schweinsteiger could hardly have made a better start for his new team after leaving Manchester United, where he had spent most of his time on the bench.
The 32-year-old put his name on the scorer’s list after just 17 minutes, climbing above the defense to connect with David Accam’s corner and head the ball into the net to give his side the early lead.
“I was not nervous, but I was looking forward to play football,” said Schweinsteiger, who played the full 90 minutes.
“Perfect cross from David and the header. It was a good feeling at first, but I’m a little bit sad and not so happy that we couldn’t win the game.”
Matteo Mancosu equalized for Montreal in the 61st minute then Chicago found themselves a man down after 71 minutes when Juninho was shown a second yellow card.
Montreal’s Víctor Cabrera was also sent off, in the 80th minute, to make it 10 on 10 and the visitors looked to have pinched the win when Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla struck in the 90th minute.
But three minutes into stoppage time, Chicago scored again through Luis Solignac to earn a deserved share of the points.
“A debut with a goal is always something that we all dream of,” Fire coach Veljko Paunovic said about Schweinsteiger. “You know, starting and opening the game how we did with his goal, I think it was an important thing for our team.”
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