Making his first start of the season, Gerardo Valenzuela scored the lone goal to propel visiting FC Cincinnati to a 1-0 victory Saturday over D.C. United.

It was the third straight win for injury-riddled Cincinnati (5-2-1, 16 points), which contained D.C.’s top threat Christian Benteke, limiting him to one shot on goal.

It was the fourth straight loss for D.C. United (1-4-3, 6 points) after opening without a loss in their first four matches. D.C. has been outscored in the defeats, 13-3, and has surrendered more goals (18) than any team in MLS.

Valenzuela tallied in the 28th minute when he picked off a clear, muscled past one defender and juked two others with a deft touch, freeing himself for a right-footed blast from 7 yards out, which was beyond the reach of D.C. keeper Luis Barraza.

It was the second goal in three MLS seasons for the 20-year-old Valenzuela. He started 11 matches last season for the Orange and Blue.

The firepower created by Valenzuela helped compensate for the absence of Evander, who leads Cincinnati with four goals despite missing the last two matches with a knee injury.

Cincinnati pressured from the start, testing Barraza in the opening minute when he made his first of four saves. It was the first MLS start for Barraza since 2023 as he replaced first-year keeper Kim Joon-Hong.

Cincinnati used its press to dominate the first half as D.C. put just one shot on goal. D.C.’s lack of cohesion was evident, especially when defender Lucas Bartlett nearly scored an own goal, slipping a no-look back pass that required a desperate lunge from Barraza to keep the ball off the goal line.

D.C. rebounded in the second half, mounting several threats but having difficulty generating clean looks against Cincinnati keeper Roman Celentano, who earned his second straight clean sheet, making two saves.

Benteke, who entered with five goals, fired twice over the crossbar in the second half. He was checked throughout by Nick Hagglund.

–Field Level Media