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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Seattle Sounders FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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Orlando City has a knack for dramatic last-minute goals to turn losses into draws. On this night it was Scott Sutter’s first goal as a Lion as he used his head to knock in the equalizer in the 94th minute at Seattle, one game after Jonathan Spector did the same exact thing against Montreal.

The Lions didn’t play a great game but they also didn’t play that poorly. There was a noticeable lack of quality in the final third but Seattle is a good defensive club at home and they can do that to teams. The important thing is that Orlando hung around all night and can move on to Chicago with another point.

Let’s get to our grades:

Starters

GK, Joe Bendik, 8 (MotM) — Terrific night for Joe, who kept the Lions in the game long enough for Sutter’s goal to matter. He finished with five saves and few of those were easy. He was alone against Will Bruin on the 19th-minute goal and the shot had too much power for him to stop. He read the game well and was quick off his line a few times to keep shots from happening, taking the ball off Jordan Morris’ foot in the 57th on one such occasion. His back-to-back stops of Clint Dempsey and Osvaldo Alonso in the 59th minute will likely be up for MLS Save of the Week and he denied Deuce again on a break in the 62nd minute. Great bounce-back game for Bendik.

D, Donny Toia, 6 — Spent much of the night blocking crosses and was unable to get forward much with Cristian Roldan and Nicolas Lodeiro working his side of the field. Finished with a tackle, two interceptions, and four clearances but he did get beat wide once by Morris on a play that led to the back-to-back Bendik saves. Passed at only a 75% clip, which was lowest on the back line. Made way for PC in the 85th minute.

D, Jonathan Spector, 7 — His step in the 19th minute nearly prevented the first goal but unfortunately he missed the ball and it fell perfectly for Bruin to score the opener. Other than that, Specs had the usual outing you’d expect, for the most part. He led the back line with a 91.2% passing accuracy and three of his four long balls were accurate. Tallied two tackles, three interceptions, a blocked shot, and a team-high eight clearances. His repeated sliding challenges prevented even more danger from Seattle.

D, Tommy Redding, 7.5 — Tommy may literally have only put one foot wrong all night and that was on the Morris run in the 57th minute, when he tried to stab at the ball and whiffed. Other than that, it was quite a solid night from the U.S. youth international. He even won a few aerial balls, which isn’t always his strongest skill. Finished with two tackles, a team-high six interceptions, a blocked shot, and three clearances. His passing was a robust 81.6% and he even got a shot on target with a glancing header in the second half.

D, Scott Sutter, 7.5 — Even before scoring the game-tying goal on the last touch of the ball, it was a good night for Sutter. He had two key passes and six crosses, one of which nearly found Will Johnson late. He was accurate passing (82.9%), and defensively held his ground well, finishing with a pair of interceptions and two clearances. He tried to set up Kaká in the 54th minute with a nice pass but the captain had his shot blocked. His first goal as a Lion was a memorable one.

MF, Kaká, 6.5 — It was another mixed night for the captain, who did a lot well, but also had some curiously bad turnovers and a few poor decisions. His delivery on the game-tying goal was superb, though. Sent Carlos Rivas in 1-v-1 with a great through ball early. Was set up at the top of the box by Rivas in the 37th minute but opted not to shoot and that decision led to a Seattle break. He picked out the wrong pass in the 41st minute, ignoring Giles Barnes and lifting a cross that was cut out by the defense. He passed at a 77.6% clip and notched two key passes, leading the team in touches (73) and finishing second in pass attempts (58).

MF, Antonio Nocerino, 6 — The Italian had a quietly solid night (again) but added several runs forward, getting into the box more than we’ve seen much of lately. Unfortunately, he went largely ignored by his teammates when he did so, but those runs did open up some space at the top of the box for others at times. He was the most accurate passer of all Lions with a minimum of 10 attempts (96.3%) and was often able to move the ball quickly to avoid Seattle’s pressure. Because Seattle played mainly down the wings and on balls over the top, he didn’t rack up any real defensive stats, but he was accurate on four of five long balls and his lone cross.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 4 — The Colombian lacked sharpness on this night, turning the ball over needlessly and carelessly far too many times. He started the night with a 14th-minute shot that was well off target from a good spot juts above the box. He had three bad turnovers in the first half. The first at 27’ broke up an offensive buildup; the second in the 30th led to a Seattle counter attack that eventually broke down; and the third forced Toia to clear it out for a throw. In the 43rd minute he worked a nice attack with MPG up the right but then didn’t pick his head up and crossed blindly to the back post where no one was. His passing turnovers continued through the second half, igniting a pair of Seattle counter attacks. Neither of his two shots threatened goal. Defensively, he did provide five tackles, an interception and a clearance. His overall passing accuracy was good (85.3%) on a team-high 61 passes but most of his success came on square or backward balls and much of his attacking play was poor.

MF, Matias Perez Garcia, 5.5 — MPG lacked the sharpness we saw on Saturday but it wasn’t a bad performance, so much as he just kind of got lost at times. He had a shot on target in the 56th minute on a pretty decent rip. His passing accuracy was good (81.6%) with one key pass but he was dispossessed a team-high five times. His set piece service was also lacking, with none of his four crosses finding its target. Contributed two interceptions and a clearance on defense. Subbed off in the 64th minute for Luis Gil.

F, Carlos Rivas, 5.5 — Not the best of nights for the Colombian, who had Orlando’s two best scoring chances but failed to bury either, but also not the worst. Had a chance to start the game off perfectly with a 1-v-1 against Stefan Frei five minutes in, but his right-footed shot was too close to the keeper, who made the save. His 35th-minute turnover led to a Nicolas Lodeiro shot on goal. Did well to find Kaká two minutes later but the chance went awry when the captain didn’t pull the trigger. He was fairly active defensively, with a tackle and four interceptions. His passing was accurate (88.2%) but only on 17 attempts. At least both of his shots were on target — no sky shots in this game.

F, Giles Barnes, 5.5 — The Jamaican worked hard as usual but not much came from his efforts in the final third. His one shot was off target. Passing accuracy was good (80%) but like Rivas, had few attempts (20) and didn’t create any chances off of them. He did draw a couple of fouls, earning an early set piece in a good spot. Finished with one tackle and an interception defensively. He came off in the 74th minute for Will Johnson.

Substitutes

MF, Luis Gil (64’), 6 — It was quietly a good game for Gil, who helped set up the late free kick that ended up tying the game. His interplay down the left with PC sent the Brazilian left back forward and down the Seattle flank. His passing was spot-on (94.4%) and he tallied one blocked shot and an interception.

MF, Will Johnson (74’), 6 — I thought Will’s night was kind of a mixed bag. He seemed to struggle to find his footing in the game but he nearly got onto Sutter’s late cross just ahead of Stefan Frei, and he also lashed a shot on target that forced a diving save. He managed to help provide some late energy and notched one interception but also picked up a yellow card for dissent.

D, PC (85’), N/A — Victor “PC” Giro came on late for Toia and his last-second run up the left side set up the game-tying goal. It’s probably unfair to give him a grade for about eight minutes of work, so I’ll give him an “N/A” but his actions definitely impacted the game and he completed all eight of his passes.

That’s the way I saw the individual performances from the match. What did you think? Let me know in the comments below and vote for your OCSC Man of the Match in our poll.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Tommy Redding22
Jonathan Spector12
Scott Sutter20
Joe Bendik107
Other10

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 2-1 loss to NYCFC?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City gave up two late goals to drop all three points in a 2-1 home loss against New York City FC. The Lions had plenty of chances to put the game away, but once again were unable to score multiple goals at home. Despite having the better of the match for the first 87 minutes, this team continues to allow teams to stick around and steal points late. Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this extremely disappointing match.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — I feel bad for Gallese. He made two saves, including his 500th save as Orlando City’s keeper, but gave up two goals that were very difficult to stop. The first was the own goal at point blank range just seconds after his outstanding save against former Lion Andres Perea. There was nothing he could have done on that. The second was a two-on-one attack in stoppage time, when he came out to cut down the angle, but it was a lost cause. As for the first part of the match, it was slow. He didn’t even make his first save until the 53rd minute. Gallese touched the ball 25 times, completing 56.3% of his 16 passes, though he did not connect on any of his seven long balls. Defensively, he made one tackle, and two clearances.

D, David Brekalo, 7 — With the return of Jansson, Brekalo resumed his left back duties. He was active in the attack early. He sent a header on target off of a corner in 30th minute but didn’t put enough on it. He headed another corner in 35th minute, but it was too high and off target. The third time was the charm though, as he once again headed a corner kick. This time, he sent the ball to Jansson for the goal to earn an assist. Brekalo had 55 touches, completing 91.3% of his 46 passes, including one key pass and two of his four long balls. Offensively, he had one shot on target. Defensively, he had one tackle, one clearance, and two interceptions. He wasn’t at fault for either of NYCFC’s goals.

D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 (MotM) — Jansson scored his first goal of the season and perhaps his best goal for the Lions. Brekalo headed the corner kick from Ojeda over to Jansson, who chested it down and then left-footed it into the back of the net. It was a good performance from the captain, but the goal is what put him over the top for Man of the Match. Jansson had 42 touches, completing 88.2% of his 34 passes and two of his five long balls. Offensively, he had the one shot on target for the goal. Defensively he had two clearances, one interception, one blocked shot, and he suffered one foul. Most importantly, he wasn’t culpable on either of NYCFC’s goals either.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5 — Until the final minutes of the match, Schlegel wasn’t doing too badly. He had 49 touches, completing 87.5% of his 40 passes, and one of his five long balls. Offensively, he had two shots, with one on target, though he failed to score for Orlando City. Defensively he had one tackle, two clearances, one blocked shot, and a foul. While he didn’t have a goal contribution for the Lions he did kick the ball off of Kyle Smith and into the net to give NYCFC the equalizer in the 87th minute. Smith is credited with the own goal, but Schlegel gets the own assist.

D, Alex Freeman, 7 — Freeman was dangerous in this match. His speed, skill, and size present problems for defenses and that was the case again in this match. Even though he didn’t get a goal contribution, he did create opportunities for both himself and his teammates. His efforts created four first-half corner kicks. He also stole the ball in the 58th minute, made a run up the field — including a give-and-go with Marco Pasalic — and got into the box to receive the ball back after continuing his run, but hhe sent his shot high. Freeman had 64 touches, completing 80.6% of his 36 passes, two crosses, and one of his three long balls. Offensively, he had four shots, with one on target, and two dribbles. Defensively, he logged three tackles, three clearances, three interceptions, and two fouls committed.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo was better in this match. He was not great, as he still failed to earn a goal contribution, but neither was he the place where the attack went to die. He provided pressure on the defense and almost took the ball away from the keeper early on. Angulo had 31 touches, completing 82.6% of his 23 passes, and made three key passes. Offensively, he had one off-target shot, suffered two fouls, and was only dispossessed once. Defensively, he recorded two interceptions. His grade comes as much from what he didn’t do — good and bad — as for what he did do. He came off for Kyle Smith in the 74th minute.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — This was a typical night for Araujo. He did mostly well in the defensive midfield, sniffing out attacks and winning the ball back. The one time he couldn’t, he committed a professional foul in the 61st minute that earned him a yellow card after Jansson was caught upfield. Araujo had 60 touches, completing 89.6% of his 48 passes, including two key passes and two of his five long balls. Offensively, he had one shot that was off target. Defensively, he logged one clearance, two interceptions, and one blocked shot. He committed the aforementioned foul, though he also suffered three fouls. Like almost everyone else, he was caught up the field on NYCFC’s second goal, and there wasn’t anything he could have done.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6 —  Atuesta was active, as usual, in this match. Like some of his teammates, he was generally pretty good, but it was his ball into the box that was intercepted and sprung NYCFC’s counterattack on the second goal. Atuesta had a team-high 82 touches, completing 86.6% of his 67 passes, including five key passes, three crosses, and five of his 10 long balls. Offensively, he attempted two shots with neither on target, one dribble, and two fouls committed. Defensively, he logged one tackle, and suffered two fouls.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Much like Martin Ojeda, Pasalic was not as clinical as he usually is. He placed an excellent through ball to Luis Muriel in the 20th minute, but Muriel’s shot was stopped. He had several shots that were blocked out for corner kicks. Pasalic had 40 touches, completing 90.5% of his 21 passes, including three key passes, one cross, and one of his two long balls. Offensively, he had a team-high six shots with one on target, completed two dribbles, and suffered one foul. Defensively, he notched one interception. He came off in the 74th minute for Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — It was an “almost” night for Ojeda. He earned a secondary assist on Jansson’s goal after delivering the corner kick to Brekalo to bring his season total to 10 assists and his goal contribution streak to eight matches. However, he should have been more clinical. Case in point: he missed a golden opportunity in the 47th minute on an NYCFC turnover with only the keeper to beat, but he sent the shot wide left. All of his shots were either off target or right at Matt Freese. Ojeda had 45 touches, completing 81.5% of his 27 passes, including four crosses and one of his two long balls. Offensively, he fired five shots with only one on target, completed one dribble, and committed one foul. Defensively, he had one interception, and suffered one foul. Ojeda came off in the 84th minute for Nico Rodriguez.

F, Luis Muriel, 5.5 — It was another uninspiring match from Muriel. The forward certainly put in the effort early on, pressing the defense and Matt Freese, but he was never able to make it pay off. He had a golden opportunity in the 20th minute, but he couldn’t beat the keeper. Muriel finished with just 19 touches, completing 90% of his 10 passes, including one key pass, one long ball, and two crosses. Offensively, he attempted two shots, which were both on target, but he could not find the back of the net. He committed one foul and drew none. Muriel came off in the 64th minute for Ramiro Enrique.

Substitutes

F, Ramiro Enrique (64’), 5.5 — Enrique came on in the 64th minute for Muriel, touching the ball seven times and completing 40% of his five passes. He took one shot from a great spot that was not on target, and won three aerial balls. Despite being on the pitch for over 30 minutes, he didn’t do much.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (74’), 5 — Thorhallsson came on in the 74th minute for Pasalic as the Lions looked to hang onto their 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, he was unable to help in that regard. He finished with 13 touches, completing all of his nine passes, including one key pass. Defensively, he logged one interception and one clearance, but sadly he was unable to make the most important tackle on the night. He was the last man with a chance to stop the breakaway on NYCFC’s second goal, but he swung and missed on his desperate attempt to make the tackle.

MF, Kyle Smith (74’), 5 — Smith came on for Angulo in the 74th minute in a defensive change. Sadly he was in the wrong place at the wrong time as he and Schlegel were both trying to clear the ball away from goal when Schlegel kicked it off of Smith for NYCFC’s equalizer. Smith was credited with the own goal, although he didn’t know much about it. He touched the ball 12 times, completing all of his eight passes, including one cross. Defensively, he added a clearance.

MF, Nico Rodriguez (84’), N/A — Rodriguez was a late replacement for Ojeda as the Lions looked to see out the game. He earned a foul less than a minute after entering the match to set up a free kick for Orlando, though it amounted to nothing. He touched the ball 15 times, completing 75% of his eight passes, and made one key pass. Offensively, he had one dribble and suffered two fouls. His biggest contribution was a negative one late in the game, as he played a corner kick so quickly that most of his teammates weren’t ready. Thorhallsson was still walking back into his deep defensive position and the two center backs hadn’t even arrived in the box yet. So when Rodriguez played the corner quickly short to Atuesta, it threw off the entire team and allowed NYCFC to break with numbers for the winner.


That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 2-1 loss to NYCFC. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote on your Man of the Match.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-1 loss against NYCFC.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

I have never actually been punched in the gut, but I am sure that it does not feel much worse than what it felt like to watch Orlando City capitulate once again in the final minutes of a game, going from a 1-0 lead to a 2-1 defeat in the final minutes of Wednesday’ night’s game. The Lions had plenty of chances to salt the game away in the first 85 minutes but they could not tally more than one goal, and then the combination of bad luck on one play and bad execution on a play shortly thereafter gave New York City FC a smash-and-grab win.

Here are my five takeaways from another disappointing match at home.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Own goals are brutal whenever they happen, but they are especially tough when they follow an incredible save by the goalkeeper but still end up in the back of the net. Pedro Gallese made a save at full stretch, denying former Lion Andrés Perea from scoring a late equalizer with a header, but then Rodrigo Schlegel tried to clear the rebound from danger but hit his clearance right off of Kyle Smith and into the Orlando City net. Schlegel did well to react quickly after Gallese made a fantastic save, but he did not have a chance to look around before trying to bomb the ball out of the zone and just suffered an incredible stroke of bad luck by hitting Smith, who was also going for a clearance, and watching the ball carom right into the net. At that moment, it felt like karma for all the missed shots by the Orlando City offense and that it would be another dropped two points from a winning position, but sadly it would become three dropped points just moments later.

For the Love Of Everything That Is Good, Please Ban Short Corners

I understand that teams want to have a lot of different looks that they could go to on set plays, but I would like the Lions to remove short corners from their bag, as they say, and not go with the short corner routine again. Ever. Kind of like how the guys in the movie Armageddon didn’t want to pay taxes again. Ever. Nico Rodriguez played a quick ball to Eduard Atuesta, trying to catch NYCFC off guard, but the team that was really caught off guard was Orlando City, as Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, the player assigned to be the last man back on defense during a corner kick, had his back to the ball and did not even know the play had started. Many of the other Lions were also caught flat footed while Atuesta tried to find a teammate to pass the ball to. Atuesta eventually played a poor ball into the middle — one of his few poor passes on the night — and NYCFC was able to break out on the counter with only Thórhallsson to beat. The Icelandic midfielder sprinted back at full speed, but because the play had started to so quickly, he was not deep enough to be in a position to slow down the counterattack. Alonso Martínez was able to get by him and finish the breakaway and, for all intents and purposes, the game.

Wasteful Offense

Orlando City took 25 shots on Wednesday night but was only able to put seven shots on goal. Many of the shots the Lions did put on goal did not really trouble goalkeeper Matt Freese. There were opportunities galore for the Lions to get multiple goals, with all three of the Designated Players failing to score on excellent opportunities, César Araújo hitting a free kick straight into a wall from a dangerous location, Alex Freeman not being able to get his feet sorted out to really uncork a threatening shot, and Ramiro Enrique putting his one shot wide of the goal from about nine yards out on the right side. The shots that were on goal were not well hit, and the balls that were well struck went wide, over, or right into a defender — in particular the last one with the Pigeons blocking nine shots on the night. The offense was simply not good enough, again, and the Lions paid for not being able to put multiple goals in the net.

The Only Offense Came From The Defense

Orlando City’s offensive players could not find their form but almost got bailed out by an unlikely source, as the one goal the team scored came from from a header by David Brekalo off of a Martín Ojeda corner that went right to Robin Jansson. The Beefy Swede looked like he had been playing striker for years by using his shoulder to knock the ball down and then volleying it low, hard, and into the corner — a place where all of the other Orlando City players were apparently unable to shoot any of their shots. This goal exemplified why many analysts, yours truly included, think that all corner kicks should be played directly into the box. Brekalo and Jansson got themselves into good positions and made a play, and when a play is made from close range, good things often happen, and purple smoke goes off and the crowd goes wild.

Tired Legs And a Barren Bench Are a Bad Combination

Óscar Pareja started eight players who had started the previous game against CF Montréal four days prior. When he went to the bench, he brought on players who had started that game (Enrique) or who had also come in off the bench in that game (Rodriguez, Smith, and Thórhallsson). Orlando City seemed the more dangerous team for most of the game, but it was not a particularly well-played game, with two teams that looked like they had just played days before and neither team sharp offensively. The Lions created more opportunities but were not sharp, and NYCFC rarely threatened for most of the game.

Pareja went with his trusted group of substitutes to try to protect a 1-0 lead, once again deciding to only use four of his five possible changes (this was the fifth straight game in which he did not use all of his allowed substitutions), and the lack of fresh MLS-quality legs was apparent in the final minutes, especially after the team fell behind. Rodriguez looked lively, but Enrique, Smith, and Thórhallsson contributed little, and the players who had been on the field all game had little left in the tank. Orlando City needs Joran Gerbet and Duncan McGuire to return from injury and needs to make use of the transfer window that opens next week, because the Lions cannot keep running out the same players over and over and expect the results to be different.


Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s disappointing 2-1 defeat against NYCFC. The Lions had a deserved lead but could not find what would likely have been a back-breaking second goal and paid for it in the end. The team will need to shake this off quickly because the Lions travel to New England on Saturday. But after that performance against NYCFC, maybe it is better that they will be on the road for their next game.

Let us know your thoughts about the NYCFC match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/17/25

Orlando City falls apart at home, Orlando Pride players in action abroad, Charlotte will host 2026 MLS All-Star Game, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Sometimes the Cardiac Cats are fun to watch, and other times they really do just stomp your heart into pieces. We’re unfortunately in the aftermath of the latter after Orlando City’s rough defeat last night. The good news is that the Lions can’t lose today as well. Let’s jump right into today’s links.

Orlando City Beaten by New York City FC

The Lions’ summer struggles continued with a disappointing 2-1 loss at home to New York City FC. Robin Jansson scored his first goal of the season, but Orlando collapsed late at home yet again, suffering from an own goal and a winner from Alonso Martinez in stoppage time. Orlando City is now winless in its past four games and has not won at home since May 24. There’s not much time to shake off this loss, as the Lions are back in action on Saturday for a tough road match against the New England Revolution.

Keeping Up With the Pride Players Abroad

Marta came off the bench and provided a pair of assists in Brazil’s dominant 6-0 win over Bolivia in the Copa America Femenina’s group stage. Kerolin had a hat trick and the result keeps Brazil at the top of its group for the time being. The Brazilians will be back in action on Tuesday to face Paraguay.

The CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals kick off on Friday with a great matchup between Zambia and Nigeria. Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji have each scored three goals this tournament and both were named to the Best XI of the group stage. Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse likely won’t play, but England takes on Sweden today in the Women’s European Championship quarterfinals.

Charlotte Will Host 2026 MLS All-Star Game

MLS announced that Charlotte will serve as the host of the 2026 MLS All-Star Game, the 30th in the league’s history. Charlotte FC joined the league in 2022 and this will be the first time the event is held in Charlotte. It’s always nice to see a smaller market receive its day in the sun, and Charlotte has really embraced soccer over the years. But if Sir Minty doesn’t take part in the skills challenge next year, then what are we even doing?

D.C. United Hires Rene Weiler

Rene Weiler is officially the next head coach of D.C. United and will take over once he receives a U.S. work permit. The 51-year-old brings plenty of European experience to the nation’s capital and won the Swiss Cup with Servette FC last year. He replaces Troy Lesesne, who was fired by the club after its exit from the U.S. Open Cup earlier this month. It’s a new era for one of the league’s older clubs, and it will be interesting to see how aggressive D.C. will be to bring in talent during the upcoming transfer window.

Free Kicks

  • Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul has reportedly agreed to terms with Inter Miami and could be with the club in time for the Leagues Cup. He also reportedly won’t need to take up a Designated Player spot this year, because of course.

That’s all I have for you this time around, Mane Landers. Stay hydrated and have a great Thursday!

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