FC Cincinnati Beat: Orange and Blue look to bounce back against Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF

CINCINNATI — FC Cincinnati have done a lot of good things over the last three-plus seasons. They’ve risen from the bottom of the Eastern Conference after the 2021 season to one of the top teams in the conference and Major League Soccer with three MLS Cup Playoffs appearances and winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2023.

But after Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Columbus Crew in the “Hell is Real Derby,” a match where Cincinnati (13-6-3, 42 points) led 2-0 after the first five minutes, it’s still an area that needs major improvement; playing with, preserving and adding on to two-goal leads.

“The message, I think, is pretty clear from all of us,” FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. “So, that can only be answered by how we train over the next two days and how we perform on Wednesday to see what the response looks like.”

It’s clear from Noonan’s session with the media on Monday that he and the rest of the club have moved on from Saturday’s setback and are turning their attention towards Inter Miami CF on Wednesday night. Of course, there’s only one player FC Cincinnati fans need to know from Miami; international soccer superstar Lionel Messi.

In addition, FC Cincinnati also couldn’t hold a two-goal lead against Inter Miami in the U.S. Open Cup Semifinals back in 2023, falling 3-2 in an extra-time thriller.

“As a manager, what I’m trying to do is help these guys understand how we can have success and where the opponent can cause you problems,” Noonan said. “I would say, unfortunately, in this scenario it’s a player that nobody has had the answer to stopping, ever.

“Like I say all the time, if you can get the defensive structure right, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get the individual duels right and if we can have success in those moments, you know, I think we can have a good, good performance. But if your one-v-one duels are lost and the game opens up, that’s where the passing and the level of creativity is elevated, and that’s where it’ll be challenging.”

It isn’t just Messi that makes Miami (11-3-5, 38 points) really good. Noonan also mentioned other key players including Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Tadeo Allende.

“They respond, you see what the top players are capable of when they’re in a tough stretch, because there were some tough results and how they’ve come out of that is being one of the best teams in the league,” Noonan said. “It’ll be a good challenge for us and, like we saw on the weekend, it has to be 90 minutes of concentration and courage – both sides of the ball – to understand how to play and manage a game.”

Miami has not lost and MLS regular-season since May 18th, and they’ve won five straight MLS regular-season matches coming into Wednesday night. In addition, Miami also made it to the Round of 16 in the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this Summer.

Coming into this season as the reigning Supporters’ Shield winners, Miami is coming into this match playing its best soccer of the season. It took them a little while to get going with first-year head coach Javier Mascherano leading the club, but they have suddenly vaulted right back up to the fringe of Supporters’ Shield contention.

“Their attacking shape and movement off the ball is very good. They understand how to find space, how to approach an opponent to get players on the ball to be effective,” Noonan said. “I think defensively you can see, just in moments where the ball turns over, the organization and how they’ve defended against the ball… and tough to play against.”

One player that could help Cincinnati defensively is the potential return of defender Nick Haaglund. The homegrown defender has been out since May 25th with broken ribs sustained in a brutal collision during the match at Atlanta.

“He’s back,” Noonan said. “He’s been around enough, even with his absence with the injury on field, but he’s been present and his energy, his leadership, has been felt the entire period of time that he’s not able to be on the field with his teammates. But Nick’s been Nick, which is always impactful in a positive way for our group.”

This will be the first of two matches in 11 days between Cincinnati and Miami. The match in South Florida will be on July 26th.

Cincinnati is only one point behind Philadelphia for first place in the Eastern Confernece, and they’re only one point behind in the Supoorters’ Shield race.