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Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Final Score 4-3 as Sutter and Colmán Save the Lions

The Lions blew a late 3-2 lead but Sutter’s blast from outside the box off of Josué Colmán restored Orlando’s advantage.

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7 years ago

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Carlos Romero, The Mane Land

Orlando City is on the board. The Lions got a brace from Dom Dwyer in his season debut in a chippy 4-3 win over the New York Red Bulls (2-2-0, 6 points). The disappointing Easter weekend crowd of 23,257 was treated to an edgy game with plenty of offense, as Orlando (1-2-1, 4 points) fought back from two deficits and overcame a late equalizer.

Will Johnson and Josué Colmán also scored for the Lions, although the latter was originally credited to Scott Sutter. It was the Paraguayan’s first MLS goal even though he knew little about it, as Sutter’s blast hit Colmán on the way toward the net. The Lions improved to 3-4-1 in the all-time series, and 2-1-1 at home (2-0-0 at Orlando City Stadium).

“Really pleased from an effort and commitment point of view, no doubt,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said after the game.

“They came out hot and they came to play,” said Sacha Kljestan, who faced his old team for the first time. “I think we started a little bit slow and it took us some time to grow into the game but I’m really happy we got the win.”

Here’s the lineup Kreis started:

The visitors used a lineup filled with familiar faces, including center backs Tommy Redding and Aurelien Collin, and striker Carlos Rivas — all former Lions.

The game started poorly for the hosts, with Florian Valot scoring his first MLS goal in just the seventh minute, nodding home a perfectly placed cross from Kaku that just cleared Mohamed El-Munir’s head. The Lions were on the back foot already.

Orlando settled down and got back into the game, equalizing eight minutes later. Kljestan unlocked the defense with a ball that sent Justin Meram to the end line. The Iraqi international slipped his pass by Collin to a waiting Johnson, who tapped it in to make it 1-1.

Kljestan nearly helped the Lions take a lead in the 23rd minute with a set piece delivery that cleared Lamine Sané’s head by just inches. Just a touch would have made it 2-1. Instead, it was New York regaining the lead a minute later.

A turnover by rookie Cam Lindley in the midfield gave the ball to Valot, who slotted a through ball for Derrick Etienne. Sané didn’t quite have the pace to get there first, and Etienne fired a shot that nutmegged Joe Bendik and deflected in off his leg — a shot he’ll want back.

Orlando came right back at New York, quickly earning a corner in the 26th minute. A minute later, after Meram won a second corner in quick succession, the Lions leveled the score again. Yoshimar Yotun sent in a dangerous near-post ball that Dwyer got the side of his head onto and it was suddenly 2-2. Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles wanted a foul, as Dwyer had a hold of his shirt and muscled his way to his first goal of the year. Orlando City Stadium was treated to its first Dom flip of the year as well.

“I managed to get myself in front of Robles, and I don’t really know what part of my body it went off — the back of my head — but a goal’s a goal,” Dwyer said.

The game was already physical, but it got even more chippy from that point, with the biggest battle being waged between Dwyer and Collin. The two former teammates at Sporting Kansas City were in in each other’s face all day, with Collin getting booked once and perhaps lucky not to have received a second yellow moments later after sending Dom sprawling.

As much as the game was physical, it didn’t keep the match from being a wide-open affair. Sané made a vital 1-v-1 challenge to win the ball in his own penalty area, and when the Lions countered, Robles had to be quick off his line to keep Yotun from reaching it first and having a clear chance at goal. Yotun, for his part, seemed a bit off his game, misplaying a cross right onto his feet in the box in the 42nd minute. El-Munir then sent the ball over the net upon regaining possession.

Just before the half, the Red Bulls got a set piece, which Collin weakly nodded wide of goal. Lindley also was shaken up after an altercation with Red Bulls midfielder Kaku, who took exception to some jawing and light pushing with the rookie and swept his legs out from beneath him. None of the officials saw the play.

The teams went to the locker room tied at 2-2, with nearly exactly 50/50 possession and seven shots apiece (3-3 on target).

Just three minutes after the restart, the Lions took their first lead of the season. Dwyer made a heads-up run on a throw-in and El-Munir delivered a great throw to spring him into the box. Dwyer smashed it with his left and beat Robles to make it 3-2.

“Super to have [Dwyer] back,” Kreis said. “Tactically he gives us a little bit more of a true number nine and we’ve been kind of playing without one for the first three matches. So to have a true target there — a player there who is going to finish things — is real nice for us. Big, big credit to him for taking his goals.”

Rivas nearly pulled that goal back in the 51st when he rocketed one just wide of the far post.

Once the second half settled in a bit more, Orlando switched up to a 4-2-3-1 formation. With Lindley out at halftime for Colmán, Johnson and Yotun played in the defensive midfield behind Meram, Kljestan, and the Paraguayan teenager, with Dwyer up top alone.

Orlando got a set piece and Johnson’s shot was saved in the 59th minute. Kljestan poked the ball to Yotun, who stopped it and teed it up for Johnson, whose shot took a deflection. The ricochet took enough steam off the ball for Robles to correct his positioning and collect it. Yotun got down the left in the 61st and fired a shot but it was right at the Red Bulls keeper.

Chris Mueller came on for a cramping Dwyer in the 65th minute. Moments later, Amro Tarek pulled up with an injury and was eventually subbed out for RJ Allen, so the Lions were suddenly down to their emergency center back as Bradley Wright-Phillips checked in for New York.

Mueller nearly gave the Lions some insurance in the 73rd minute. Robles made a diving fingertip save to prevent the rookie’s first MLS goal after he nodded down a perfect Kljestan cross. A minute later, Meram headed the ball into the net but the flag was up. Orlando continued to press for insurance. Kemar Lawrence broke up a 3-v-2 Orlando break in the 77th minute.

An ill-advised foul on Johnson provided the Red Bulls with a chance to equalize and the visitors did. The free kick to the back post was nodded home by Aaron Long, who beat Sané with a tug and a shove and left the defender on the ground, asking why no foul was given.

But the Lions didn’t hang their heads after Long’s 82nd-minute goal. Orlando came right back on the attack and Mueller found himself in the box, trying to split two defenders. As he cut between the two, Valot swept at the ball and got Mueller’s right leg but no penalty was given. Still, Orlando kept fighting.

Off a throw-in, Kljestan found a wide-open Sutter on the far side of the field. Sutter took a touch and blasted a shot from outside the box that deflected off Colmán and beat Robles to make it 4-3 in the 86th minute.

From that point on, Orlando did well to hold possession, with Mueller, Yotun, and Colmán working well to keep the ball in the right corner to use up much of the remaining clock.

Finally, the whistle blew on City’s first win of the season. It was a deserved three points, with the Lions holding 54.4% of the possession, out-shooting the Red Bulls, 14-10 (8-4 on target), and passing at 71% compared to New York’s 66%.

“I wasn’t expecting a 4-3 game. Those don’t come around very often,” said Kljestan. “I’m glad we came out on the winning side.”

“Hard-fought win,” Kreis said. “Really, really difficult to get that result today for a lot of reasons. Big, big credit to all the players that participated in that match and put their absolute best foot forward, because I think without 100 percent commitment, we don’t walk out of there with all three points.”

Orlando City will host the Portland Timbers next Sunday.

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 3-0 home victory over Atlanta United.

Published

53 minutes ago

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April 27, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Ah winning, it is so much better than tying. After three straight ties, Orlando City returned to their winning ways on Saturday, dominating Atlanta United and reminding the Five Stripes that Orlando is the soccer capital of the south. No, Miami, you cannot join the adults’ table and conversation yet. The Lions dominated play for most of Saturday’s match, and once they scored that first goal, they never looked back, adding two more goals and taking home all three points. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

The Shutout Streak is Over!

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, but in this case Orlando City earned its luck as Luis Muriel was making a driving run in the box and was preparing to shoot when Bartosz Slisz tripped him, earning Orlando City a penalty. Initially there was no call, but after video review, Orlando City was awarded a penalty and Muriel sent Brad Guzan the other way and the Lions were on the board for the first time since their trip to Los Angeles. Orlando City dominated the opening segment of the game and could easily have already scored at least one goal prior to the penalty, and as the clock ticked closer to halftime, that uneasy feeling of “not again” was starting to creep in. But then, Muriel created an opportunity and converted the ensuing penalty kick, and everyone breathed a big sigh of relief with a side of purple smoke.

The Shutout Streak Continues!

On the other side of the ball, the defensive back line continued its run of recent form by preventing Atlanta from even getting one shot on target, forcing the visitors to take half of their shots from more than 20 yards away from the goal. Pedro Gallese was barely troubled throughout the game, and the back line of David Brekalo, Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and Alex Freeman all went the full 90 and yet only made a combined two tackles, showing just how little of an attack Atlanta was able to mount against the Orlando City defense. The Lions bossed the game all over the field, from the press by their attacking group through owning the midfield and the defense snuffing out the few threatening attacks Atlanta put together, and it was a full team effort to earn a fourth straight shutout.

Another New Midfield Combination

The injury bug bit the Orlando City defensive midfield once again, as after three straight starts Joran Gerbet was unable to go against Atlanta. With César Araújo still to return from injury, and away on Saturday for the birth of his daughter, that meant that Óscar Pareja turned to Kyle Smith to start the game as one half of the defensive midfield. Thankfully, Eduard Atuesta was finally cleared to return, and the Atuesta-Smith pairing became the fourth pair to start in the first 10 games of the season. I thought Atuesta was brilliant in this game, as his incisive passing and playmaking skills were on full display throughout. He did fail to convert on a wonderful chance to score off of a Marco Pašalić pass, but aside from that, he was outstanding on both offense and defense and breathed life into an Orlando City team that had sorely missed him.

For his part, Smith played much more of the defensive role between the two holding midfielders, and he was solid in the middle of the field, partnering with Jansson and Schlegel to wall off Atlanta from being able to attack through the middle. Time will tell if we see yet another new combination next week, but in this week’s game, Atuesta and Smith made it look like they had been playing next to each other for months, not days.

The Formation Was Fluid

As fans of Orlando City, we know that Pareja loves his 4-2-3-1 formation and has used that nearly exclusively during his tenure in Orlando. In this context, I found it interesting that multiple sites listed the Lions as having played a 3-4-2-1 in the match against Atlanta, but this makes sense with how far Freeman pushes up the field on the right hand side and how Brekalo, Jansson, and Schlegel hang back and hold down the defense while their young teammate joins the attack. Additionally, Orlando City makes a point to not lock its players into specific positions, but rather let the front group rotate as needed defensively, leading to times in the second half when it appeared like any one of Martin Ojeda, Muriel, and Nico Rodríguez were playing as a striker, with the others filling in behind. There were also times in the first half when it looked like Duncan McGuire and Muriel were both playing up top, and then others when it seemed like McGuire was the lone striker with Muriel dropped well behind him. These multiple looks caused some confusion among the Atlanta defense and also slowed down the Atlanta attack as well, as they saw players in different locations than they expected. The Lions have a lot of players who have “utility” skillsets, and they took advantage of those in this match.

Duncan Is Now Fully Open For Business

McGuire made his first start of the year on Saturday, and while he did not score a goal, it was good to see that he is now healthy enough to go 60 minutes in a match. Big Dunc was involved in a few chances, taking one shot and making one key pass in addition to drawing two fouls, but the big takeaway here is that he is now one more option that Pareja has available to him to start or bring off the bench. In this match, they decided to bring in Ojeda off the bench and give him a bit of a rest, but as the season starts to move from one game per week to many weeks having both a weekend and weekday game, it will be critical that the Lions can rotate the squad and keep all the key players fresh. McGuire looked like he still had something left in the tank when he subbed out, so I think it is safe to say he is back to full fitness.

Those are my takeaways from an enjoyable beatdown of one of Orlando City’s biggest rivals and a game that was much less stressful than the Pride’s come-from-behind victory on the same field the night before. The Lions will look to build off this victory when they travel to Chicago next weekend, though waiting for them will be an angry Fire team that was just embarrassed 7-2 by Nashville. There is no reason why Orlando City cannot also score seven, but we will settle for at least one more than Chicago scores.

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

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Final Score 3-0 as Lions Rout Rival Five Stripes

The Lions broke out of their scoreless funk in a big way in a dominating win over rival Atlanta United.

Published

13 hours ago

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April 26, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

It took a while for Orlando City’s offense to get going on the heels of three consecutive scoreless draws, but the Lions found their scoring boots in a 3-0 win over rival Atlanta United in front of an announced crowd of 20,184 at Inter&Co Stadium. Orlando (4-2-4, 16 points) ran its unbeaten streak to seven games (3-0-4) while snapping a three-game winless skid (0-0-3) while beating one of its most bitter rivals in Atlanta (2-5-3, 9 points).

Luis Muriel, Alex Freeman, and Marco Pasalic scored the goals for the Lions, who beat Atlanta at home for just the third time in club history (3-6-3) in the regular season. The club set a new club record early in the game for most conseutive shutout minutes, and by the end of the match, the Lions had not conceded in 436 minutes, dating back to the LA Galaxy game and Christian Ramirez’s 14th-minute strike.

“It’s so nice to see that we kept our balance defensively and we improved something that has been costing us in our last three (games) on not scoring,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match, dedicating the three points to Cesar Araujo, who welcomed his daughter Isabella into the world today. “And getting back today to that mode just made us feel very good. A game well played. In the first half we had some difficulties to find our spaces, but we were patient until we scored the first one. We knew that they were coming in the second (half) and we would have those spaces naturally, organically open for us, and we saw that. And the boys understod the game. They were very responsible with their duties defensively, but offensively we looked like we can harm teams, and that made us feel good.”

Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel (who returned from suspension), and Freeman. With Joran Gerbet picking up a knock this week and Araujo on daddy duty, Kyle Smith started in central midfield alongside a returning Eduard Atuesta behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Muriel, and Pasalic, with Duncan McGuire up top. Martin Ojeda started on the bench.

The first half mostly saw both sides try to be meticulous defensively and take few chances in the attack. This made for a bit of a dull affair for spectators as the teams played a tense game of chess with the ball. Orlando seemed the likelier team to put it all together, but the Lions wasted several chances, with three attacks going through Angulo in the first 12 minutes resulting in turnovers instead of shots.

Pasalic sent McGuire down the right side of the box in the eighth minute, but the striker had no help with him. Rather than hold play up and waiting for help, McGuire tried a tough-angle shot and did not get his effort on target.

A good buildup in the 15th minute ended up with an Orlando chance in front but that chance fell for Smith, who missed the net entirely from about eight yards away.

Jamal Thiare headed over the bar on a cross from the right in the 26th minute.

Atuesta sent Angulo in behind on the left in the 31st minute. Brad Guzan came off his line aggressively to cut down the angle and the left winger’s shot was blocked behind for a corner.

Aleksey Miranchuk fired wide from outside the box for Atlanta in the 34th minute. The game changed moments later.

A good pass sent Muriel into the box in the 37th minute and he was taken down by Bartosz Slisz. Referee Marcos de Oliveira determined the challenge was legal and Pasalic followed with a shot that was blocked. Atlanta broke the other way and Gallese stopped a weak shot from distance, but then de Oliveira went to the monitor. After review, he saw that Slisz had made contact with Muriel’s foot prior to getting the ball and a penalty was awarded to Orlando.

Muriel sent Guzan the wrong way and calmly slotted home in the 42nd minute to open the scoring. It was Orlando City’s first goal in 312 minutes of game time and Muriel’s fourth of the season.

Neither side fashioned a clear-cut chance in the final moments or five minutes of stoppage time. Thiare sent a late header well off target on the final shot attempt of the opening period.

Orlando City finished the half with the advantage in possession (63.3%-36.7%), shots (5-3), shots on target (2-0), and passing accuracy (89.8%-87.7%), while Atlanta won more corners (2-1). The difference at the break was the penalty.

“I think the first half I can say congrats to Atlanta. They played really good defensively and also offense,” Pasalic said. “And they made the game really tough, especially for me, because I had (many) opponents around me, and maybe this was the tactic, to close the pockets, because that’s a style we played in the last games.”

The Lions tried to strike quickly for a second after the restart. Pasalic fired wide of the right post from distance just seconds into the second half. A minute later, Muriel made a great pass to slip the ball to McGuire in the box but the ball was knocked away to Angulo. The winger could have shot with his first touch but instead took the ball wide and recycled for Muriel, who fired wide from a bad angle on the left.

Freeman doubled the lead in the 51st minute. Pasalic chested down an aerial ball and made a good pass to send it to Freeman breaking down the right into the box. The fullback was at a tight angle but sized up Guzan’s positioning and blasted a shot through the defender’s legs and just off the inside of the left post and in to make it 2-0.

“When Marco got the ball, he controlled it, and I was eager to run in behind. And when Marco passed me that beautiful pass, it was more like to see what the defender was going to do — if he was going to really step or if he was just going to delay, delay,” Freeman said. “And I didn’t see anyone in the box, and I saw the defender’s legs open. I wanted to put it bottom left corner, and with his legs open, I just put it right through, and then I scored and I got to celebrate with Duncan.”

Freeman and McGuire did a celebration they’d worked on with Gerbet, but it was just the two of them out there for the choreographed celly with Gerbet unable to play.

After Freeman’s goal, Atlanta saw a lot more of the ball. The entire next five minutes were spent in Orlando’s half.

The Lions subbed on Martin Ojeda for McGuire and got back in the attack quickly, winning a pair of corners. The service on the first sailed over everyone and was picked up by Muriel outside the box. Muriel’s blast was tipped just wide by Guzan’s diving save, setting up a second corner. Ojeda’s second entry ball found Smith, but his header in the 64th minute was meekly right at Guzan for an easy save.

Atlanta then made a couple of critical turnovers in its own end and paid for the second. The first turnover ended up on Angulo’s foot out on the left with Guzan well out of his goal. Angulo’s curling shot not only missed, but would have gone out for a throw-in on the other side had Atlanta’s defense not picked it up. However, seconds later, Atlanta turned it over again, with Pasalic picking up the ball in the attacking half, dribbling toward goal, and blasting his fifth goal of the season just inside the right post to make it 3-0 in the 67th minute.

“To be honest I feel that we did good pressure, and when the ball came to me, I feel that the ball is going to come to me because the goalkeeper had no other chance to shoot the ball anywhere, and it came right to my feet,” Pasalic said. “I stopped the ball not so good, and then I turned around and see that nobody’s there, and take the ball and I see no pressure. Then I was not so far away from the goal and then I shoot.”

Pasalic should have notched his second assist of the game just a few minutes after his goal, when he slipped Atuesta into the area in the 71st minute. The midfielder fired for the left post but his shot fizzed just inches wide.

Orlando pushed some younger legs out onto the field over the final minutes of the game, subbing on Nico Rodriguez, Gustavo Caraballo, and Colin Guske. Atlanta created some half chances from range but could do little with a few late corners. Edwin Mosquera and Miguel Almiron sent some shots well over the bar down the stretch.

Rodriguez missed well off the mark in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the game’s final opportunity for either side and the final whistle brought the Lions’ fourth consecutive shutout to an end.

Orlando finished the match with the advantage in possession (54.9%-45.1%), shots (16-12), shots on target (6-0), and passing accuracy (89.2%-87.7%). Atlanta won more corners (5-3).

“The second half we looked more us,” Pareja said. “We spoke during the week with our players about this drought moment of not scoring. (The coaching staff) tried not to tense the team or not to stress them too much. Instead we wanted them to get back to their natural mode of play, creating options. The goals are coming. And we felt today that that was happening. I think they bounced back and they found the timing.”

“I’m happy that we won this game today,” Pasalic said. “After those draw games and difficult creation of chances and scoring goals, I think today was really important. I think it was the training this week. We worked more on the creation of the chances and more on the shooting practice, because this is what gives you the most confidence in front of the goal. We worked like a team. We kept the heads together. Now we are really solid and played the defense really good, and maybe thi sis a process and needs time. So, we had this game to prove that we are defensively really good and today we showed both.”

Orlando City is back on the road next Saturday as the Lions visit the Chicago Fire.

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look for their missing scoring boots as Atlanta United visits.

Published

1 day ago

on

April 26, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (3-2-4, 13 points) and Atlanta United (2-4-3, 9 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:15 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, FOX, FOX Deportes). It’s the first of two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals this season, with the Lions’ return trip to Atlanta scheduled for May 28.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

The Lions are 4-10-7 in the all-time series against Atlanta in league play and 2-6-3 at home. Those numbers are 5-11-7 and 3-7-3 in all competitions.

The teams last met in the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals, with the Lions eking out a 1-0 home victory on Nov. 24, 2024. Ramiro Enrique provided the game’s only goal and the defense was dominant, allowing the visitors just seven total shot attempts — none on target. That win pushed the Lions into their first-ever conference final.

Prior to their postseason meeting, these two teams met on Decision Day 2024, with Atlanta scoring two early goals and holding on for a 2-1 win on Oct. 9. Saba Lobjanidze and Jamal Thiare gave the visitors an early lead. Martin Ojeda pulled one back and Duncan McGuire appeared to tie the game late, but the latter goal was overturned on video review for a handball. The teams also met last year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 17, when Orlando City fell 2-0 on goals by Lobjanidze and Giorgos Giakoumakis.

The last meeting of 2023 took place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Orlando City capturing a 2-1 away win. Atlanta took the lead through Caleb Wiley, but Antonio Carlos and McGuire scored to lead the Lions’ comeback.

The southeast rivals also met in Orlando on May 27, 2023, at then-Exploria Stadium and played to a 1-1 draw. It was a heartbreaking dropped two points for the Lions, who took the lead through Kyle Smith at the half-hour mark and held that advantage until four minutes from full time, when Tyler Wolff pounced on a fortunate rebound in the box and equalized.

Atlanta went 1-0-1 in the season series in 2022. On Sept. 14 at Exploria Stadium the Five Stripes won 1-0 on a Thiago Almada goal despite the Lions out-shooting Atlanta 20-10. The sides played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting of that year on July 22 in Atlanta. Mauricio Pereyra staked the Lions to an early 1-0 lead on a beautiful free kick. Juan Jose Purata equalized in the second half, but Atlanta bombarded Orlando the majority of the game and completely controlled the midfield, outshooting the Lions 18-3 in the match.

Orlando had a six-match unbeaten streak in the series (3-0-3) snapped on Sept. 10, 2021, as the Five Stripes won 3-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. George Campbell and Ezequiel Barco scored for Atlanta, sandwiched around a Daryl Dike own goal to hand Gonzalo Pineda his first win as manager for United.

The second of three 2021 meetings took place July 30 at Exploria Stadium, with the Five Stripes taking the lead twice on goals by Josef Martinez and Marcelino Moreno, but the Lions not only fought back twice on strikes by Smith and Silvester van der Water, but Nani scored a late game winner by heading in VDW’s cross in Orlando City’s 3-2 win. The first meeting of that season between the two rivals came on opening day — April 17 — and they played to a 0-0 draw. It was an evenly matched game, with each team firing 11 shots and getting three on frame.

The final meeting of 2020 came on Oct. 28, when Orlando City ran away with a 4-1 win over Atlanta at Exploria Stadium. Dike, Chris Mueller, Tesho Akindele, and Matheus Aias — his first in MLS — scored the goals for the Lions, with Cubo Torres preventing a shutout with a late goal for the visitors. Prior to that, the teams met in Atlanta on Oct. 7, 2020 and played to a 0-0 draw. Robinho and Nani each hit the woodwork and Brad Guzan stood on his head to prevent Orlando from taking a deserved three points in that one, while Brian Rowe held down the fort at the other end to earn a shutout in Pedro Gallese’s absence.

Back on Sept. 5, 2020, a late, unforced turnover by Kamal Miller led to Adam Jahn’s 92nd-minute tying goal that offset a Benji Michel goal in a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium. Orlando City finally got on the board in the series against Atlanta United with a 3-1 win on the road on Aug. 29, 2020. Junior Urso, Mueller, and Nani supplied the offense to more than counter a Brooks Lennon headed goal. That three-goal explosion snapped a three-match scoreless streak against the Five Stripes for Orlando.

Orlando City created an incredible 17 scoring chances on Aug. 23, 2019, yet finished none of them in a 1-0 home loss. Martinez scored the game’s only goal in the second half. Only 17 days earlier at Exploria Stadium, Orlando also failed to score and lost 2-0 to Atlanta, getting bounced from the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. On Mother’s Day of 2019, Atlanta United claimed a 1-0 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Pity Martinez scored the goal.

Atlanta won at the building then known as Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 24, 2018 by a 2-1 final score. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez bundled home a rebound off Joe Bendik, who misplayed Barco’s free kick to open the scoring just 21 minutes in. Scott Sutter tied the game just before the half, but Josef Martinez broke the deadlock in the second half, with only 16 minutes remaining in normal time.

Atlanta easily claimed the June 30, 2018 meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 4-0. Josef Martinez and Barco each scored a goal and Miguel Almiron added a brace. Orlando lost the first matchup of 2018, 2-1, on May 13. An early penalty on a Cristian Higuita foul gave the visitors a leg up on a Josef Martinez goal from the spot and Barco doubled the lead before halftime. Justin Meram scored his first goal as a Lion to pull one back, but Orlando could get no closer. The unfortunate ending included a shower of debris coming out of the stands due to dissatisfaction with referee Alan Kelly’s decisions that night.

Hector Villalba’s two late goals in the first two meetings turned what could have been an Orlando draw and a win into a loss and a draw. The two teams kicked off their series with Orlando suffering a late 1-0 loss at home on July 21, 2017. Villalba found the net late. Villalba then scored a stoppage-time tally to rescue a 1-1 draw for Atlanta in the second meeting on July 29, 2017. Kaká scored one of his best goals as a Lion in that match to provide Orlando’s lone score.

Orlando City became the first visiting team to take any points out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 3-3 draw in Atlanta that September. Dom Dwyer scored his first brace as a Lion (in MLS, anyway) and also assisted on Cyle Larin’s goal. Josef Martinez’s hat trick spoiled Orlando’s bid to take all three points.

Overview

Orlando is coming off three consecutive scoreless draws and has played a man down in each of the last two. The Lions played well enough to win all three of the 0-0 draws, but have not capitalized on their chances, with the most recent pair of games ruined by a defender picking up a second yellow card. The most recent of those was a week ago at CF Montreal. Orlando didn’t allow the hosts much of an attack until the late stages, after Rafael Santos was sent off with a second booking.

The Lions are 2-1-1 at home, with a 2-0-1 mark since falling in the season opener.

Atlanta United is coming off a 3-0 drubbing at Philadelphia a week ago, dropping the Five Stripes to 0-2-1 on the road in 2025. However, that team from up north swept the season series from Orlando City in the 2024 regular season, including the aforementioned Decision Day victory. Although the Lions got the last laugh by winning the playoff matchup, Atlanta has had far too much success in Orlando over the years.

Orlando City’s defense will have to keep tabs on Lobjanidze, who led Atlanta in goals (9) and was second in assists (7) a year ago. He’s off to a slow start in 2025, but he’s plagued Orlando in the past, so he’ll bear watching. At least the Lions won’t have to deal with former Middlesbrough man Emmanuel Latte Lath, who has five goals and an assist on the season. The Ivorian is suspended for yellow card accumulation. Forgive us for not realizing that during this week’s PawedCast or David Rohe’s Three Keys to Victory piece, as we don’t normally see accumulation suspensions by Matchday 10. Not even Robin Jansson or Cesar Araujo has pulled that off. Miguel Almiron is back with Atlanta and is always a threat, and Jamal Thiare has also had success in the past against Orlando City.

“The context of the situation for both teams is that we are urgent to win games,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “I think we have had good results, but we know that adding three points is what’s going to make us escalate [ourselves] in the tournament and put [ourselves] in the place that we want. Despite playing good games away, we’re doing all [the work] we can do. It’s an important game for both sides, and the players understand that as well. I like that they understand that we need to escalate. Atlanta United FC is in the same position.”

Orlando City will be without Rafael Santos (suspension), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), Yutaro Tsukada (knee), and Favian Loyola (thigh), while Araújo (lower leg), Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Ramiro Enrique (upper extremity), and Joran Gerbet (lower leg) are all listed as questionable. Atlanta will be without Derrick Williams (hamstring), Tristan Muyumba (adductor), Emmanuel Latte Lath (suspension), and Stian Gregersen (quad).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Defensive Midfielders: Kyle Smith, Eduard Atuesta.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Muriel, Marco Pasalic.

Forward: Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Javier Otero, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Thomas Williams, Colin Guske, Gustavo Caraballo, Nico Rodriguez, Martin Ojeda, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique.

Atlanta United (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Brad Guzan.

Defenders: Pedro Amador, Noah Cobb, Luis Abram, Brooks Lennon.

Defensive Midfielders: Mateusz Klich, Bartosz Slisz.

Attacking Midfielders: Saba Lobjanidze, Aleksey Miranchuk, Miguel Almiron.

Forwards: Jamal Thiare.

Bench: Josh Cohen, Ronald Hernandez, Matthew Edwards, Efrain Morales, Ajani Fortune, Edwin Mosquera, Luke Brennan, Will Reilly, Cayman Togashi.

Referees

REF: Marcos DeOliveira.
AR1: Andrew Bigelow.
AR2: Tyler Wyrostek.
4TH: Matt Thompson.
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic.
AVAR: Jozef Batko.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:15 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, FOX, FOX Deportes.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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