NASHVILLE, TN - Nashville SC were absolutely ascendent at Geodis Park on Saturday night, smashing seven goals past Chicago Fire FC in a dominant 7-2 win.
The victory set Nashville's club record for the most goals in a match and was just one goal shy of tying the MLS all-time record.
The XI
Up against Gregg Berhalter, under whom, he coached with the U.S. Men's National Team, Nashville head coach BJ Callaghan made two changes from the side that lost 3-0 in Seattle last weekend. Eddi Tagseth came into the lineup to replace Gastón Brugman, while Jacob Shaffelburg made his first start of the season ahead of Ahmed Qasem.
Nashville SC Starting XI vs Chicago Fire: Willis; Lovitz, Maher, Palacios, Najar; Tagseth, Yazbek; Muyl, Shaffelburg; Surridge, Mukhtar © BENCH: Schwake, Acosta, Brugman, Bunbury, Washington, Pérez, Applewhite, Qasem
— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) 2025-04-26T23:33:08.023Z
On the pitch
Nashville were assertive from start to finish. Sam Surridge started and finished the first half with a pair of penalty kick goals, opening the scoring in the 14th minute before adding a second deep into stoppage time.
In between, Jeisson Palacios scored his first goal in Major League Soccer, smashing home a header from a corner kick to open his account. Hany Mukhtar continued his dominance over Chicago, linking up with the stellar Andy Najar to grab a first-half brace.
4 GOALS IN 30 MIN 🤯@NashvilleSC can't stop scoring! pic.twitter.com/FRwSlISosX
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 27, 2025
After halftime, Surridge picked up where he left off. The Englishman made it a hat-trick in the 50th minute and scored a fourth in the 57th, with the two goals coming off nearly identical balls over the top from Najar, who finished the night with three assists.
🚨 SAM SURRIDGE HAT TRICK 🚨
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 27, 2025
6-0 @NashvilleSC! pic.twitter.com/5xfhfUNLBh
Chicago spoiled Nashville's clean sheet late in the match. Philip Zinckernagel curled an inch-perfect free kick into the top corner. It was a world-class finish from the Dane and the best goal of the night, but warranted nothing more than an angry hand wave in celebration. Minutes later, Hugo Cuypers added a second to stay on top of the MLS Golden Boot race.
Nashville had a pair of chances to increase the scoreline. Late in the match, a ball from Dan Lovitz looked destined to find substitute Jonny Pérez open in front of goal. However, a sliding effort from Teal Bunbury deflected the ball just out of his reach. Minutes later, Bunbury smashed a potential eighth goal just wide of the near post.
In all, Nashville put in not just the best performance in club history, but one of the most dominant wins in the history of MLS.
Up next
Nashville are on the road next weekend, taking on a struggling Atlanta United in a Southern Championship Belt match on Saturday, May 2.
Stats
Possession: NSH 58% – 42% CHI
Passes completed: NSH 521 – 355 CHI
Shots: NSH 18 – 8 CHI
Shots on goal: NSH 12 – 5 CHI
Penalty kicks: NSH 2 – 0 CHI
Goals: NSH 7 – 2 CHI
Expected goals: NSH 4.23 – 0.70 CHI
Fouls: NSH 12 – 13 CHI
Yellow cards: NSH 0 – 4 CHI
Red cards: NSH 0 – 0 CHI
