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Orlando City vs. Los Angeles FC: Final Score 4-1 as Lions Drop Ninth Straight

Lions had a tying goal overturned for…reasons?…and LA grabbed two late goals to pad the score line.

Published

8 years ago

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Carlos Romero, The Mane Land

The James O’Connor era has begun and — like Adrian Heath and Jason Kreis before him — he’s already had to deal with a rash of injuries and an unbelievable officiating decision that went against his team. Despite playing a better-looking brand of football for the majority of the 90 minutes at Banc of California Stadium, the Lions still dropped a lopsided 4-1 decision to LAFC (10-4-4, 34 points).

Orlando City (6-11-1, 19 points) has now lost nine consecutive MLS matches and although it appears that there’s no end in sight, the team did play better for the most part, only faltering after captain Jonathan Spector left with a first-half injury and again late after a pair of decisions — one overturned by the video assistant referee in the booth rather than the referee reviewing the video, and the other seemingly not even looked at whatsoever. But some of the same issues were still prevalent, such as finishing opportunities in front of goal.

Hey, at least it wasn’t a shutout, thanks to Sacha Kljestan.

O’Connor didn’t have Scott Sutter (adductor), Cristian Higuita (adductor), Lamine Sané (quad), or Will Johnson (yellow card suspension) so he lined up his squad in a 4-2-3-1.

The Lions did well early to weather LAFC’s notorious early attack. In fact, neither team got a good look at goal for a while, with each firing shots from distance or having deflected chances roll in on the keeper. The hosts got the first good opportunity in the 20th minute with Latif Blessing firing over the bar on a scramble in Orlando’s penalty area. Donny Toia tried to clear a cross but it hit Adama Diomande and stayed in the box for Blessing to track down.

Spector went down with an apparent injury in the 23rd minute and had to be subbed out for Chris Schuler and things quickly unraveled for the Lions’ defense as it took a few minutes to adjust to the captain’s absence. Diomande put the ball in the net in the 26th minute, but the play was offside. Amro Tarek looked to lose the big scoring machine so it was fortunate he was a half a step behind the line. But, just two minutes later, Diomande got his goal.

It started with a Steven Beitashour cross from the right that found the head of Blessing. Bendik appeared to have time to smother the shot but he parried it away instead, allowing LAFC to regroup. Blessing tracked it down and crossed it in, where Tarek whiffed on his clearance attempt, which fell right onto the foot of Mark-Anthony Kaye, who fed Diomande right in front for the easy finish in the 28th minute.

Orlando’s costliest missed opportunity of the match could have tied it and altered the trajectory of the rest of the game. In the 31st minute, Kljestan fed a perfect through ball for Dom Dwyer’s well-timed run. Dwyer was in behind with only Tyler Miller to beat but he couldn’t get his shot past the big goalkeeper.

A minute later, LAFC doubled the lead.

Poor defensive rotation allowed Aaron Kovar to get down the right behind the back line and cross in for Blessing to finish into an empty net. Blessing was a handful for RJ Allen all night on that flank and LAFC punished the Lions severely for not scoring on Dom’s chance just moments earlier to make it 2-0.

The Lions tried to respond before the interval. Josué Colmán sent a curling effort from the top of the area in the 34th minute that forced a diving save from Miller.

In the 43rd minute, Chris Mueller found himself with the ball from a tight angle after Miller muffed a punch attempt. The rookie fizzed his shot through the area, but it was off target and went out for a goal kick. The Lions headed into the locker room down a pair of goals but really only played poorly for a spell of about five minutes after Spector’s injury — notwithstanding the poor finishing.

Orlando started the second half on the front foot, looking to get back into the game. Dwyer was played in early but was offside, then the striker headed wide off a cross from Allen. Finally, Dwyer drew a foul above the penalty area that nearly had the Lions on the board. Kljestan fired on target but Miller made a great save to keep the two-goal lead. All of this happened in the first six minutes of the second half.

Yoshimar Yotún, seeing his first action since returning from World Cup duty with Peru, fired just wide from the top of the area in the 53rd minute.

LAFC appeared to have a 3-0 lead a minute later. Kaye sent in a deflected shot that Bendik completely botched, allowing Diomande to run onto it and crack it into the net from point-blank range. Bendik was saved by the fact that Diomande was offside when the shot was taken by Kaye.

The Lions pulled one back in the 59th minute. Toia broke up an LAFC attack and found Kljestan up the field. LAFC center back Walker Zimmerman raced out to try to defend the play and fell down, allowing Sacha to waltz in and fire home from the top of the area into the far corner to make it 2-1.

LAFC nearly got that goal right back through Blessing’s lightning attack on the restart. The ball cycled around the area before finding Kovar, who fired on frame, but Bendik made the save.

After Bob Bradley introduced substitutes Diego Rossi and Carlos Vela, LAFC had a prolonged period of possession but didn’t offer much menace in the attack. Orlando City eventually got a hold of the ball and looked to tie the game.

Kljestan played a ball to the right for second-half sub Justin Meram, who cut his cross back behind him to Dwyer for the easy finish and the game was tied at 2-2, apparently. Until it wasn’t. After a lengthy delay before the restart, referee Chris Penso signaled that VAR Alex Chilowicz overturned the goal due to an offside call. Replays and photos indicated that Meram appeared even with the back line, if possibly off by just his lower arm. Dwyer was offside when the pass was played to Meram but the winger’s play put the striker back on. Penso never went to look at the replay and took the VAR’s word. Does this look like a clear and obvious error? Because, though I may be biased, it doesn’t look like a clear and obvious error to me.

The Lions kept coming. Dwyer got inside the defense again in the 80th minute but again Miller was able to make the save. That was the last opportunity for the Lions to change their fortunes, as just two minutes later LAFC scored again to put the game to bed.

This one came off a corner header that Bendik got a piece of and Meram cleared off the line. The ball popped back out in front to Diomande, who went to ground for a bicycle-type kick that hit the crossbar, fell to the ground, and appeared to be cleared off the line again. Penso signaled the goal — and it very may well have been completely over the line — but the restart came quickly without any lengthy delay this time. Go figure.

I’m not saying the ball didn’t cross the line, but can we not hurry one team back to play while we dissect the film for the other team? The word I’m looking for here — and so is the Professional Referee Organization — is consistency.

Anyway, the game was effectively over with Diomande’s second goal at the 82-minute mark, but that didn’t stop LAFC from adding another moments later through Rossi. The play started on a routine back pass to Tarek, but he took a horrible first touch and then got muscled off the ball by Diomande. Blessing ran onto it, leaving Schuler to defend two players, and that’s a tall ask when those players are Blessing and Rossi, who scored into an empty net to make it 4-1.

Miller rubbed salt in the wound with a pair of big saves in the 90th minute on Uri Rosell and Mohamed El-Munir. First Uri tried his luck from above the semicircle and Miller made a diving stop. Mo ran onto it and tried to go near post when the far post may have been the better option, but it was still a screamer and Miller made a good reaction save.

The four minutes of stoppage were eaten up quickly, much of it while Orlando City debated a free kick just outside the area. After all the debate, the training ground play was a disaster and no shot even came out of it. That about summed up the night — a night which could have gone much differently without Mr. Chilowicz’s involvement.

On the balance, LAFC was the better side, out-shooting Orlando City, 19-14 (13-9 on goal), keeping 63% of the possession, and passing at an 88% accuracy compared to the Lions’ 75%. But the 4-1 score line is a bit misleading, especially with Orlando’s second goal being curiously disallowed. Who knows where a 2-2 match ends up over the final 18 minutes? Still, Orlando wasn’t sharp enough in front of goal — and credit Miller for a lot of this — and didn’t need to concede those two late scores.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad first effort under O’Connor’s tutelage but it appears it’s going to take some time.

The Lions are home next Saturday night when Toronto FC comes to Orlando City Stadium.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 1-0 victory over San Diego FC.

Published

13 hours ago

on

September 6, 2026

By

Image of Maxime Crepeau looking for someone to pass to vs. San Diego.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City defeated San Diego FC 1-0 in the first-ever match between the two clubs at Inter.co Stadium Saturday night on Antoine Griezmann’s goal. Despite a bevy of chances, the Lions were only able to score the one goal. Thankfully, it was enough for Orlando City to earn all three points and to move up to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Back-and-Forth First Half

Orlando City and San Diego played similar styles in the first half. It started with the Lions on the front foot, pressuring San Diego’s back line. When it went the other way, Orlando City had to absorb the pressure. It went back and forth through the entire first half with San Diego having the advantage in possession and Orlando City the advantage in shots and shots on target. It felt like either team could get the opening goal. Fortunately, it was Orlando City that struck first.

Grizi Strikes Again

Orlando City struck first (and last, as it turned out) with Antoine Griezmann finishing off a beautiful team goal for Orlando City in the 28th minute. It was his fourth goal in the last three matches. Robin Jansson sent one of his distinctively accurate long balls to Daryl Dike in the right side of the box. Dike turned and quickly laid it off to Justin Ellis, who deftly pushed it forward to the oncoming Griezmann. He took one touch with his left foot to settle it and then took the shot with his right foot, putting it into the bottom left corner of the goal. It is the type of goal that is becoming more common for Orlando City, thanks to the quality Griezmann brings to the attack.

Recovery Defense

San Diego typically enjoys having the ball, and the visitors held 54% of the possession in the match, but it wasn’t enough. Orlando City did a good job of disrupting San Diego in the midfield, and often in San Diego’s half. The Lions were quick to recover whenever the ball was turned over. It was that tenacity that kept San Diego from being able to keep the ball for extended periods of time and limited their opportunities to create chances.

Darn Duah

There were many opportunities that went wanting for the Lions, including Wilder Cartagena’s shot in the 89th minute that hit the crossbar and went straight down but didn’t cross the line for a goal. However, if it wasn’t for San Diego’s Manu Duah, Orlando City may have scored five or more goals. The young defender finished with two tackles, four interceptions, three clearances, and one blocked shot. Even though I know it wasn’t the case, it felt like every one of those interventions came during a potential scoring opportunity for Orlando City. Thankfully, the Lions didn’t need a second goal to take all three points.

A Clean Sheet

Orlando City did just enough on defense to earn the first clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Nashville on July 25. Maxime Crepeau didn’t have too much to do as San Diego only managed seven shots, with only two of those on target, but he kept them all out of the back of the net. It was an emotional night for Crepeau who lost his father Rémi Crepeau earlier in the week. There was a moment of silence for his father before the match, and the team wore black armbands during the match to honor him. I’m always happy when Orlando City manages a clean sheet, but I’m very glad that Crepeau was able to earn one on this night in particular.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s 1-0 victory over San Diego FC. It was a valuable three points as the club tries to overcome the pre-World Cup hole the Lions dug to start the season. Let us know your thoughts about the San Diego match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Final Score 1-0 as Griezmann’s Goal Enough for Lions Win

Antoine Griezmann’s first-half goal and a stout defensive effort lifted the Lions to a hard-fought home win.

Published

23 hours ago

on

September 5, 2026

By

Image of Maxime Crepeau giving his team instructions.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Antoine Griezmann’s first-half goal was all that separated Orlando City and San Diego FC in their first-ever meeting. The French superstar’s teammates had numerous chances to double the lead for Orlando (8-11-4, 28 points), coming within inches at times, but that one strike was enough for a victory over San Diego (8-9-6, 30 points) at Inter.co Stadium.

Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who lost his father just days ago, made two saves, and a defense that has struggled at times, held firm against San Diego to keep a clean sheet. The club held a moment of silence for Crepeau’s father before the match started.

“My respect for (Crepeau), for his family. We are proud of him in the way he faced this situation, and we support him like the family we are,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We should finish the game earlier. We couldn’t, but we defended. We fight. The players did an amazing effort, and now we’re thinking of the next (game).”

Perelman’s lineup featured Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Joran Gerbet and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Justin Ellis with Griezmann and Daryl Dike leading the attack.

The Lions started brightly, creating the first chance just a few minutes after kickoff. Griezmann found Ellis with a nice ball forward. The young attacker got to the ball first but misfired on his initial shot. Ellis eventually regathered and shot but sent his effort wide in the fourth minute. Three minutes later, Griezmann fired from the right channel, but San Diego goalkeeper CJ dos Santos made a good diving save, getting his right hand on it to keep the game scoreless.

Referee Joe Dickerson let the game get physical, ignoring Atuesta getting upended at midfield and a ball that might have had Dike in behind the defense had he not been grabbed and clipped. The big striker didn’t get a clean look at goal as a result of the no calls.

San Diego started to settle into the game as it reached the quarter-hour mark, seeing more of the possession and starting to build some looks at goal. The visitors had the ball in the net off a recycled corner kick in the 13th minute but the play was offside.

A free header by Onni Valakari went wide in the 17th minute as San Diego continued to gain rhythm and look for openings in the Orlando defense.

The Lions started looking more for transition opportunities with San Diego pressing high. One such play nearly came off in the 18th minute. Dorsey sent a ball to the back post on the counter with perhaps better options trailing. Angulo collected it on the left and sent it back in for Griezmann, who tried a bicycle kick but just missed getting onto it. The ball fell to Dorsey for a shot that deflected to Dike. The striker stuck a toe out and made contact with it but couldn’t direct it on frame.

Crepeau made a big save at the near post to deny Anders Dreyer in the 22nd minute, blocking it behind for a corner. Orlando dealt with the set piece and broke the other way. Dorsey had options in transition but he tried to pick out Griezmann and San Diego’s defense headed it behind for an Orlando corner. The ball pinged around off of various heads on the ensuing set piece until Dike was called for a foul on Oscar Verhoeven on an aerial duel.

The Lions broke the scoreless deadlock in the 28th minute. Jansson sent a great long ball over the top for Dike, who turned on the jets and got to it first on the right side of the penalty area. Dike slipped the ball past a defender to Ellis, who turned and found Griezmann. The Frenchman fired a right-footed shot from the right side that found the inside of the left post to make it 1-0. Ellis and Dike picked up assists on Griezmann’s fifth MLS goal in just eight matches.

“I think we just noticed that they’re playing this high line, even when there was no pressure on the ball,” Ellis said. “And when we have center backs like this on the ball, like Robin, David, when you give them time and space, it’s an opportunity, you know. And then (Jansson) puts a nice ball to Daryl — and adding Daryl to the squad and to the team is crucial, you know, because we didn’t really have that threat in behind. But me and Grizi (Griezmann), we like the ball at our feet, but Daryl has like this physical presence, and you know, he got in behind and kept calm, played me, and then I just checked my my shoulder, saw Grizi, and then…I mean every single time I pass him the ball, I have a feeling like he can do something. So that’s why I’m always looking for him. And it was a nice finish.”

The teams paused for a hydration break moments after the goal, and the action slowed as time wound down on the first half. San Diego fired into the side netting in the 38th minute but the play was offside anyway. Orlando’s best opportunity came when Ellis made a good run through traffic a minute later, but the play broke down when he unselfishly tried to slip the ball through traffic to Griezmann and the defense knocked it away.

That was it for the big moments in the opening period and after four minutes of added time, Dickerson blew the halftime whistle.

At the break, San Diego held the advantage in possession (55.6%-44.4%), passing accuracy (92.9%-90.1%), and corners (2-1). The Lions attempted more shots (6-3) and put more on target (2-1).

The teams opened the second half cautiously, with San Diego continuing to press high in the attacking end. Perelman made his first substitution in the 51st minute, sending Martin Ojeda in for Rhein, who played well in his return from a thigh injury.

Ellis made a good move to lead Orlando on the break in the 53rd minute. Dike fired from the right but Ian Murphy deflected it wide for a corner, but the Lions didn’t threaten from the set piece.

Ojeda worked himself free for an open shot just outside the box in the 59th minute but dos Santos went down to make a diving stop.

Atuesta won a corner on the recycled attack but again Orlando couldn’t pay it off.

Gabriel Pirani shot wide of the right post from the left for San Diego in the 69th minute on a shot that had little on it. Crepeau simply watched it roll gently out for a goal kick.

The Lions should have doubled the lead in the 72nd minute. Ojeda found Angulo in transition, putting the speedy attacker in on goal. Angulo rounded dos Santos despite a heavy touch and had a wide-open net. He went down from a light tug on the shoulder as he shot but got nothing on his effort, which Kieran Sargeant blocked on the line. Angulo wanted a penalty but it wasn’t much of a tug and he still should have scored. A yellow card was shown to the Orlando bench at the next stoppage for dissent.

Orlando had a couple of other near misses down the stretch. Ojeda showed he isn’t quite game sharp yet, as he and Griezmann nearly connected in the 84th minute. The Lions managed to win a corner off of it but couldn’t connect on the set piece. Substitute Luis Otavio picked up a yellow card to break up a potential counter off of the corner.

Substitute Tyrese Spicer got down the left flank in the 87th minute and sent a tantalizing low cross that somehow failed to find Ojeda or Marco Pasalic in the middle. Griezmann picked it up on the far right but dos Santos blocked his shot behind for another corner.

Midfielder Wilder Cartagena thought he’d scored on the ensuing set piece. The ball fell for him near the top of the area and he fired it toward goal. The ball looked like it hit the crossbar and then came off Manu Duah’s rear end and fell at the goal line. Part of the ball was across, but not the whole ball, and the spin carried it back out for San Diego to clear.

Nine minutes of stoppage time seemed like a lot, but there was little of note in those added minutes. San Diego’s best chance at an equalizer fell to Dreyer just outside the area right in the middle. The Designated Player fired a shot that hit the right post and stayed out, skipping out of play for a goal kick. After a late set piece, the match was over.

At full time, San Diego held the advantage in possession (54.2%-45.8%) and passing accuracy (91.5%-88.3%). Orlando City finished with more shots (15-7), shots on target (5-2), and corner, kicks (6-4).

“The win was very important,” Crepeau said. “We started the game confidently with the ball. Obviously, we were able to to hit them when their line was high sometimes, and then they were dangerous in transition in a couple of those moments, but we were able to shut the dangerous plays, and then the second half it was about finishing the game strong.”

It was obviously an emotional shutout win for the Canadian goalkeeper, which was visible when the final whistle blew.

“I’m grateful to be in a place where I’ve had so much support and love from my teammates, the staff, everybody in the organization, the city of Orlando,” Crepeau said. “I’ve had so many messages from all around the world, former teammates, even guys that I’ve played against, from Canada to the U.S., coast to coast. I’ve received so many messages. So, thank you to every single one of of the people that reached out. It’s something that I’m grateful (for), and I don’t take that support for granted.”

The Lions have a short turnaround with a road match Wednesday night in Atlanta.

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Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions welcome San Diego FC to Orlando for the first meeting ever between the two clubs.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 5, 2026

By

Image of Joran Gerbet playing against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-11-4, 25 points) and San Diego FC (8-8-6, 30 points) at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first-ever meeting between these two teams from different conferences

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

History

As mentioned above, tonight’s meeting between the Lions and San Diego is the first in the series history, so there is no history. The Lions are 2-2-1 against Western Conference teams this season, which means little to nothing in this particular match, and San Diego is going to be Orlando City’s final opponent from the opposite conference in MLS regular-season play this season.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a wild 3-3 road draw at Minnesota United a week ago, in which Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann scored on either side of halftime on Orlando’s first two shot attempts to put their team up 2-0 in the 64th minute. Minnesota stormed back with three goals off defensive errors in a four-minute span to take a late 3-2 lead. Just when the Loons appeared to be headed for all three points, Tyrese Spicer scored in stoppage time, forcing Minnesota to split the points. Orlando has a modest 1-0-1 unbeaten streak entering tonight, and the Lions are 5-4-2 at home in 2026.

San Diego is coming off a 3-1 home win over the LA Galaxy despite having Jeppe Tverskov sent off. Tonight’s visitors have won two straight games, but both were at home. They lost their last home game 3-1 at Portland on Aug. 19 and are 2-5-3 away from home this season.

The key for Orlando City tonight will be to mark Anders Dreyer, which is far easier said than done, as he has emerged as one of the league’s best playmakers. His eight goals and 11 assists give him 19 total goal contributions to lead his team. Marcus Ingvartsen is Dreyer’s favorite teammate to combine with, as the Danish forward has converted 11 times, leading San Diego in goals, and has added five assists. However, Ingvartsen is listed as out with a lower body injury. Midfielder Onni Valakari has chipped in four goals and seven assists.

“We respect San Diego, but as well we prepare our game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We know how strong we are, especially at home, so now we go.”

Orlando City will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Adrian Marin (thigh), while Bernardo Rhein (thigh), has been upgraded to questionable. San Diego will be without the aforementioned Ingvartsen (lower body) and Tverskov (suspension).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis.

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Daryl Dike.

Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, Tyrese Spicer.

San Diego FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: C.J. dos Santos.

Defenders: Kieran Sargeant, Ian Murphy, Manu Duah, Oscar Verhoeven.

Midfielders: Gabriel Pirani, Anibal Godoy, Alejandro Alvarado.

Forwards: Elias Achouri, Onni Valakari, Anders Dreyer.

Bench: Duran Ferree, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Christopher McVey, Bryan Zamble, David Vazquez, Ian Pilcher, Alex Mighten, Bryce Duke, Amahl Pellegrino.

Referees:

REF: Joe Dickerson.
AR1: Corey Parker.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4TH: Rodrigo Albuquerque.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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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