Cincinnati assistant head coach Dominic Kinnear insisted that the team’s slow starts were "alarming" and needed to be put right ahead of the visit of CF Montreal.
With head coach Pat Noonan serving a suspension, Kinnear watched on as his side conceded two goals in six minutes against Inter Miami, with Luis Suarez netting both in a 2-0 victory for the Eastern Conference leaders.
Despite the result, the Orange and Blue remain second in the standings, but have Leagues Cup winners Columbus Crew breathing down their necks and the advantage of having two games in hand.
Kinnear believes that starting fast will set the tone for the remainder of the season, explaining that it must start sooner rather than later ahead of the playoffs.
“It's cause for alarms,” Kinnear said of the team conceding early in four of their last six matches. “It's the intensity and the, you know. I think at times, the lack of understanding of how the other team is going to come out.”
“These are some very important games. There are playoff positions and trophies on the line. You know, for me, that was a flat 10 minutes. As flat as I've seen coming out of the locker room.
“Are we out of shape? No. Is the preparation not there; are they understanding the opponent? I think everything is in line there. Sometimes that's the unknown answer. But you know, I won't disagree. We have come out flat and it's something we need to address for sure."
Montreal, meanwhile, returned from their Leagues Cup campaign with a whimper as they were thumped 5-0 by New England Revolution - their heaviest defeat of the season.
The result leaves the team in 11th place in the Eastern Conference table, but just a point behind Atlanta United, who occupy the final playoff spot in the division.
Head coach Laurent Courtois criticised his players for a combination of individual errors that led to the defeat, bemoaning his squad for a lack of discipline during the contest.
"We thought we had made the personal or tactical adjustments in the second half to turn things around, but when you lose your discipline, it becomes complicated,” Courtois said.
“There were individual errors that hurt. It's difficult for me to talk about positives tonight, even if we thought there was room for improvement.
“We struggled in transition and ran out of ideas in the second half.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Luciano Acosta has been the standout for Cincinnati this season, registering 26 goal involvements (11 goals and 15 assists) in 25 league appearances.
In his 15 appearances against Montreal, Acosta has found the back of the net seven times, level with the San Jose Earthquakes as the most he has struck against an MLS opponent.
Montreal – Joseph Martinez
Josef Martinez has scored seven regular-season goals against Cincinnati, tied with Gyasi Zardes for the most in regular season play.
MATCH PREDICTION: CINCINNATI WIN
While Cincinnati are the favourites to emerge victorious at the TQL Stadium, they have lost their last four straight regular season matches after losing just four of their previous 24 league games (W16 D4) dating back to last October.
The Orange and Blue conceded two goals in the opening six minutes of their loss to Inter Miami. Prior to that encounter, Cincinnati had conceded just once in the opening six minutes of matches since the start of the 2023 season.
But Montreal have struggled away from home and are winless in 13 straight away matches in all competitions (D4 L9) dating back to March. This is the club’s longest road winless run since going 34 without a win on their travels from September 2013 to May 2015.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Cincinnati – 63.3%
Draw – 19.5%
Montreal – 17.2%
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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