Friday, Luciano Acosta resigned with FC Cincinnati. Saturday night proved to be a show by their captain worthy of the Landon Donovan MVP as Acosta led the Orange and Blue to a 3-0 victory over Charlotte FC.
Alvaro Barreal, Aaron Boupendza and the recently resigned king of the Queen city all found the back of the net in the match. Surprisingly, FCC only owned about 40% of the possession all game. But when you fire 20 attempts at Charlotte’s goal and nine of them are on target, you are bound to see balls hit twine!
Taking the pitch for #CINvCLT pic.twitter.com/T9I8QtFkug
— x – FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) September 23, 2023
Acosta
But last night the spotlight was on Cincy’s #10. And he put on a performance that should solidify his MVP season. FCC Coach Pat Noonan mentioned that Acosta was battling an injury from the Montreal game Wednesday. From the get go, it sure didn’t look like it.
Bicycle
In the 16’ Lucho tried and almost nailed a bicycle goal!
Lucho Acosta went for the bicycle kick 😅
(via @MLS)pic.twitter.com/9fOkUCYOBS
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 24, 2023
If that had made it, the crowd’s reaction might have been heard at the Pirates/Reds game going on at Great American Ballpark.
Boup, there it is!
Boupendza after his 2nd half goal Photo from: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Lucho and Boupendza seem to have a connection on the pitch.
Lucho Acosta ➡️ Aaron Boupendza @fccincinnati double their lead early in the second half! pic.twitter.com/6xK1MnwMd6
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 24, 2023
His assist for Aaron’s goal showed his vision and skill. Barreal saw open grass ahead of Acosta, so he lofted a pass into that space. Lucho and Charlotte midfielder, Andrew Privett, raced after the pass. Privett got a touch but it bounced a bit away from him. Acosta ran into the box, but pulled back quickly and hit his teammate with a perfect ball. Boupendza laced one into the upper 90 for the second goal.
Acosta: “Messi-esque”
But the night belonged to the captain. And his goal in the 78’ was sublime.
© Katie Stratmani-USA TODAY Sports
In fact, Acosta’s goal in the second half was something you might see from his fellow Argentine countryman, Leo Messi.
Lucho Acosta… wowwwww. Got a pep in his step with the new contract… what a goal. pic.twitter.com/9eXNTtmLUG
— Stu Holden (@stuholden) September 24, 2023
The movement, explosiveness and creativity from the Cincinnati captain was on full display. Words won’t do that goal justice. Just watch and enjoy what will be the MLS goal of the year.
After the match, the fan favorite had these words for the fans:
A message from your Captain
🫡 @LuchoAcosta94 pic.twitter.com/vscWOcjyhn
— x – FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) September 24, 2023
Noonan Notes
Pat Noonan had praise for his entire team in the press conference after the match. After Wednesday’s late game against Montreal, the club only had two days to prepare. That can create problems with injuries and planning. But a Noonan coached team is 10-2-3 in short rest games!
“I thought with the third game turnaround [three games in seven days], the group was excellent.
You score three goals and keep a clean sheet against a team that is in good form despite results is impressive.”
Pat made a point to highlight three things from the match Saturday evening.
MVP
When asked if there’s any doubt that Lucho was MVP, he responded:
“No…Lucho was outstanding.”
He continued. “This is when you want to see the best version of your team…You want to be your best in this stretch run to the playoffs.”
“Quiet Confidence!”
Coach also mentioned the work and ability of Alvaro Barreal.
“He has a quiet confidence about him. It’s effective.” On the importance of the late first half goal from his winger. “That goal really helped the momentum going into the locker.”
Set piece perfection from Álvaro Barreal! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WE5j59pgFe
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 24, 2023
Barreal was already nominated by FIFA for their version of goal of the year across all leagues. It’s called the Puskas Award. Vote for this goal during the US Open Cup against Pittsburgh!
CINCY'S BARREAL IN PUSKAS RACE 🚀🇦🇷🇺🇸
This sweet, sweet volley from FC Cincinnati's ALVARO BARREAL is on the shortlist for FIFA's Puskas Award, which will crown 2023's best goal. Another 10 strikes are nominated, including 3 from WWC. pic.twitter.com/pc5OrMzEjY
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) September 22, 2023
What a strike!
The FIFA #Puskas Award Nominees! 🏆🎉
🇦🇷 Alvaro Barreal
🇨🇴 Linda Caicedo
🇵🇾 Julio Enciso
🇰🇷 Seong-jin Kang
🇦🇺 Sam Kerr
🇺🇾 Brian Lozano
🇧🇷 Guilherme Madruga
🇪🇸 Ivan Morante
🇵🇹 Nuno Santos
🇰🇿 Askhat Tagybergen
🇧🇷 Beatriz Zaneratto— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) September 22, 2023
Vote with this link!
Defense!
Finally, Noonan talked about his defense. Missing center back Matt Miazga (suspension for yellow cards), the club went with the trio of Cincy’s own Nick Hagglund, Yerson Mosquera from Columbia, and California’s Ian Murphy. Roman Celentano, Cincy’s goalkeeper, had very little to do with these three winning aerials, heading away crosses, and aggressively tackling to keep a clean sheet.
“Our back line has had many different combinations because of guys missing. I thought the three of them (Hagglund, Mosquera, Murphy) were outstanding. They had a physical presence and did a good job of picking up runners in the box.”
Noonan is being kind. These three with the help of some of the midfielders, too, were everywhere. And when they decided to go forward, it gave Charlotte so many problems to defend.
Finally, this night was the maestro, Lucho Acosta, giving his teammates, coaches, fans, and anyone interested in soccer a performance that was worthy of his contract and the Landon Donovan MVP award.
Just put his name on it now.
FINAL STATS
CIN CLT
40% 60% Possession
20 9 Shots
9 0 Shots on target
3 6 Corners
6 27 Crosses
22 8 Clearances
75.6 84.4 Passing Accuracy
Next up!
9/30 Cincinnati vs Toronto, 7:30 PM @Toronto
This is scheduled to be a free game on Apple TV+.
10/4 New York Red Bulls vs Cincinnati, 7:30 PM @TQL Stadium
10/7 Cincinnati vs Miami, 7:30 PM @Miami
International Break
10/21 Atlanta vs Cincinnati, 6:00 PM @TQL Stadium
End of the regular season
Recent Comments