Team of the Matchday: LAFC, Philadelphia Union & New York Red Bulls take flight
LAFC, Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls all won big during Matchday 6, comprising over half of the latest Team of the Matchday presented by Audi.
FC Cincinnati acquired Matt Miazga from Chelsea FC, signing the defender to a TAM deal through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026, via the No. 1 spot in the MLS Allocation Order on Aug. 5, 2022.
2023 (FC Cincinnati): Named MLS Defender of the Year  after a career season for the center back with the Orange and Blue … becomes the first player in club history to receive the honors with over 25% of the votes … named to the 2023 MLS Best XI for the first time in his career … appeared and started in 27 games with a career high 2,384 minutes played across competition … selected for the 2023 MLS All-Star Game against Arsenal for the first time in his career … with Miazga on the field, FCC allowed 28 goals (1.03 goals per game) in 2023 … started in 10 clean-sheets, tied for fourth-most among outfield players in the league … named to Team of the Matchday for Matchday 7 … FCC has a 28-5-17 record since acquiring Miazga 2022 mid-season … anchored the league's fifth-best defense (39 goals against) as the Orange & Blue clinched the Supporters’ Shield with a 20W-5L-9D record (69 points).
2022 (FC Cincinnati): Made 10 regular season appearances, all starts, following his acquisition from FC Cincinnati in August … debuted at home on Aug. 13 against Atlanta United FC, where he started and played 66 minutes … returned to face his former club on Aug. 20 at the New York Red Bulls, where his header goal in the 1-1 draw was just his second career MLS … followed that up one week later with a goal in the Hell is Real Derby on Aug. 27 against the Columbus Crew, becoming the first defender in club history to score in back-to-back games … was a critical addition to the backline where he would play the full 90 minutes in every game the remainder of the season with the exception of FCC’s record 6-0 win over San Jose Earthquakes, where he came off after 73 minutes with the result comfortably in hand … earned his lone assist on Decision Day in FCC’s 5-2 win over D.C. United … earned one MLS Team of the Week recognition in Week 26 following his goal against the Red Bulls.
2013-15 (New York Red Bulls): Made 38 appearances for Red Bulls, including 30 in the club’s 2015 MLS Supporters’ Shield winning campaign … also won the 2013 MLS Supporters’ Shield in his debut season in Harrison … was a 2013 Homegrown signing for RBNY.
OUTSIDE MLS: Joined Chelsea FC in January 2016 from New York Red Bulls at the age of 20 and made two Premier League appearances that season for the Blues … made 169 appearances across Europe since his arrival, notably winning the 2017 Dutch Cup with Vitesse Arnhem and the 2022 UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea … played two seasons on loan with Vitesse in the Dutch Eredivise from 2016-18, then went on loan to FC Nantes in the French Ligue 1 for the beginning of 2018 before joining Reading FC in the EFL Championship on loan in January 2019 … returned to Chelsea in July 2020 before going on loan to RSC Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League that October …most recently played 10 matches on loan with Deportivo Alavés in the Spanish La Liga in 2021-22.
INTERNATIONAL: Has made 22 appearances for the United States Men’s National Team, winning the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2020 CONCACAF Nations League … scored his lone international goal in a 3-0 group stage victory over Nicaragua in the 2017 Gold Cup.