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Jeff Larentowicz's red card for taking down Montreal's Andrea Pisanu looked softer than a down pillow and gave the Fire no hope of coming back in a 2-0 loss to Montreal. For the first 25 minutes, Chicago's attack was back to its ineffectual self.

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MONTREAL -- Andres Romero and Marco Di Vaio scored in the second half, lifting the Montreal Impact to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

Montreal (5-1-1) improved to 3-0-1 at home and won for the first time since beating visiting New York on March 23. The Impact lost 2-0 at Sporting Kansas City a week later and had a 1-1 home draw with Columbus on April 4 in MLS play, and lost 2-0 at Toronto on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals.

The Fire (2-5-1) dropped to 0-3-1 on the road.

Romero got his first MLS goal 57 minutes in as he took a ball on the left side, sidestepped Fire captain Logan Pause and sent the ball into the far top corner behind Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

With the Fire down a man in the 76th, Di Vaio controlled a chip pass from Daniele Paponi and, with his back to the goal, spun and fired a low shot inside the left post for his fourth of the season.

Fire midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was issued a red card for a reckless tackle on Paponi in the 64th and a skirmish erupted when Johnson then charged at Di Vaio to thwart a shot attempt. Both were cautioned.

The Impact showed their rust early as Chicago controlled the play and got chances from Gonzalo Segares, Patrick Nyarko and a long blast by Daniel Paladini that forced Troy Perkins to dive to his right.

Montreal picked up the pace midway through the first half as Paponi headed a Pisanu pass just over the bar in the 27th minute. Jeb Brovsky just missed the left post with a volley and Paponi hit another drive just wide.

Already hit with injuries in the central defense, the Impact saw veteran Alessandro Nesta leave in the 54th minute. French native Wandrille Lefevre, a product of the club's academy, saw his first MLS action. He was given an assist on Romero's goal and received a yellow card for a tackle from behind.

The Fire were without defenseman Wells Thompson, who served a one-game suspension for a reckless tackle against Columbus.

NEW YORK -- Chicago Fire defender Wells Thompson was suspended for a game and fined an undisclosed amount Thursday for his reckless challenge on Columbus' Agustin Viana in a game April 20.

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After peppering the Columbus goal for practically the entire match, Jeff Larentowicz's late tally gave the Fire the win it deserved against the Crew. Patrick Nyarko was lively for the hosts and on another night might have had multiple assists.

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Maicon Santos scored twice and Daniel Paladini had a goal and two assists to lead the Chicago Fire to a 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Sunday.

Santos scored his first goal in the 83rd minute to break a 1-1 tie, rolling a 15-yard right-footed shot from the left side after taking a feed from Paladini and running for about 40 yards. He faked defender Jamison Olave to the turf and booted the ball past Luis Robles.

It was the first win of the season for Chicago (1-3-1), which had been held to one goal in its first four matches, totaling 360 minutes plus stoppage time.

Olave gave New York a 1-0 lead in the 17th with a left-footed volley to hammer home a header by Tim Cahill.

The Fire tied it on a header by Paladini and Santos' second goal came in the 89th minute.

A weekend off gave Chicago a chance to regroup. Manager Frank Klopas will be hoping that a visit from the New York Red Bulls will cure what is ailing his team.

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Former Fire player DaMarcus Beasley talks about the United States' upcoming match against arch rival Mexico in the Azteca stadium on Tuesday.

The good news: After failing to score in its first three games, the Fire got on the board thanks to Patrick Nyarko. The bad news: Just about everything else after a home loss to Chivas USA. Defender Arne Friedrich can't return soon enough.

Read ESPN's MLS Power Rankings: Week 4

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Defender Joaquin Velazquez and striker Juan Agudelo scored midway through the second half to lead Chivas USA to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday.

Velazquez gave Chivas (2-1-1) a 2-1 lead on a header in the 73rd minute. He directed midfielder Edgar Mejia's long cross from the left side past goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi before Chicago's defenders could react.

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