A week after allowing two late goals on the road, D.C. United avoided a similar fate on Saturday night but still had to settle for a 0-0 draw against the Chicago Fire at SeatGeek Stadium, in Bridgeview, Illinois. Wayne Rooney returned to the lineup after missing Sunday's loss to Atlanta United but could not provide the necessary spark for the Black-and-Red offensively, who were shut out for the second consecutive game.

The result left United with just one win during the 2010s in Bridgeview. In addition, United couldn't take advantage of a New York Red Bulls loss to give themselves a bit more breathing space in a suddenly crowded Eastern Conference. United moved back into third place in the East but sit just four points ahead of eighth-placed Toronto FC.

Head coach Ben Olsen kept his three-center back formation once again, with Joseph Mora the odd man out with the return of Rooney. It was the fourth game in a row in which Olsen utilized the formation, which has seen the Black-and-Red acquire five points during a run of two wins in 12 games.

On Saturday, both teams struggled for most of the game offensively, but Frederic Brillant made two big plays in the first half to keep the hosts off the board. The first came in the 11th minute when CJ Sapong picked out Przemysław Frankowski with a long ball into United's half. Frankowski could have taken the chance himself but opted to center the ball for Nemanja Nikolic. Just before Nikolic could guide the ball towards goal, Brillant slid in to sweep the ball away. 

In the 29th minute, a free kick from Nicolas Gaitan was headed towards goal by Jonathan Bornstein. Bill Hamid parried away the initial danger, but Johan Kappelhof chested the ball back towards goal, with Brillant stationed on the line to save another goal. 

Both teams managed just one shot on target from four attempts in the first half, with Luciano Acosta heading over the mark in the 34th minute from a short corner, delivered in by Junior Moreno. 

Hamid had to be smart to parry away a shot from Brandt Bronico early in the second half, conceding a corner which caused a bit of havoc in the box. A second ball into the box deflected off of Brillant's hand, dropping right in front of goal for Sapong. Before the striker could deliver the opening goal though, Russell Canouse slid in to knock the ball away, and there was no video review on the incident with Brillant, despite protests from the Fire.

Rooney had an unusually quiet game by his lofty standards but had two opportunities from free kicks in the second half to break the deadlock. The first hit the wall in the 59th minute, and the second forced a save out of Kenneth Kronholm in the 67th minute.

Acosta, who had played well last week in place of Rooney, spotted an opening from outside the box in the 71st minute but hit a shot that fizzed just past the corner of the goal.

If there was going to be a winner late on, it appeared that it was going to be the Fire who snatched three points, but to no avail. Hamid made a save on Frankowski in the 82nd minute before Steven Birnbaum somehow deflected a shot from Dax McCarty over the goal in the 85th minute. In the last minute of stoppage time, substitute Amando Moreno had one last opportunity for the hosts but curled his shot from the top of the box over the frame.

The draw leaves United with 36 points from 24 games, with just 10 regular-season games remaining in 2019. D.C. is back in action next Sunday when they host the Philadelphia Union at Audi Field.