It’s hard to tell which of the five designated players from both the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls brought the record breaking crowd of 21,868 cheering fans to Toyota Park for the 0-0 draw Aug. 8.

The Fire counted on the star power of both Mexican Nery Castillo and Swedish Freddie Ljungberg. The Red Bulls brought Theirry Henry, Rafael Márquez and Juan Pablo Ángel.

One thing was clear at the end: Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson is the real deal. Johnson stepped up his game with seven crucial saves for the Fire, stopping shots from both Henry and Ángel.

“Johnson’s a young player, but he’s doing a great job,” said Carlos de los Cobos, Fire’s head coach.

Fans at the game saw Henry being pulled in the first half after suffering a light groin strain. Castillo was put on the field
of play in the 56’, but only shared the field with Márquez for five minutes before the former Barcelona star was pulled. Ljungberg and Ángel played all 90 minutes of the game.

“The guys have been great and I feel like I’m working well with them,” Ljungberg said.

The Fire kept pace with the Red Bulls during the first half, but were pushed back the second half, allowing 15 shots at goal. Despite having Castillo come onto the field, the team wasn’t able to find their footing.

“We should have won. Chicago and their goalkeeper had a great game,” said Henry.

The Fire’s next match will be Aug. 18 against New England Revolution.