The start couldn’t have been much worse Saturday night for the Chicago Fire.

Three first-half goals by the Philadelphia Union, two by Tai Baribo, and a missed Fire penalty led the Union to a 3-0 win, the top seed in the Eastern Conference winning the best-of-3 first-round series in two games.

The Union now await the winner between No. 4 New York City FC and No. 5 Charlotte. Charlotte survived in penalty kicks Saturday to push the series to a clinching Game 3. With the international break, the Union are off until Nov. 22 or 23.

The win is just the second road playoff win in club history, joining Game 2 of the 2023 best-of-3 series in New England. The Union are 2-5-1 all-time in road playoff games. They won’t have to leave Subaru Park the rest of the postseason.

Saturday’s game was over

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