FC Cincinnati, New England Revolution draw in a thriller at Gillette Stadium | Replay

Perhaps fittingly, the top-of-the-standings showdown between FC Cincinnati and New England Revolution ended in a draw.

The clubs failed to separate themselves over 90-plus minutes at Gillette Stadium on Saturday before a crowd of 30,080.

FC Cincinnati defender Yerson Mosquera opened the scoring in the 31st minute only to see Ema Boateng knot the score at one during nine minutes of added time at the conclusion of the first half.

Then, a soaking rain arrived to Gillette and the pace of the proceedings slowed somewhat. The rain took the teeth out of a breathless first half that saw New England goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic save a Luciano Acosta penalty-kick attempt in the 29th minute. Prior to that, young New England star Dylan Borrero was carted off the field with an undisclosed injury.

The result saw both FCC and the "Revs" move their records to 6-1-3, and 21 points. They remained atop the Eastern Conference standings at the close of business Saturday.

Honors even

A game this good deserved a winner, but FCC and New England couldn't separate themselves.

There were no goals in the second half, which was decidedly less dramatic than the intense first half.

The teams move to 21 points and will remains atop the east. It's a good result on the road for FC Cincinnati but they still haven't won at Gillette Stadium (or anywhere on synthetic turf) since they beat the Revolution here in 2019.

No penalty for Lucho (65')

Acosta appeared to be hauled down in New England's penalty area and while referee Alex Chilowicz didn't initially give a spot-kick, the play went to a field-side VAR review. But still, the penalty wasn't given even though replays seemed to show fairly clear evidence of contact between Acosta and the defender in question.

30 minutes to go (60')

Heavy rain that had blanketed the Mid-Atlantic region in recent days finally reached the New England region at halftime at Gillette Stadium. Maybe because of that fact, the teams have played to a relative stalemate so far in the second half. The weather could put both teams in a position where a draw might look more attractive than throwing numbers forward in search of a game-winning goal. The turf at Gillette is fast when it's bone-dry outside, and it's pouring right now. It will rain this hard through the end of the match.

Halftime

A breathless opening half, which ended up lasting about 54 minutes with added time for some prolonged stoppages, finally concluded with the sides knotted at one. New England goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic stood on his head, making four important saves in the half. The expected-goals metric indicates both teams should have more than they do, so buckle up for the second half.

New England equalizes (47')

Ema Boateng poked him the goal for 1-1 off a feed from Brandon Bye that slid past the outstretched arm of FCC goalkeeper Roman Celentano.

First blood to FCC (31')

About 90 seconds after Djordje Petrovic denied Luciano Acosta's penalty kick, FC Cincinnati defender Yerson Mosquera headed home a corner kick for 1-0. The goal was his second of 2023.

A note on the penalty kick: New England was whistled for a handball inside its penalty area but replays contradicted that. The play was reviewed by the video-assistant referee (VAR) and upheld. Acosta then took his "PK" quickly after the referee signaled for play to continue. Petrovic dove correctly and parried the shot away.

Injury blow to New England (22')

The Revolution's Dylan Borrero landed badly after a tackle by FCC's Yerson Mosquera, and Borrero was eventually stretchered off. Esmir Bajraktarevic replaced Borrero.

The early stages (12')

FC Cincinnati's front five players were very sharp and connected to start the game, but FCC's back-six − the wing backs, center backs and goalkeeper Roman Celentano − don't seem as sharp. FCC's been pinned in its own end the last six minutes mostly do to their struggles in distribution and playing out of the back. So far, no damage done.

Away we go (1')

Kickoff occurred at 7:39 p.m. for referee Alex Chilowicz presiding.

The stakes

This is a real heavyweight bout. As has been reported throughout the week by numerous outlets, the match "is the first time in MLS history that two teams with 20 or more points have met within each team’s first 10 matches of a season," according to British analytics firm, Opta.

FC Cincinnati could also exercise some demons with a win tonight. Gillette Stadium has mostly been a house of pain for FCC since it won its first-ever match here in the early days of 2019. Since then, not only has Cincinnati not won at Gillette (or against the "Revs" at any venue, but Cincy hasn't won on turf. Anywhere.

Those facts also make this game a daunting undertaking for FC Cincinnati. There have been a few big games early in 2023 for FCC but this is the biggest so far. A result on this stage would speak volumes for the club's staying power in 2023.

The starters

FC Cincinnati starters: Roman Celentano (GK), Nick Hagglund, Yerson Mosquera, Matt Miazga, Ray Gaddis, Alvaro Barreal, Obinna Nwobodo, Luciano Acosta (captain), Sergio Santos, Brandon Vazquez.

FCC bench: Alec Kann (GK), Alvas Powell, Joey Akpunonu, Yuya Kubo, Marco Angulo, Dominique Badji, Malik Pinto, Quimi Ordonez, Ian Murphy.

New England Revolution starters: Djordje Petrovic (GK), Dave Romney, Brandon Bye, DeJuan Jones, Andrew Farrell, Matthew Polster, Carles Gil (captain), Emmanuel Boateng, Noel Buck, Dylan Borrero, Justin Rennicks.

NE bench: Omar Gonzalrez, Christian Makoun, Gustavo Bou, Joshua Balma, Bobby Wood, Jack Panayatou, Earl Edwards Jr., Ben Sweat, Esmir Bajraktarevic.