FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan expressed the importance of defensive resiliency for their upcoming playoff campaign after battling to a 2-1 win over Minnesota United last time out.
The Orange and Blue are on the road again this weekend as they travel to face Nashville SC, a side they were beaten by earlier in the season to halt a seven-match winning streak.
Having already secured their spot in the playoffs, Noonan placed emphasis on being solid at the back for the remainder of the season, especially in their fixtures away from home.
“Credit to Minnesota, they put a lot of pressure on us, and we relied on the back line to make a lot of individual plays, to defend the box well,” Noonan said.
“That's going to be a recipe for success down the stretch if we want to win on the road in tough games. It's not always going to be with us in control. So (FCC) went about that game in a really good way.
“After a lot of the emotional and physical or emotional highs, and then you know the physical demands and emotional demands of our previous game, to be able to turn it around the way they did, I was really impressed with that.”
Nashville, meanwhile, made it two wins from two after beating Chicago Fire in midweek, with head coach BJ Callaghan earning his first home victory in charge of the Coyotes.
Callaghan’s side currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference table but are just a point behind Philadelphia Union, who occupy the final playoff position.
The Nashville head coach lauded his players for their recent displays in the MLS and was confident his team are making the right strides in becoming a competitive outfit in the division.
“The players have been tremendous,” Callaghan started. “They have taken information in, and they look to apply it in training – they are working hard every single day.
“We look at it through all the phases of play. We are trying to give them clear roles and put them in the best position possible and I think you are seeing, little by little, improvement from them all.
“They are now making good decisions on the pitch. I am very happy with the progression of the team as we make incremental steps of getting better each week.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar assisted the only goal of the match in Nashville’s triumph over Chicago on Wednesday.
Since 2021, when the German plays and records a goal contribution, Nashville has averaged 1.99 points per match compared to 0.75 points per match when he plays but isn’t involved in a goal.
FC Cincinnati – Yuya Kubo
Kubo recorded a goal and an assist in Cincinnati’s win at Minnesota on Wednesday.
It was the 32nd time a Cincinnati player recorded a goal and an assist in a regular season match since the start of the 2022 season, tied for the most such individual performances in the league in that time (Portland Timbers).
MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN
Cincinnati’s victory against Minnesota was the club’s 27th regular-season win by a one-goal margin since the start of last season. No other MLS team has more than 16 one-goal wins in that time.
However, Nashville defeated this weekend’s opponents in the first encounter between the sides this season after Cincinnati had gone unbeaten in the previous four meetings in all competitions (W2 D2).
As mentioned, the Coyotes have recorded consecutive shutout wins after losing their previous eight regular season matches, allowing multiple goals in all of those. Nashville have not kept three straight clean sheets in a single regular season since doing so in four straight in May 2021.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC – 31%
Draw – 25.1%
FC Cincinnati – 43.9%
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.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
