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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.

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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.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-0 road win over Inter Miami?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City went on the road and claimed a huge three points against Inter Miami CF in Fort Lauderdale last night, winning 3-0. The Lions took advantage of Miami’s poor defending, getting behind the back line and scoring three times. It’s the club’s first win against the South Florida team in over two years.

Let’s take a look at how the individual Lions performed in this big win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 8 (MotM) — Gallese was awesome in this game, keeping the Lions in it and maintaining their lead. The two most notable saves were a 22nd-minute, one-handed stop on Lionel Messi and a second big save in the 62nd minute on the same player from point-blank range. The Lions’ number one saved all four shots he faced for his sixth clean sheet this season. He touched the ball 36 times, completing 58.6% of his 29 passes and seven of his 19 long balls. His most notable pass came in the 43rd minute, when he assisted Luis Muriel’s goal on a long ball up field. Overall, it was a great night for Gallese.

D, David Brekalo, 6.5 — Brekalo is the more defensive of the two outside backs, allowing Alex Freeman to go further forward. The natural center back was terrific defensively, helping his team earn a clean sheet on the road. He had 45 touches and completed 90.9% of his 22 passes. The left back didn’t have an impact offensively, but he was great defensively. He finished the game with two tackles, a blocked shot, an aerial duel won, and a team-high eight clearances.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Orlando City was on the back foot for much of the game, conceding a significant amount of possession. It put a lot of pressure on the center backs, including Jansson. The Swede had 35 touches in the game and completed 66.7% of his 24 passes, including three of his 10 long balls. He didn’t push into the attack at all but was part of a center back pairing that was excellent. He recorded a tackle, a blocked shot, and five clearances.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — While Jansson was good in this game, Schlegel was the better of the two Orlando City center backs. He touched the ball 30 times and completed 89.5% of his 19 passes, but his lone long ball didn’t find its target. The Argentine also took one off-target shot, but it was his defense that shone. Schlegel ended the game with two tackles, an interception, three clearances, a blocked shot, and two aerial duels won.

D, Alex Freeman, 7 — This was one of Freeman’s best games since joining the first team. He had a team-high 64 touches and completed 83.8% of his 37 passes, including a team-high four key passes and three of his five long balls. The right back put one of his three shots on target and nearly set up a goal in the 88th minute, but Ramiro Enrique hit the post. Defensively, Freeman had an interception, four clearances, two blocked shots, and two aerial duels won while defending primarily Jordi Alba.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo didn’t have much of an impact on this game, only recording 18 touches and completing 80% of his 10 passes. However, he did have a key pass and completed his lone long ball. His only shot was on target, though it was on a breakaway and he perhaps could have done better. He helped defensively with two tackles and a blocked shot before being replaced by Kyle Smith in the 61st minute.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — The defensive midfielders played key roles in this game and were one of the team’s strengths. Araujo — the veteran of the two — had 52 touches and completed 85.7% of his 42 passes, including a key pass and two of his five long balls. He didn’t take any shots but was active defensively with a tackle, two clearances, a blocked shot, and two aerial duels won.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 7 — The rookie had a tough task defending Messi in this game and was terrific in doing so. He registered 47 touches and completed 90.9% of his 33 passes, including two key passes and his lone long ball. He didn’t take any shots but was excellent defensively with three tackles, an interception, four clearances, a blocked shot, and an aerial duel won.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Pasalic had 33 touches, completing 68.4% of his 19 passes. He was in the right place at the right time and had a little bit of luck in the 53rd minute, when a Martin Ojeda cross was deflected right to him. The midfielder sent a hard shot that deflected off Maximiliano Falcon’s leg and headed right at Oscar Ustari, who should’ve stopped it. But the ball slipped through and in to make it 2-0. It wasn’t a pretty goal, but it was an important one. Pasalic also helped defensively with an interception and was replaced by Dagur Dan Thorhallsson in the 70th minute.

F, Luis Muriel, 7.5 — Muriel had 35 touches and completed 78.6% of his 14 passes, including two key passes and his lone cross, but not his only long ball. He put two of his three shots on target and did well to finish the breakaway in the 43rd minute that gave the Lions the lead. He added a tackle, a blocked shot, and an aerial duel won before being replaced by Enrique in the 70th minute.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — Ojeda had a good game, touching the ball 37 times and completing 68.2% of his 22 passes, including three key passes, two of his four crosses, and three of his four long balls. He added a tackle and would’ve had a much higher grade if he hadn’t missed two golden opportunities to score. His night ended in the 89th minute when he came off for Duncan McGuire.

Substitutes

D, Kyle Smith (61’), 5.5 — Smith came on in the 61st minute for Angulo and made an impact. He had 14 touches but only completed 28.6% of his seven passes, missing on his lone long ball. However, he got a secondary assist by sending McGuire down the left on Thorhallsson’s late goal. Smith also didn’t record any defensive statistics in his 29 minutes of play.

F, Ramiro Enrique (70’), 5 — Enrique replaced Muriel in the 70th minute. He touched the ball 12 times, completing 60% of his five passes. The striker nearly had a chance in the 78th minute, but his touch was too heavy. In the 88th minute, his shot was saved off the post on what should’ve been the third goal. Overall, it was the missed chances that doomed Enrique’s performance in this game.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (70’), 6.5 — Thorhallsson replaced Pasalic in a double substitution, entering with Enrique. He touched the ball 16 times, completing 90.9% of his 11 passes, though his lone long ball was incomplete. His big moment came in second-half stoppage time, when he placed a perfect McGuire pass behind Ustari to make it 3-0.

F, Duncan McGuire (89’), N/A — It was a short appearance for McGuire, entering for Ojeda just before stoppage time. But the big striker took advantage of his minutes, touching the ball four times. He only had two passes, but he completed both, including a perfect pass across the six-yard box for Thorhallsson, providing the fellow substitute with an easy tap-in. McGuire took one shot of his own, but it was off target.


That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 3-0 win over Inter Miami. Let us know what you thought of 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. Inter Miami: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from an enjoyable 3-0 victory over Inter Miami.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After dominating Tampa Bay in the U.S. Open Cup and now Inter Miami in MLS play, I think it is safe to remind everyone that, as we all have always known, Florida is purple. Orlando City thrashed the Herons 3-0 on Sunday night, and the Lions could, and probably should, have scored five or even six goals with all the breakaway chances they squandered during this game. Nevertheless, they still walked away from the greater Miami area with three big, beautiful points, and here are my five takeaways from the latest edition of Tropic Thunder.

El Pulpo Pulverized the Herons

Orlando City fans have come to expect great performances from Pedro Gallese in terms of keeping the ball out of his own net, but on Sunday night El Pulpo not only did that, but he also created the game’s opening goal with a perfectly placed bomb of a pass that looked like it might have been thrown by Dan Marino in his Miami Dolphins heyday. But this was Fort Lauderdale, not Miami, and it was Gallese, not Marino, who arced the ball through the night right onto the foot of Luis Muriel, and Muriel’s first touch was just as perfect as Gallese’s aim. Then the Colombian was off to the races before giving the Lions the lead with a well-placed shot to the far post. Gallese collected his second career assist with that pass and then went back to his standard practice of saving everything, stopping four shots and partnering with the stout back line to shut out Miami — only the second time all season Miami was held without a goal.

Miami Block Party

Speaking of that stout back line, Orlando City’s defenders looked more like the Orlando Solar Bears out there with how they were giving up their bodies all over the field to block shots. Our friends at fotmob.com tracked a season-high nine blocked shots by Orlando City defenders on the evening, and it felt like there were even more. Every starting defender had one block except Alex Freeman, who had two, and Iván Angulo, César Araújo, Joran Gerbet, and Muriel each chipped in one as well. Orlando City’s defenders did an excellent job of keeping their hands behind them or out of the way while blocking all of those shots, and the frustration on the faces of the Miami players was evident, as despite taking 21 shots, they were only able to put four on goal. Sunday night was definitely not the kind of Miami block party the Herons were hoping to attend.

Pašalić Goes Five-Hole

I did not plan to work in multiple hockey references when I started this article, but hey, at least Miami fans can be happy that their NHL team won on Sunday. Their, well, Fort Lauderdale’s team most certainly did not, and Marco Pašalić’s early second-half goal doubled Orlando City’s lead when he took a slightly deflected Martín Ojeda pass and powered it through the legs of goalkeeper Óscar Ustari. All three Designated Players participated in the goal, with Muriel showing some fancy footwork before playing it to Rodrigo Schlegel, who gave it to Ojeda, and then his deflected cross fell perfectly for the left foot of Pašalić, and Orlando City had a two-goal cushion.

Firepower From the Bench

Óscar Pareja has always been a coach who likes to ride a hot lineup, and the same is true for how he chooses who comes off the bench — the hot player gets the first opportunity. Ramiro Enrique had scored more recently than Duncan McGuire, so it was not surprising to see Enrique enter before McGuire in this game, and Enrique nearly made it three goals in his last four games, but a fingertip save by Ustari pushed his shot off the post. McGuire eventually entered in the dying minutes of the game, and he clearly showed his desire to get back up in the pecking order, because he was flying all over the field, and it paid off for him when he sprinted onto a ball from Kyle Smith and played a perfectly weighted left-footed cross to fellow substitute Dagur Dan Thórhallsson for the third and final goal, one where all three goal contributors (secondary assist, primary assist, and goal scorer) were substitutes.

Midfield Did Not Get Messi’d

It is hard to ever write about Inter Miami without writing about Lionel Messi, and while he played well and created opportunities, the Orlando City midfield duo of Araújo and Gerbet more than held their own against Messi. Miami dominated possession (64%), but it was Orlando City that created far more chances, creating eight big chances (defined as chances where the analyst could reasonably expect a player to score) to only two for Miami, according to Fotmob’s tracking. Messi’s heatmap shows a player who played most of the game attacking down the right side of the field, but Angulo, Araújo, Gerbet, and Smith, the four midfielders/defenders — Smith came on for Angulo but was essentially a fifth man on the back line — who played in the middle or on the defensive left all contained him and rarely let him get loose, despite his 97 touches. The Argentinean did take nine shots, but only two were on target, and of course, none went in the goal — a testament to the entire defensive unit. Gerbet continues to impress, not just for a rookie but as a player in general, and when Eduard Atuesta returns from injury, he may find himself coming off the bench if Gerbet continues this run of form.


Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s 11th straight MLS game without a loss, an excellent and deserved road win that vaulted the team over Miami into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

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

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/19/25

Lions defeat Inter Miami, Pride fall to Kansas City Current, OCB wins, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. Over the weekend, I was catching up with my former coworkers during Chicago House AC’s home opener against Czarni Jaslo in Midwest Premier League action. Let’s wish Orlando Pride goalkeeper Kat Asman, who turns 26 today, a happy birthday. The Pride lost, but OCB and our Lions picked up wins over the weekend. We have plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Defeats Inter Miami on the Road

Orlando City defeated Inter Miami 3-0 on the road Sunday at Chase Stadium and extended its unbeaten run to 11 league matches. Luis Muriel scored to put the Lions in front just before halftime. In the second half, Marco Pasalic scored and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson added the final goal for the Lions in stoppage time to seal the 3-0 win against their in-state rivals. Orlando moved ahead of Miami in the Eastern Conference standings into fifth with 24 points, while Miami drops to sixth, albeit with a game in hand. Miami has lost five out of its last seven matches. It will be a quick turnaround for Orlando City with a home match on Wednesday as Nashville SC visits Inter&Co Stadium.

Lions Sign Defender Zakaria Taifi to First Team Contract

Orlando City announced Saturday the club has signed Orlando City B defender Zakaria Taifi to a first-team contract as a Homegrown Player. The deal is through the 2026 season with club options for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 seasons. Taifi has made 44 appearances for OCB in MLS NEXT Pro. He has started 23 matches, scored one goal, and added three assists. Taifi was also part of the Orlando City Academy U-17 team that won the MLS NEXT Cup in 2021. Taifi made his first-team debut with Orlando City last month in a scoreless draw against CF Montreal. He also played in the Lions’ 5-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Round of 32 in the U.S. Open Cup.

Pride Fall to Kansas City Current at Home

The Orlando Pride fell 1-0 to the Kansas City Current Friday at Inter&Co Stadium. Temwa Chawinga scored the lone goal in the second half to seal the win for Kansas City. The Current have won two in a row, while the Pride have lost their second match at home this season. Orlando is on a three-match winless streak. The Current stayed atop the NWSL table with 21 points, while the Pride dropped to third with 16 points. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Friday at the Utah Royals.

OCB Defeats Inter Miami II at Home

Orlando City B defeated Inter Miami II 3-0 Saturday at Osceola County Stadium. Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, and Justin Ellis all got on the scoresheet for the Young Lions. Ellis also added two assists in this match. The win also snapped OCB’s five-match winless streak against Inter Miami II, and now the Young Lions are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with 14 points. OCB will be on the road to take on Atlanta United 2 Friday.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City defender Alex Freeman has been in stellar form so far this season for Orlando, scoring three goals in 15 matches with one assist across all competitions.
  • The U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer have reached an agreement on a 10-day transfer window beginning June 1. This window will only be for MLS clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup.
  • Crystal Palace defeated Manchester City 1-0 Saturday to win the FA Cup and lift its first-ever major trophy in club history. Defender Chris Richards and goalkeeper Matt Turner became the first Americans to win the FA Cup since goalkeeper Tim Howard won it in 2004.
  • Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-0 to win the Women’s FA Cup. USWNT midfielder Catarina Macario scored, and Sandy Baltimore netted two goals and added an assist to seal Chelsea’s domestic treble this season.
  • Jamie Vardy scored his 200th goal for Leicester City in his final appearance for the club, helping his side beat Ipswich Town 2-0 in the final home match of the season.
  • Angel City FC shared an update on social media, announcing defender Savy King was discharged from the hospital Saturday following her collapse on the pitch over a week ago during an NWSL match against the Utah Royals.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.

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