FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan is striving for consistency from his players after confirming their place in the MLS playoffs.
Noonan’s side were held to a goalless draw against Leagues Cup champions Columbus Crew but have now gone two home games without a victory or scoring a goal.
While securing their spot in the playoffs was something Orange and Blue could have only dreamed of a few years ago, Noonan’s future ambitions for his team overshadowed any celebrations.
“It's hard to do, and we strive for consistency, and consistency for our group and our expectations is to be a playoff team and then be a top seed and be playing games at home in the playoffs,” Pat Noonan said.
“I think we go into this next game as healthy and with as many options as we have had. The goal for us needs to be to maintain that over this final stretch so that we can have consistency with our selection and with our starting 11.
“But I think if we want to have a strong end to the season and have a strong playoff run, it needs to be with players available in depth and competition in our squad. Certainly, that'll be important.”
Minnesota, meanwhile, did their chances of reaching the playoffs the world of good with an impressive 3-1 victory over in-form St. Louis City in their last MLS fixture.
The Loons overcame Cedric Teuchert’s third minute opener to remain ninth in the Western Conference table, bridging the gap between themselves and FC Dallas one place below them.
Head coach Eric Ramsay lauded his side’s display in breaking down St. Louis’ resolute defence, and detailed how his players plan to attack the final games of the season to remain in the playoff picture.
“We want to be a team that can shift between a number of shapes according to the situations we anticipate coming, according to the players that we’ve got in form and available,” Ramsay said.
“We want to be, ultimately, an aggressive team, we want to be a team that can press, can have more of the ball, can steal the ball higher up [the field].
“When you are playing in a back five, that isn’t as easy as it looks sometimes on paper.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota United – Bongokuhle Hlongwane
Hlongwane’s goal against St. Louis last time out was his 10th goal of the season for Minnesota.
In doing so, he became the fifth different Loons player to record a double-digit scoring season and the third in the last three years.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Having struggled in front of goal in their recent MLS fixtures, top scorer and captain Acosta will be key for Cincinnati at Allianz Field.
But the Argentine comes up against a side he has struggled against in his MLS career, with Minnesota one of only seven teams he is yet to score past.
MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN
Cincinnati won their last match against the Loons in May. But Minnesota were unbeaten in the first four meetings between the sides (W3 D1), outscoring Cincinnati, 10-1, in those games.
However, Cincinnati have now lost consecutive regular season away matches after losing only one of their previous 16 on the road in league play (W12 D3). This is Cincinnati’s first set of back-to-back regular season away losses since the start of the 2022 campaign.
But the Loons have struggled at Allianz Field, losing four of their last five regular-season home matches. Prior to this run, they had lost just four of their previous 27 games on home soil dating back to April 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Minnesota United – 31.9%
Draw – 25.4%
FC Cincinnati – 42.7%
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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