The Fire came away from their first meeting of the season with Philadelphia without the result they wanted, and a renewed focus for the stretch run of the regular season. Here's a brief look at some of the takeaways from Saturday's 3-1 road defeat:
Ins and Outs
The Fire welcomed back Michael de Leeuw (suspension) as well as Joao Meira (calf injury) when the Starting XI was announced on Saturday night, but midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Juninho remained absent with a calf injury and left knee injury, respectively. With a difficult midweek trip to San Jose preceding next Saturday’s key showdown with NYCFC at Toyota Park, time will tell as to when Schweinsteiger or Juninho will be able to retake their place in the Fire lineup.