FC Cincinnati will chase its fourth consecutive victory during the match outside Saturday against Chicago’s fire in difficulty.
Cincinnati mourns the loss of former striker Aaron Boupendza, who died after falling from the 11th floor of his building in China.
“I will try to think about the good times. Aaron was part of the winning team of our supporters in 2023 and had important objectives and contributions. This is what you are trying to remember in a difficult period,” said Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan on Thursday.
“It’s difficult. But it was part of our family, and we are here to support those who are close to him.”
FC Cincinnati (5-2-1, 16 points) won victories on Nashville, New England and DC United before this weekend match. Eight of their 10 goals this season occurred in the second half, six in the last 20 minutes. Their ability to fight teeth and nails in the dying moments of the game and to remove the late winners made it a dreaded opponent in the East.
“We know that if we do not succeed with the ball and that we do not create a chance in a coherent way or that we put teams under pressure, we must understand how to defend these moments,” said Noonan.
Their disjointed style of play was clear in their recent victory over DC United. They were tireless to follow, refused DC any breathing room and slowed down the game by crawling with their compact defense. Roman Calentano published its second consecutive white sheet.
Cincinnati can compensate for an incoherent attack with a fierce defense, which Chicago (3-2-3, 12 points) could have trouble with this weekend.
Chicago has not yet won a home game and aims at his first victory in four games. The fire ranks second in the east with 14 goals scored. Their trio attacker by Jonathan Bamba (one goal, four assists), Hugo Cuypers (five goals, a decisive pass) and Philip Zinckertelntel (two goals, three assists) could be a problem for Cincinnati by giving the opportunity.
None of them pierced in the last Chicago game, a 0-0 draw against Inter Miami.
“I have said regularly since I was here in the major football leagues, you can win every match, you can lose every match,” said fire coach Greg Berhalter. “So I think that it doesn’t matter who is the opponent, I think we can set up a performance that can beat them, but we can also set up a performance that we lose the game.”
– field level media