FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund (right) heads the ball on goal during the first half against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
FC Cincinnati fans in The Bailey section wave flags and cheer on the team during the first half against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander (10) reaches for his calf after suffering an injury during the first half against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund (4) passes forward during the first half of their MLS season opener against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
Players warm up during FC Cincinnati training Feb. 20, 2026 at Mercy Health Training Center in Milford.
Players work on their ball skills during FC Cincinnati training Feb. 20, 2026 at Mercy Health Training Center in Milford.
New players for the 2026 season, from left, Bryan Ramirez, Tom Barlow and Kyle Smith warm up during FC Cincinnati training Feb. 20, 2026 at Mercy Health Training Center in Milford.
Kevin Denkey with the ball as FC Cincinnati beat O&M FC 4-0 in the first game of the Concacaf Champions Cup Feb. 18, 2026 in the Dominican Republic.
Tom Barlow passes the ball as FC Cincinnati beat O&M FC 4-0 in the first game of the Concacaf Champions Cup Feb. 18, 2026 in the Dominican Republic.
La Salle graduate Kyle Smith plays the ball in his first game with the club as FC Cincinnati beat O&M FC 4-0 in the first game of the Concacaf Champions Cup Feb. 18, 2026 in the Dominican Republic.
FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium previewed it’s 2026 food selections under Executive Chef Sheldon and local affiliates. President and Co-CEO of FC Cincinnati, Jeff Berding, speaks at the event.
Bryan Ramirez of FC Cincinnati passes the ball as FC Cincinnati lost 1-0 at Minnesota United in Major League Soccer action Feb. 28, 2026
Miles Robinson surveys the field as FC Cincinnati lost 1-0 at Minnesota United in Major League Soccer action Feb. 28, 2026
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; FC Cincinnati forward Ayoub Jabbari (99) keeps his eye on the ball as New England Revolution defender Mamadou Fofana (2) comes from behind during the first half at Gillette Stadium.
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution defender Brayan Ceballos (3) celebrates his first goal during the first half on FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano (18) at Gillette Stadium.
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution defender William Sands (23) and FC Cincinnati midfielder Obinna Nwobodo (5) go for a loose ball during the first half at Gillette Stadium.1 / 16
FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund (right) heads the ball on goal during the first half against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund (right) heads the ball on goal during the first half against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
FC Cincinnati fans in The Bailey section wave flags and cheer on the team during the first half against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander (10) reaches for his calf after suffering an injury during the first half against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
FC Cincinnati defender Nick Hagglund (4) passes forward during the first half of their MLS season opener against Atlanta United FC at TQL Stadium Feb. 21.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Players warm up during FC Cincinnati training Feb. 20, 2026 at Mercy Health Training Center in Milford.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Players work on their ball skills during FC Cincinnati training Feb. 20, 2026 at Mercy Health Training Center in Milford.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
New players for the 2026 season, from left, Bryan Ramirez, Tom Barlow and Kyle Smith warm up during FC Cincinnati training Feb. 20, 2026 at Mercy Health Training Center in Milford.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Kevin Denkey with the ball as FC Cincinnati beat O&M FC 4-0 in the first game of the Concacaf Champions Cup Feb. 18, 2026 in the Dominican Republic.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Tom Barlow passes the ball as FC Cincinnati beat O&M FC 4-0 in the first game of the Concacaf Champions Cup Feb. 18, 2026 in the Dominican Republic.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
La Salle graduate Kyle Smith plays the ball in his first game with the club as FC Cincinnati beat O&M FC 4-0 in the first game of the Concacaf Champions Cup Feb. 18, 2026 in the Dominican Republic.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium previewed it’s 2026 food selections under Executive Chef Sheldon and local affiliates. President and Co-CEO of FC Cincinnati, Jeff Berding, speaks at the event.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Bryan Ramirez of FC Cincinnati passes the ball as FC Cincinnati lost 1-0 at Minnesota United in Major League Soccer action Feb. 28, 2026
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Miles Robinson surveys the field as FC Cincinnati lost 1-0 at Minnesota United in Major League Soccer action Feb. 28, 2026
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; FC Cincinnati forward Ayoub Jabbari (99) keeps his eye on the ball as New England Revolution defender Mamadou Fofana (2) comes from behind during the first half at Gillette Stadium.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution defender Brayan Ceballos (3) celebrates his first goal during the first half on FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano (18) at Gillette Stadium.
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FC Cincinnati images from the 2026 season
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution defender William Sands (23) and FC Cincinnati midfielder Obinna Nwobodo (5) go for a loose ball during the first half at Gillette Stadium.
To no one’s surprise, FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF engaged in a scorefest May 13 at TQL Stadium.
Two goals by one of the best goalscorers in the history of the game, Lionel Messi, sparked Miami to a 5-3 win. Miami scored three times from the 79th minute on to come from behind.
A sellout crowd of 25,513 witnessed the showdown, the club’s sixth home sellout of the season.
FC Cincinnati falls to 4-5-4, staying at 16 points, taking its first loss since April 4 at Red Bull New York. Miami improves to 7-2-4 for 25 points, improving to 7-1-1 on the road this season. Miami moved into second place in the Eastern Conference behind Nashville. Cincinnati dropped to a tie for seventh in the conference with D.C. United.
Messi now has 11 goals for the season and finishes the night one behind the lead in the Golden Boot (Chicago's Hugo Cuypers). He scored a third goal late in the match but it was later ruled to be a Cincinnati own-goal.
"It's disappointing in our play," said FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. "Forget who hurts us. They all hurt us tonight. And he was a part of that. But how we get punished, sometimes in some things, credit to the opponent and playmaking ability. But so many of the situations that we put ourselves in, where we conceded some chances are some really naive decisions."
Lionel Messi gets his shot past FC Cincinnati goaltender Roman Celentano in the first half of the May 13 match at TQL Stadium on May 13, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"It's obviously a great player who can decide a game in a second," said center back Matt Miazga. "I think we had control of the game, and we lost control, and obviously they took advantage, and they have good players. So, that’s the reality of the situation."
Second half highlights as FC Cincinnati squandered a late lead
Evander of FC Cincinnati celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on May 13.
Cincinnati took a 3-2 lead in the 64th minute.
Evander fired a rocket from the top of the 18 into the top left corner. Kevin Denkey passed ahead to him, then he maneuvered around two defenders, and no one stepped up to him. It is Evander’s seventh goal of the season.
Miami tied it in the 79th minute, 3-3.
After a Cincy turnover, Rodrigo De Paul quickly found Messi in transition, who delivered to Mateo Silvetti. Silvetti, playing his first game in a month, maneuvered in space and scored from the top of the box for his fourth of the season.
Miami took a 4-3 lead in the 83rd. A Messi free kick from 35 yards was saved by Cincy keeper Roman Celentano. He collided with Andrei Chirila, which knocked the ball out of his hands. Miami’s German Berterame pounced on the rebound to give Miami the lead, his fourth goal of the season.
Chirila landed hard after the collision and was taken out of the game. Noonan said he's in concussion protocol.
Miami took a 5-3 lead when Messi made a sliding shot after a cross from Silvetti. The ball went off the post, then off Celentano, who was on his stomach trying to get the ball. Messi was originally credited with the goal and a hat trick but it was later ruled an own-goal after deflecting off the Cincinnati keeper.
Lionel Messi of Inter Miami CF celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on May 13.
FC Cincinnati took a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute.
Pavel Bucha scored from close range. He took a crossing pass from Bryan Ramirez after Denkey found him on the left side in transition.
It was Bucha’s second goal of the MLS season and the second assist for Ramirez. Bucha was hit in the head late in the first half and examined by trainers, but stayed in the game.
Fans march to TQL Stadium before the match between Inter Miami CF and FC Cincinnati May 13.
Moments later, Messi had a free kick from 30 yards saved by Celentano.
Messi scored again in the 56th minute to tie it, 2-2. He had a nice give-and-go with Rodrigo De Paul, who dribbled near the end line and crossed to him from the right side. Messi maneuvered into space unmarked and scored easily from near the penalty spot.
In the 62nd minute, Luis Suarez missed an open shot that Celentano saved, set up by a quick transition by Miami.
Miami ended with 17 shots to 10 for Cincinnati, six on target. After an even first half, Miami controlled the expected-goals mark, with 4 to 1.6 for the home team.
"You saw a lot of good moments and a lot of good ideas and a lot of good goals that we scored ourselves," Miazga said. "And a lot of good moments that we can continue to improve on. Obviously the scoreline shows that it wasn't a great night, but we need to turn it around quickly. We have San Diego (in three days), the table’s really tight. You can see that. A win can take you a couple places up."
First half highlights
Messi scored from close range in the 24th off a turnover by Matt Miazga. Miazga tried to pass to a teammate on the side but the pass went straight to Messi.
He had a goal in the fifth minute waved off by offsides.
In the 32nd minute, Cincinnati won a corner kick, which Evander placed right in front of the goal line but the ball was cleared away.
FC Cincinnati’s Kévin Denkey let’s loose a penalty shot for a goal that tied the match with Inter Miami at 1-1 in the first half TQL Stadium on May 13.
In the 42nd minute, a Kevin Denkey penalty kick tied it up. Denkey drew the PK after collecting a good pass into the box by Pavel Bucha and being grabbed by Gonzalo Lujan. Denkey converted for his team-high eighth goal of the season.
The first half was tied 1-1 and virtually even on statistics. Both sides had seven shots, one on goal, and 1.1 expected goals. Neither keeper made a save.
"Disappointing in how we let the second half play off," Noonan said. "Just the decisions that we're making on the ball, the turnovers, rushed passes. There's times with space, and we force the wrong pass, and it leads to some really tough moments in transition. We can’t get out of our own way with some of our mistakes, and it's really hard to recover from.
What’s next for FC Cincinnati?
Cincinnati heads to the West Coast to play San Diego FC 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16. It is the first meeting between the teams. San Diego has the same record as Cincy, 4-5-4 for 16 points, after routing Austin 5-0 at home May 13. Cincinnati will leave for California on May 14.
"It's very hard to swallow, and we just need to move on, because we got a game on Saturday," said Cincinnati's Kyle Smith. "It’s very disappointing. We need to just learn from it, and watch film, and move on and keep pushing, I'm very confident in this team. and very confident in the players, so, you know, we just got to move on and learn from this game."
This story was updated to reflect an MLS scoring change on Miami's fifth goal.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lionel Messi scores twice as Inter Miami CF defeats FC Cincinnati
