Yuya Kubo nets brace, 5 others score as Cincinnati moves to top of the table with 6-1 win over Miami

FC Cincinnati scored early, and often, en route to one of their largest victories as an MLS club as they defeated Inter Miami CF, 6-1, Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at TQL Stadium.With the win, Cincinnati (14-3-4) climbs to the top of the MLS table as they look to become the first team since 2011/12-2012/13 to repeat as Supporters' Shield winners. Cincinnati's six-goal output is the most they've scored in an MLS match this season and marks the third time in six games that they've scored at least four goals. Saturday also marked the first time the Orange and Blue have scored six goals in a match since Sept. 10, 2022, when they defeated San Jose 6-0."Guys stepped up tonight and we got contributions across the board," head coach Pat Noonan said after the game. "That was as complete a performance as we've had. To end the week this way against a very strong Miami team, I'm really happy for our guys."Miami (14-5-3) was without their two leading scorers, Lionel Messi and Luiz Suarez, due to their being called up for national duty in Copa America.Tied 1-1 with under 10 minutes to play until halftime, Cincinnati scored three goals from the 36th minute to take a 4-1 lead into the halftime break.Club captain and 2024 All-Star Luciano Acosta took a feed from Obi Nwobodo and dribbled into the penalty area before triple-deking his way past three pink jerseys before launching a ball off his left foot past Miami's Drake Callender to give the Orange and Blue a 2-1 lead.The goal was the 10th of the year for the reigning MLS MVP and his 50th for Cincinnati.Minutes later, in the 38th minute, Lucho sent a ball in on a set piece to the top of the penalty area, where Pavel Bucha played it before it hit the ground and dribbled it passed a stunned Miami backline, giving FCC a 3-1 lead in the blink of an eye.The goal was the fourth of the season for Bucha.Yamil Asad got in on the action in the closing moments of the first half, challenging the ball along the end line with Callender, who left the goal area to make a play for it. Asad settled and moved to his right before striking with his right foot, giving FCC a 4-1 lead.Miami opened the second half by slowing down the pace and keeping Cincinnati from having chances, but all of that changed in the 53rd minute.From the 53rd to the 62nd minute, Miami was shown five yellow cards including a double-yellow for midfielder Sergio Busquets, in what could only be described as frustration fouls.Miami played most of the final half hour of the match with 10 men.In between that span, Yuya Kubo scored his second goal of the match. Luca Orellano dribbled along the end line before finding Kubo at the top of the goal area who banged one in, giving FCC a 5-1 lead.The exclamation point to the evening came in the 72nd minute, when Gerardo Valenzuela scored his first MLS goal and gave FCC their decisive 6-1 lead."Nights like this happen," Noonan said. "For various reasons, but our group of guys were clearly up for it. But, it isn't just about being up for it or working hard, you still have to make plays. And a lot of guys did that."It was Kubo who opened the scoring in the 10th minute on the counter attack, with Acosta taking a feed at midfield and streaking down the right wing until he entered the penalty area. He found Yuya Kubo, playing center striker in FC Cincinnati's new formation Saturday afternoon, on a centering pass and Kubo beat Drake Callender to the left, making for a 1-0 lead.That new formation saw Kubo flanked by Acosta and Luca Orellano - coming off a brace against D.C. United earlier this week - up top, with Nwobodo and Bucha stacked behind the striker flankers, respectively.Asad, Ian Murphy, Miles Robinson, Alvas Powell and DeAndre Yedlin - playing against his former team - rounded out FCC's new formation, going five across the backline, as is a staple in Pat Noonan's teams."The idea was, in anticipation of a back four with a lone 'six', how can we occupy those spaces in front of the backline," Noonan said, saying the plan was to place Acosta and Kubo in the best possible chances to make plays, and have Yedlin use his legs to get up and down the pitch.While he didn't find the back of the net, one of the biggest benefactors of the new formation was Orellano, who pushed the pace with the ball and recorded two assists on the evening, proving nearly impossible to defend.Cincinnati kept the pressure on after that goal, and nearly had strikes from Acosta and Luca Orellano - the other to members of FCC's attacking trio - but they couldn't find the back of the net, keeping for a 1-0 game.Miami punched back in the 21st minute, calming the tempo down and playing with more possession than they had all game to that point.The Herron's strike came off a set piece, when Julian Gressel sent a ball in and found the head of Sergii Kryvtsov, who headed the ball left as he continued going to his right, leveling the score at 1-1.As the score line would indicate, FC Cincinnati dominated possession, 53.5% to 46.5%, but did trail slightly in the category at halftime. FCC also outshot Miami, 15-10, and earned more corner kicks, 7-5.Not to be overshadowed by the offense in front of him, Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celetano made four saves, including one in the opening minutes that set the tone for what ended up being FCC's dominance on the pitch.The Orange and Blue are back in action next Saturday at TQL Stadium against Charlotte. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.