Cincinnati beats Miami
There is a difference between beating a team and dominating a team. There is a difference between dominating a team and overpowering a team. There is a difference between overpowering a team and making a team submit.
FC Cincinnati used all of these elements in a 6-1 win over Inter Miami on Saturday in what was meant to be a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, but Cincinnati made it almost a no-go.
In fact, the game was decided when the players were fielded. Inter Miami coach Tata Martino fielded a very static backline with Sergei Krivtsov and Sergio Busquets at center back. Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan revamped his front three, creating a fluid trio of in-form, technically skilled players (to say the least) who excelled in transition. You can pretty much guess how this game went.
Led by MVP defender Luciano Acosta and Luca Orellano, who looked utterly unstoppable in his first MLS start as an attacking midfielder, Cincinnati pressed the Miami half with relentless pace, with quick one-touch and two-touch passing that got Miami in on the lines and shots they couldn't prevent.
“Luke [Orellano]”He wasn't playing that position consistently tonight, but I thought the impact he had was outstanding,” Noonan said after the game. “Lucho is Lucho. Stay tuned.”
Whatever superlatives you might name, Acosta deserved them all Saturday night. He was involved in nearly every one of Cincinnati's attacks, and there were plenty. He provided the assists for Pavel Bucha's volley off a corner kick and Yamir Assad's spectacular overlapping goal. He also scored the lone goal he scored, a spinning run in the box that had defenders diving and diving before the ball dropped into the far corner. And throughout the game, he was like a magician with his heel-flicks and uncanny linkups with teammates that had fans and defenders alike in awe.
The guy is just special, there's no other way to say it.
Overall, the win puts Cincinnati in sole possession of first place in the East Division and in the race for the Supporters' Shield. With three games remaining before the League Cup begins in August, Cincinnati has a chance to pull away from the rest of the pack.
Miami vs. Cincinnati, August 24, Fort Lauderdale, FL. This time around, both teams will be in the final stages of the regular season and likely with full rosters, so mark your calendars!
Columbus is doing well
Now, off to the other side of Ohio…
Just over a month ago, Columbus Crew suffered a heartbreaking loss to Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Final, a loss that would have doomed many teams early in the season. Remember Toronto FC, who lost to Chivas in the continental championship in 2018? Many considered them, and still consider them, one of the best teams in MLS history. Featuring Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore at the height of their power, the team went on to beat Club America and Tigres in two games on their way to the final as favorites.
But after the loss, they completely fell apart. Toronto finished ninth in the East after winning just two league games last season. This Crew team is a cut above the rest.
Since the finals, the Crew has won five of their last six games. They've also outscored their opponents 15 to 1 in their last four games. Coincidentally, Toronto is the latest victim of Columbus' blitz, suffering a brutal 4-0 defeat in Ohio on Saturday.
Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy was asked after the game what impressed him most about his team's recent form.
“Not taking anything for granted,” Nancy replied, “that's why we're good at attacking and defending. That's what I like about it, because it shows that you're confident but also that you're comfortable enough to accept that you have to try again to score a goal in a different way. I really like that mentality.”
If there's one player who embodies that mentality, it's Cucho Hernandez. The striker got off to a slow start to the season and was embroiled in some minor controversy, but the Colombian has started to find his form midway through the season. Since the finals, he's recorded seven goals and six assists, averaging two goal contributions per game, and he added one of each against Toronto.
Special praise also needs to go to Max Alfsten, who has made the left-back position his own in Nancy's 3-4-2-1. His ability to cross with both feet and shoot on goal is rare in this league, and I fear (at least elsewhere in MLS) that the French coach has found another gem in the 23-year-old.
Diego Luna's Revenge Game
A few days ago, I raved about Real Salt Lake player Diego Luna and petitioned officials to include him on the U.S. Olympic team. In the end, my plea, which anyone who has watched one Real Salt Lake game this year can relate to, fell on deaf ears. Luna will not be on the plane to Paris.
And he took it personally.
Just hours after reports broke that he had not been selected for the 18-man squad, Luna decided to put together the best performance of his MLS career, statistically. Diego Luna recorded one goal and three assists, including one a minute into the game, as RSL dominated an underpowered Atlanta United 5-2. His totals for the season are five goals and 12 assists, the latter good for third in the league behind only Acosta and a nobody named Lionel Messi. That's a good thing, right?
“What can I say? It's poking the bear,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said after the game about Luna missing out on the Olympic team. “He's a player who plays with a chip on his shoulder.”
“Selfishly, for me and the rest of the team, we have some top class players available for the next games.”
Now, let me give you a little speech.
I have no idea why Luna isn't in this squad. I watched the US warmup games in June and they needed a creative playmaker. It's crazy to think he wasn't included before that boring game, but it's also completely insane that he wasn't included afterwards.
Luna is arguably the most talented player on the U.S. U-23 roster and fills a need that doesn't need to be filled with an overage player, and because he's a dual Mexican-American citizen, not being called up to the Olympics opens the door wide for the Mexican Football Federation to swoop in and come up with a plan to actually evaluate him.
USA U-23 head coach Marko Mitrovic must see the game differently than the rest of us, and I can't think of any other reason why he would leave Luna out.
