FC Cincinnati 2-2 Atlanta United: Evander´s brace not enough in four-goal thriller

Alvas Powell’s late own goal saw Atlanta United hit back to rescue a 2-2 draw against FC Cincinnati in MLS.

After falling behind to Emmanuel Latte Lath’s effort early in a thrilling second half on Saturday, Cincinnati rallied through the brilliant Evander.

An offseason signing from the Portland Timbers, Evander dragged Cincinnati level when his 70th-minute free-kick was deflected beyond a wrong-footed Brad Guzan.

Evander doubled up just five minutes later, side-footing a finish into the bottom-right corner after Pavel Bucha had stormed into the box.

But the hosts failed to hold onto their lead as Saba Lobzhanidze was found on the right wing in the 88th minute. The Georgian sent a teasing cross into the box, and saw his delivery turned into the net by the unfortunate Powell.

The result sees Cincinnati move up to eighth place in a mid-table logjam in the Eastern Conference standings, while Atlanta remain two points behind in 11th.

A point each. pic.twitter.com/ySoL2zrsFp

— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) March 22, 2025

Data debrief: Cincinnati’s poor run persists

Cincinnati had won three of their last four matches against Atlanta prior to this encounter, including winning their last two meetings, but Pat Noonan’s team failed to keep their positive streak going this time out.

Despite their last-gasp equaliser, Atlanta are off to their second-worst start to the season in club history (five points from five matches).

Interestingly, Cincinnati had only won one of their first 10 matches against Atlanta previously before turning the tide in recent seasons.

But they are in the midst of a poor run of form after opening the season with a pair of wins. They have won just one of their last seven games, and based on the expected goals battle, Cincinnati might have been fortunate to get a point.

Cincinnati finished with 0.74 xG, while Atlanta created chances worth 2.15 xG despite having 12 shots to their hosts’ 13.