Pat Noonan believes in Evander's development at Cincinnati: ‘He's getting better and better’

Evander tried, but the Brazilian midfielder couldn't prevent FC Cincinnati from losing 2-0 to Charlotte on Saturday (15) in the 4th round of MLS. The goals were scored by Abada and Agyemang.

After the match, Cincy coach Pat Noonan gave a press conference and praised his Number 10’s performance. To him, Evander is progressing at Cincinnati, bonding with his new teammates, and getting into the rhythm of the team.

‘I think he's getting better and better, he's improving with every game. As he gets fitter, he understands his teammates. I think you saw today that he was involved in a lot of our best moments. He had a lot of patience, he alternated his positioning to get to the ball, he found the right moments to play fast, and he found the right moments to slow the game down and take us into the opponent's half. So I was very pleased with his performance. He wasn't far off scoring a few goals today,’ said Pat Noonan.

Against Charlotte at the Bank of America Stadium, Evander played the full 90 minutes, completing 91 percent of his passes, making four key passes and finishing six times, four of which were on goal.

EVANDER: CINCINNATI'S NEW MAESTRO

Evander was signed by Cincinnati at the start of this season from Portland Timbers, also in the MLS, for US$12 million. In 2024, the Brazilian was called up for the All Star Game against the Liga MX stars, and was one of the nominees for the North American league's MVP award.

The midfielder arrived in Cincy with the mission of being the team's new protagonist, following the departure of Lucho Acosta to FC Dallas. So far, the Brazilian has played eight games, scored three goals and provided two assists.