There's really not that much to say about the game last weekend other than the top line takeaways: Nashville is quite good and FC Cincinnati is still just okay. That's how you get a comfortable home win for the home team.

This a good opportunity to say (not for the first, or last, time) that advanced stats in soccer don't exist in a vacuum. If you just look at the expected goals for the 90 minutes, they show a closely contested game. But, to anyone who watched, that was clearly not the case. This is why single game xG can be descriptive in a way that shots or possession sometimes isn't, but that's not always the case.

The Orange and Blue generated a huge chunk of their xG (circled above) in one sequence when they were already trailing by two goals. If one of those shots ends up in the back of the net, maybe we would've seen something different during the last quarter of the game. But they didn't.

Even if the game wasn't as close as the advanced numbers indicated, the Orange and Blue were a little hard done by the final scoreline. Spiritually, a 2-0 loss feels about right to me. There was a fairly evident gap between the teams on Saturday, and not in the Orange and Blue's favor. To really compete for silverware, which has been the stated goal of the FCC leadership, the team simply has to start playing better.

Where xG is predictive is over longer timeframes. FCC's expected goal difference through 22 matches is -0.12, essentially even. That tracks with how the season has gone. Not great, not terrible, just fine relative to the rest of the league.

Which brings us to the main event for the week: the closing of the summer transfer window. FCC's business might not be totally concluded, free agents can still sign, but at the time of writing, new additions Julián Malatini and David Douděra both deserve detailed looks. Both in what they offer individually, but also to parse what those moves tell us about how the

Julián Malatini, Center Back, Werder Bremen

Julián Malatini arrives in Cincinnati on an initial loan through summer 2027 from Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga. Now 25 years old, Malatini played just 34 league games (~1,600 minutes) since moving to Germany in 2023 from his native Argentina.

The structure of the deal, a loan through next year's sprint season with a purchase option, makes a lot of sense, giving FCC a lengthy window to incorporate Malatini into the team before making a decision on whether to make his signing permanent. Given FCC's issues in central defense so far in 2026, Malatini should have every opportunity to impress.

On Thursday, Albright said, "We looked at probably over 300 center backs this window, and I think three or four kind of rose to the level of where we see Julián as a fit for FC Cincinnati, so it kind of tells you there was a real the market was barren." He continued that the team was, "really, really happy with Julián pedigree-wise, you know, Argentina U-23s then have Bundesliga experience at 25, and and be physically, athletically what we look for, and most importantly, but certainly the character piece. And he's a worker. He's a winner."

In limited Bundesliga minutes, Malatini appears to be a solid defender and above average carrying the ball forward on the dribble. His limited sample size in the Bundesliga complicates matters. In one season, he's a below average forward passer, the next, an above average one.

As Albright noted, Malatini has an impressive pedigree as a player who represented Argentina at the youth national level and one who secured a move to the Bundesliga in his early 20s. However, availability can be the best ability and Malatini missed extended time due to a variety of injuries last season.

When asked about his injury history, Albright said, "with Julián, we feel good. We have his physical data from training. He is a high-level athlete. He had an injury in maybe March that was surgically repaired that he's been back from."

Still, if things don't go right, the Orange and Blue aren't on the hook long-term. That won't help the team on the field, but from a roster building perspective, it makes a huge difference. If Malatini can live up to expectations, FCC should be improved in 2026 and potentially have a foundational defensive piece moving forward. If it doesn't work out, the team will have the option to try again heading into the first fall to spring season next year.

David Douděra, Wing Back, Slavia Praha

David Douděra, a 28-year-old Czech wing back, is FCC's other addition (so far) during the summer window. He joins on a €500,000 fee from Slavia Praha, according to Laurel Pfahler, and signed a deal through the 2027-28 season with an option for an additional year.

On Thursday, Albright said, "with David, another need to maybe have another wing back on the roster, but also a market opportunity, almost kind of you know if you're talking NFL draft, kind of best available when we saw what that deal could look like financially."

Douděra is a more known quantity than Malatini. He's in his prime, represented his country in the most recent World Cup, and has played at the highest levels of continental competition in Europe as well as won silverware.

Over his last two league seasons, Douděra has been very good passer, consistently ranking in the top 10% of outside backs for progressive passing, crosses, and expected assists. Defensively, well, statistically it's a bit more of a mixed bag. Statistical assessment of defenders is a tricky business (see caveats here), but Douděra's defensive contributions seem a bit light. Same with his ability on the dribble, whether that's moving it up the field or beating a defender one-on-one.

Still, for a team that desperately needs more passing, Douděra should help tremendously. The added bonus of (probably) allowing Pavel Bucha to return to his primary position in central midfield should help with that, too. Even if Douděra isn't an elite passer in MLS, he should provide value at right wing back.

The Bigger Picture

Is the 3-5-2 here to stay?

If you're keeping track, the Orange and Blue have now signed four wing backs in four windows, and five in the last six. That's...a lot. And the fact that there's been so much incoming and outgoing movement at the position tells us something. There just aren't that many players out there who can do what FCC needs its wing backs to do, both offensively and defensively. Even if Douděra represents a value, he still increases the amount of resources FCC dedicates outside backs, which was among the highest, if not the highest, in the league.

Maybe Douděra's passing, in addition to Bucha's return to midfield and Malatini's presence at center back, suddenly produces a run of consistently good performances. But, as I've written before, the Orange and Blue haven't been consistently better than their opponents since 2024 in a three center back system. We'll see down the stretch towards the playoffs, but nothing in this window indicates an upcoming tactical shift. Maybe Douděra is the wing back who ties everything together again, but FCC hasn't yet been able to find another Álvaro Barreal yet. There might come a point when they stop trying, but it wasn't this summer.

Shifting profiles

At the end of last season, Albright referenced a potential change in how the Orange and Blue were scouting wing backs as a part of a broader refresh in the team's approach. In a position where Albright has mostly sought out Dribbly Bois, Douděra is a passer first profiling more like Lukas Engel than Bryan Ramírez or Ender Echenique.

The Orange and Blue will need more in the final third from Douděra than they got from Engel, and the latter's xA numbers suggest he can, but pairing a more dynamic dribbling option in Echenique or Ramírez with Douděra should provide more attacking variety in the final third. Still, it's good to see a different profile of wing back to try to address some of the limitations FCC has run into in recent seasons.