FC Cincinnati, MVP frontrunner Luciano Acosta throttle Charlotte FC | Replay

It's all about Luciano Acosta right now for FC Cincinnati. There's no escaping that and if you're an FC Cincinnati fan, you're loving every second of it.

Acosta, the presumed 2023 Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player Award frontrunner, delivered a highlight-reel goal and facilitated on two other scores in a dominant, 3-0 win over Charlotte FC on Saturday at TQL Stadium. The 14th sellout crowd of 25,513 of the year attended the game.

More: 'This city is my family.' FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta takes out full-page Enquirer ad

More: FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta brings a statue of Jesus Christ on the road. Here's why

Saturday's performance capped almost a full week with Acosta at the center of the club's news cycle.

After an Acosta penalty kick saved a point on the road Wednesday at Montreal, local fans woke up Thursday to a full-page newspaper advertisement placed by Acosta and his agent. The ad contained a message expressing Acosta's love for Cincinnati. Then, FC Cincinnati announced on Friday a contract extension that would keep Acosta at the club through least 2026.

Finally, on Saturday at TQL Stadium, fans had the chance to celebrate that Acosta and FC Cincinnati committed their futures to each other. Acosta seized the moment and paid the fans back for their support with the performance he unveiled.

Alvaro Barreal opened the scoring in first-half added time with a circus free-kick goal from about 25 yards out. After the match, Barreal said Acosta deferred to him on taking the free-kick and gave him the confidence to execute it.

In the 50th minute, Acosta dribbled to create space and found Aaron Boupendza as the two-players combined on a long-awaited goal that put to rest any doubt of their ability to play with one another.

And then the icing on the cake: In the 79th minute, Acosta slithered and weaved and juked on a solo run, eventually finding himself in position to slam home his 15th goal of 2023.

The stadium erupted, then serenaded Acosta with "M-V-P!" chants. Supporters continued the serenade when Acosta was subbed off just a few minutes later due to discomfort in his heel dating back to the final 20 minutes of Wednesday's match at CF Montreal.

"Obviously, that's what you do it for, is to make the fans happy," Acosta said "Obviously, it feels so great to make the fans happy and hear them say that."

Charlotte didn't put a shot on-target in the match, making the shutout one of FCC's cleanest of 2023. Goalkeeper Roman Celentano notched his joint-MLS-leading 11th shutout of the year.

In defeating Charlotte so convincingly, FC Cincinnati and Acosta likely also did some convincing on other fronts, namely in the races for the Supporters Shield and the MVP award.

Now on 62 points, FC Cincinnati (18-4-8) moved closer to its first major trophy with just four matches remaining in 2023 and a nine-point lead in the standings.

St. Louis CITY SC won on Saturday to remain nine points back in the Shield race, which is considered a major honor in MLS. But St. Louis also has just three matches remaining. That means they have a maximum of nine possible points remaining, so they'll be eliminated with their next dropped point or FC Cincinnati's next point gained.

Orlando City SC has four matches left but tied Inter Miami CF on Sunday in match No. 30 of 2023. That meant Orlando fell to 11 points behind FC Cincinnati. Unlike St. Louis, Orlando can afford a Cincinnati draw over FCC's remaining matches but a win ends the conversation.

FC Cincinnati would need to lose out in order to open itself to being caught by St. Louis or Orlando - an unlikely scenario.

As for the MVP race, Acosta ended the night with a league-leading 27 goal contributions. Those kinds of numbers for the best player on best team going in MLS typically warrant serious MVP consideration. Asked afterward if he had any doubt Acosta was the league's most valuable player, FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan conceded his obvious bias but added a firm "no."

FC Cincinnati returns to action Sept. 30 at last-place Toronto FC on a full week of preparation. The club is already within touching distance of the Shield but intends to continue pressing for additional convincing wins like Saturday's.

FCC also has postseason aims in mind, and knows it must hit its peak at the outset of the MLS Cup playoffs in order to achieve them.

"One thing we said before this game is this is where you want to start to see the best version of your team," Noonan said. "Put aside all the standings and who we're gonna face moving forward. You want to be at your best in the stretch run going into the playoffs, so I think tonight was a good starting point for that."

*** ***

*** ***

A big win for FC Cincinnati

That's a final. FC Cincinnati wins 3-0. Did the game also effectively end the races for the Supporters Shield and MVP, too? Acosta has 27 goal contributions (goals, plus assists). As for the Shield race, we'll have to see how other results shakeout. For now, this was a huge game for FCC in many respects.

A wild solo effort from Acosta (79')

In one slithering, evasive movement with the ball at his feet, Acosta picked Charlotte apart and scored. The goal gave FC Cincinnati a 3-0 lead. It's a tally that might have ended more than the match at-hand. It might have also ended the Supporters Shield race and the MVP race, too.

Acosta to Boupendza - shock! (50')

Luciano Acosta ducked and weaved to create space, and guess who he found to deposit the ball in the back of the net? It was the not-struggling Aaron Boupendza, whose rifle of a finish gave him four goals in seven MLS matches.

Controversy at halftime

Referee Jair Marrufo blew the halftime whistle seconds after the restart from Barreal's goal but Marrufo quickly found himself surrounded by angry Charlotte players and staff. The visitors felt an infraction occurred on Barreal's goal, and goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina talked himself into a yellow card. Forward Enzo Copetti and Charlotte staffers also voiced their displeasure all the way into the tunnel.

Their protestations didn't change that Barreal's goal stood, didn't go to a field-side video-assistant referee (VAR) review or that Cincinnati leads, 1-0.

Take a bow, Alvaro Barreal (45+)

You'll see this goal on ESPN this weekend, for sure. Alvaro Barreal bent a free-kick from about 24 or 25 yards out and into the net for a 1-0 lead. The phrase "upper 90" gets tossed around a lot, but that was true, true upper 90. The goal was Barreal's fourth in league play this year. It was the 12th league goal of his FCC career, too.

Nearly a go-ahead goal for Cincinnati (34')

A terrific ball in from Alvaro Barreal on the flank sat up for Aaron Boupendza, who beat Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina but Nathan Byrne came sliding in to keep the match scoreless. Pretty solid bend-but-don't-break defense from a Charlotte side that's conceded 45 times this season, the 14th-most in the 15-team Eastern Conference.

All FC Cincinnati early (25')

FC Cincinnati has all the chances early. They're knocking on the door but need to bag a goal or Charlotte could grow in confidence as they continue to deny the hosts. It's two on-target shots for FCC to Charlotte's zero, and three additional shots for Cincinnati to Charlotte's two.

Underway at TQL Stadium (1')

Clear night. Blue skies. Cool temps. Great night for a game.

FC Cincinnati, Charlotte FC starting lineups

• FC Cincinnati starting XI: Roman Celentano (GK), Santiago Arias, Alvaro Barreal, Nick Hagglund, Yerson Mosquera, Ian Murphy, Alvaro Barreal, Obinna Nwobodo, Junior Moreno, Luciano Acosta (captain), Aaron Boupendza, Brandon Vazquez.

• Cincinnati bench: Alec Kann (GK), Alvas Powell, Yuya Kubo, Marco Angulo, Dominique Badji, Sergio Santos, Malik Pinto, Ray Gaddis, Bret Halsey.

• FC Cincy noteworthy unavailable: Matt Miazga (suspended; yellow card accumulation).

• Charlotte FC starting XI: Kristijan Kahlina (GK), Nathan Bryne, Jaylin Lindsey, Adilson Malanda, Ashley Westwood (captain), Brecht Dejaegere, Brandt Bronico, Justin Meram, Andrew Privett, Enzo Copetti, Karol Swiderski.

• Charlotte bench: Jere Uranem, Bill Tuiloma, Kamil Jozwiak, McKinze Gaines, Kerwin Vargas, Derrick Jones, George Marks, Patrick Agyemang, Scott Arfield.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati, MVP frontrunner Luciano Acosta throttle Charlotte FC