Instant. Impact.

Kenny Saief has barely had time to unpack his bags after joining FC Cincinnati on loan from Anderlecht over the week, but he wasted no time in demonstrating his quality on Sunday against the defending champions. Head coach Alan Koch told media Wednesday that Saief could see his first action right away against Atlanta United, so fans sharing striker Fanendo Adi’s concerns about a lack of attacking options were given a boost leading up to the clash.

Cincinnati found themselves down a goal in the early going thanks to—you guessed it—Josef Martinez, and it appeared as if Atlanta might shrug off their early-season struggles and come back to life in front of their home crowd. Cincinnati settled into the match, however, and did well in limiting space for their opposition while rendering their lopsided possession largely ineffective. Nevertheless, as the match wore on it appeared another loss was in the cards despite a much-improved performance from last week and that the latest acquisition wouldn’t see the field after all.

The Five Stripes were still clinging to their slim advantage when the fourth official’s board lit up with Saief’s number 83 with slightly under 20 minutes to play. The U.S. international would need only a handful of touches before putting his stamp on the affair with a flash of brilliance.

Saief collected a ball just beyond midfield and adeptly cut inside before carving open the United back line to find a streaking Roland Lamah. The midfielder took a single touch to ready himself before rifling a low drive past the outstretched foot of Brad Guzan to equalize at 1-1.

WHAT A BALL. ?

Saief to Lamah for the #FCCincy equalizer! #ATLvCIN https://t.co/Ylu6vrs1Xs

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 10, 2019

The 25-year-old was brought in to be a spark due to his vision, creative ability and experience in Europe. A stint in MLS could be perfect for reigniting his career after struggling with injuries and finding playing time in recent months.

Battling back to salvage a draw to silence 70,000 fans inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium should give his new squad plenty of confidence heading into their third fixture. Supporters have a week to salivate over what Saief can offer down the stretch before Cincinnati make their home debut against the Portland Timbers on Sunday afternoon.