FC Cincinnati’s Season Ends in a Blowout Loss to Inter Miami.

By Kenta Hagiwara

NOVEMBER 23, 2025 (CINCINNATI, OH) - FC CIncinnati’s season ends in a 0-4 loss at home to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF. 

In an elimination match at home, the last thing one would expect to hear from the players after the match is that the energy was low.

“The energy was really low,” Kevin Denkey stated after the loss at home. “We didn’t show that we are hungry. It’s good that we have talent. They also have talent.”

“It wasn’t enough to me. It wasn’t enough.” Denkey added.

FC Cincinnati had themselves a successful season - but the lack of silverware is starting to chip away at the patience of the fanbase who want more. Of course, this is probably something the fans would’ve gladly accepted after the 2021 season, where Cincinnati had finished their third successive season as dead last in the Supporters’ Shield table. But now, with the consistency of success, highlighted with the fact that Pat Noonan became the winningest manager in the MLS history in their first 90 regular season matches by winning 66.1% of matches. 

Supporters online have been critical of how the team continues to win matches by a single goal margin - Cincinnati were able to replicate that against Columbus two times at home. The other two playoff matches both ended in a 0-4 loss, lopsided, albeit for different reasons.

The loss to Columbus at Lower(.)com Field was compounded by an early red card in the first half by Yuya Kubo, a DOGSO foul that still led to a goal by Dylan Chambost on the ensuing free kick. The loss to Miami was the Lionel Messi show. 1 goal, 3 assists in the win - he now has 11 goals and 11 assists in his last 7 matches for Inter Miami. That destroys the pace of his historic 73 goal campaign in 2011/12 with Barcelona, where he scored 73 in 60 matches. It’s a goal contribution every 28.6 minutes. Unplayable.

Now, FC Cincinnati turns to the week of Thanksgiving, with roster decisions due by Wednesday at noon. 14 players for FC Cincinnati are on expiring contract, meaning the club will have to choose who to keep (if they have club options available) and who they’re moving on from in less than 72 hours.

Lineups:

FC Cincinnati (5-2-1-2): 18 Celentano; 66 Echenique (7 Kubo 66’), 4 Hagglund (26 Jabbari 66’), 12 Robinson (C), 16 Hadebe (2 Powell 78’), 29 Engel (23 Orellano 57’); 11 Gidi, 20 Bucha (5 Nwobodo 78’); 10 Evander; 8 Brenner, 9 Denkey

Inter Miami CF (4-3-3): 34 Rios Novo; 57 Weigandt, 37 Falcon, 32 Allen (6 Aviles 71’), 18 Alba (2 Lujan 82’); 7 de Paul, 5 Busquets, 11 Rodriguez (8 Segovia 76’); 21 Allende (9, 10 Messi (C), 24 Silvetti

Game Stats (CIN/MIA):

Possession (%): 49/51

xG: 0.88/2.89

Shots: 14/14

Shots on Target: 5/6

Corner Kicks: 4/2

Scoring Summary:

19’ Miami - Lionel Messi (A: Mateo Silvetti)

57’ Miami - Mateo Silvetti (A: Lionel Messi)62’ Miami - Tadeo Allende (A: Lionel Messi)

74 Miami - Tadeo Allende (A: Lionel Messi)

Disciplinary Summary:

N/A

Well…

The staggering disconnect between Kevin Denkey and Evander is also very evident. It’s a connection that never seemed to click from day one this season, both coming into the team as new players for FC Cincinnati. 

Per Tom Bogert of The Athletic, Evander completed one pass to Denkey, and Denkey completed two passes to Evander. In a match where both played a full-90.

Both struggled during the playoffs, with them combining for one goal and no assists (unless you count a secondary assist for Evander) in the playoffs. The glue that worked best was Brenner, who scored a crucial brace against Columbus in game three to get them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where he also underperformed. Brenner’s loan ends this winter.

The conversation of the futures of all three attackers are bound to happen. Will Cincinnati bring Brenner back on a permanent deal from Serie A side Udinese after his success with the team this loan spell? That transfer fee for Brenner would easily put him into the Designated Player (DP) contract category, one already occupied by Evander, Denkey, and will be occupied by Miles Robinson in 2026. MLS teams have just three DP roster slots so at least one won’t be here in 2026.

Kevin Denkey was transferred into CIncinnati around this time last year - almost one year to the dot. FC Cincinnati announced the signing of Denkey on November 24, 2024. Then, FC Cincinnati’s attack was spearheaded by 2023 MLS MVP, Luciano Acosta. Acosta’s relationship with FC Cincinnati’s front office soured, and Acosta was sent to FC Dallas in a trade on February 12, 2025. The club announced the transfer in of Evander from Portland Timbers just five days later. 

Denkey’s profile of play, a physical striker with great hold up play seemed to be a great fit with Acosta - after all, that’s the recipe that worked with Acosta when one Brandon Vazquez was with the club. The chemistry with Evander and Denkey just hasn’t worked. The lack of interplay between the two key players was evident. Brenner seemed to work well with both. 

Brenner’s ability as a striker to drop deeper and be a playmaker from the midfield helped open up space for Evander, as teams had two players to focus on instead of singling out Evander as the creative playmaker in the midfield. Brenner’s ability to make really smart runs in the box helped open up space for Denkey. 

That recipe still wasn’t good enough in the playoffs as FC Cincinnati scored just 3 goals in 4 matches. Cincinnati very well may run with Denkey, Evander, and Robinson as the three DPs in 2026. That’s what’s on the books right now. But Cincinnati could part with Denkey or Evander to keep Brenner in the Queen City, a move that likely would bring out the best in the Denkey/Evander pair that stays in Cincinnati.

All speculation, of course. But the fact remains that as of now, FC Cincinnati can only keep 3 of the 4 players mentioned. Miles Robinson just signed an extension and seems like the least likely candidate to pack his bags from Cincinnati, meaning by Wednesday, Cincinnati will have to say goodbye to at least one of the trio of attackers that brought with it such high expectations.