MLS preview: TFC faces tough foe as Lewandowski, Fire come to town

One of the greatest goal scorers of all time is expected to touch down at BMO Field this weekend when Toronto FC hosts the Chicago Fire.  

Chicago made a big splash back in June when it signed iconic forward Robert Lewandowski to a contract that ties him to the club through the 2027-28 MLS season. If he plays on Saturday, it’ll be Lewandowski’s first taste of MLS action on Canadian soil. 

Lewandowski was a free agent after spending four seasons with Spanish giants FC Barcelona. Prior to that, he enjoyed prolific stints with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga after cutting his teeth in his native Poland with Lech Poznań and Znicz Pruszków. 

The Polish striker often gets overlooked during debates about the game’s greatest ever forward, which is a shame because his name certainly merits being mentioned in the discussion. Lewandowski plundered goals at an impressively consistent rate during his European club career, scoring 629 times and tallying 159 assists since making his professional debut in 2008 as a 19-year-old. 

Age doesn’t seem to be slowing down the 38-year-old, either. Lewandowski had 19 goals across all competitions for Barcelona during the 2025-26 campaign, including four in the UEFA Champions League.  

He’s hit the ground running in Chicago with four goals and an assist in seven MLS games (he also scored in the Leagues Cup). Last weekend he had a goal and an assist in Chicago's 2-2 draw away to the Seattle Sounders, earning a spot on the MLS team of the week.  

Stopping the goal-scoring powerhouse from Poland will be one of TFC’s toughest assignments to date this season in MLS. But coach Robin Fraser explained his team can’t turn its entire focus on Lewandowski. 

“Obviously, he's a very, very good player; a very experienced player. It would be naive to say, ‘Oh, we're just going to man-mark him and stop him.’ I think he's far too clever for that, and (Chicago) is far too good for that. So, it's going to be about what we do collectively in dealing with not just Lewandowski, but they have a lot of very good players, and it's how we move as a team collectively,” Fraser said. 

It’s a sentiment echoed by Chilean Benjamin Kuscevic, Toronto’s veteran centre back who has forged a good relationship with Walker Zimmerman in the middle of defence during his first MLS season. 

“He's a very good striker. But I face every game every striker the same way. I don't want him to score. I don't care (about) his name,” Kusecvic stated. 

Fire coach Gregg Berhalter preaches an aggressive, high-pressing style of play that requires his team to try to disrupt opponents in their buildup play in order to win back possession.  

It’s a strategy that puts a lot of physical demands on his players, including Lewandowski, who hasn’t balked at the defensive duties with which he’s been saddled by Berhalter. 

“What’s really blown me away is the work rate from him defensively and in the press… He’s shown a willingness to do the work while also creating for his teammates,” said Chicago Fire radio analyst Joe Chatz of WLS-AM 890. 

Elsewhere in MLS this weekend… 

• Two of the best teams in the Western Conference will clash on Saturday when the Vancouver Whitecaps welcome St. Louis City SC to BC Place. Vancouver sits in first place in the West (and second in the overall league table), while St. Louis has overcome a poor start to the season by going unbeaten in their last 12 games (eight wins), with its last loss coming on May 3.  

• Things don’t get any easier this weekend for CF Montreal when it visits the Philadelphia Union. Last week, Montreal suffered a humiliating 7-1 road loss to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. The Union aren’t on the same level as the defending MLS Cup champions, but they are unbeaten in their last seven games (five wins) and have already defeated Montreal this season at Stade Saputo.  

• Another interesting Western Conference battle this weekend sees the Portland Timbers host Minnesota United. The visitors currently hold down the ninth and final playoff spot in the West with a one-point edge over the hosts. Saturday’s game should mark the Portland debut of Canadian international defender Joel Waterman, who was traded to the Timbers from the Chicago Fire earlier this week.  

• What will Lionel Messi do for an encore when Inter Miami tangles with Atlanta United in South Florida? That’s the big question after the World Cup winner erupted for four goals and an assist in last week’s destruction of CF Montreal. Messi has scored in three straight games to increase his tally to a league-leading 18 goals on the season as he vies to win an unprecedented third straight MVP award.  

• East meets West when the New York Red Bulls visit the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field. Seattle acquired midfielder Caden Clark in a trade with D.C. United earlier this week, so Saturday should mark the youngster’s debut for the Sounders. Clark is only 23, but he’s already on his fifth MLS team after stints with D.C., New York, CF Montreal and Minnesota. The U.S. international (one goal, two caps) has 11 goals and 19 assists in 116 MLS regular season games during his career.  

• The MLS weekend kicks off on Friday when Nashville SC travels to Yankee Stadium to take on New York City FC. Nashville tops the MLS standings with an impressive 16-2-4 record and has won four in a row (unbeaten in five) with just one loss in their previous 16 games dating back to April 11. Last week’s 4-0 win over FC Cincinnati was their league-leading 10th clean sheet of the campaign.