FC Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta has been named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 28, the league announced Monday. Additionally, Roman Celentano earned a bench spot.
Acosta has been named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for the ninth time this season. Last season, the 2022 Best XI selection earned six recognitions over the course of the season.
With two assists in Saturday’s 3-0 win over New York City FC, Acosta provided his seventh game this season of multiple goal contributions. The 2023 MLS All-Star has supplied 22 goal contributions this season, tied with Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada for most in MLS.
On Saturday night, Acosta became the sixth player in MLS history to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in three or more different seasons.
Celentano was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday bench for his third recognition of the season. Celentano made four saves against NYCFC to earn his 10th shutout of the season, one shy of Seattle’s Stefan Frei’s 11 for the league-lead in the category.
The naming of Acosta and Celentano to the MLS Team of the Matchday are the 31st and 32nd recognitions of an FC Cincinnati player on the weekly team this season. A full list of 2023 FC Cincinnati weekly honors:
2023 FC Cincinnati MLS Team of the Matchday Player Recognitions
- Obinna Nwobodo (Matchday 1, 3, 13-Bench, 25)
- Brenner (3-Bench)
- Junior Moreno (4)
- Matt Miazga (5-Bench, 7, 15-Bench)
- Brandon Vazquez (5-Bench)
- Yerson Mosquera (6, 10)
- Álvaro Barreal (6-Bench, 9, 11-Bench, 16, 24-Bench)
- Sergio Santos (9-Bench)
- Luciano Acosta (11-Bench, 13, 14, 16-Bench, 17-Bench, 20, 24, 26, 28)
- Roman Celentano (14-Bench, 20, 28-Bench)
- Dominique Badji (22)
- Santiago Arias (26-Bench)
The full team for Matchday 28 is listed below.
2023 MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi (Matchday 28)
F: Johnny Russell (SKC), Brian White (VAN), Facundo Torres (ORL)
M: Ryan Gauld (VAN), Thiago Almada (ATL), Luciano Acosta (CIN), Diego Gómez (MIA)
D: Nkosi Tafari (DAL), George Campbell (MTL), Miles Robinson (ATL)
GK: Tim Melia (SKC)
Coach: Tata Martino (MIA)
Bench: Roman Celentano (CIN), Jakob Glesnes (PHI), Julian Gressel (CLB), Nemanja Radoja (SKC), Ashley Westwood (CLT), Aliyu Ibrahim (HOU), Douglas Costa (LA), Xande Silva (ATL), Lionel Messi (MIA)
FC Cincinnati hit the road for a road match with Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday, August 30. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match will stream exclusively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Fans can also listen to the match locally on ESPN 1530.
