Lion Links: 9/24/18

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! Well a point is a point, and more importantly the players looked like they wanted to be on the field. So we can feel a little good about that. Orlando City might be building towards next season, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy not losing a match along the way.

Best FIFA Football Awards to Take Place Today

Pride supporters know that Marta is one of the best NWSL players. This year she is also up for Best Female FIFA Player of the Year. Her competition is Ada Hegerberg and Dzsenifer Marozsan of Olympique Lyon. Marta has won the award five times. On the men’s side, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah will vie for the award. There are several other awards including goal of the year, Best goalkeeper, men’s coach, women’s coach, fan award, fair play award and the FIFpro World XI. Good luck to all, though especially to our very own Marta.

Yanks Abroad

Christian Pulisic scored in his second consecutive match as Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. Dortmund went down in the 44th minute, and then went a man down in the 75th minute when Abdou Diallo grabbed Andrej Kramaric. Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Weston McKennie sustained a bad bruise to his left thigh in Schalke’s 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich. Over in the Eredivisie, Andrija Novakovich scored a brace for Fortuna Sittard in a 4-4 draw with Willem II.

Dare to Zlatan

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is uncertain about returning to the LA Galaxy next season. Despite having a great year with the club, the Galaxy had been on a seven-game losing streak until yesterday’s win over Seattle, and fired Sigi Schmid. Zlatan is not used to such losing, and it seems he might entertain a change of venue. Perhaps he’d like a place with a longer losing streak. No, that doesn’t seem right. He has said he might head back to Malmo, the club where he started his career in 1999. Of course, it could be that he simply stays in L.A.

EPL Roundup

Liverpool continued its incredible start to the season with a 3-0 win over Southampton, giving the Reds all 18 points possible. Last season’s powerhouse Manchester City destroyed Cardiff, 5-0, giving them a +16 point differential with only six matches played. The other top team, Chelsea, drew West Ham United 0-0, the club’s first time not winning this season. Hopefully, you have an English Premier League squad to root for as the MLS season winds down. Be sure to check out the full results from the weekend.

Free Kicks

• I’m not usually one to give Atlanta United any space in my stories, but when George Bello, a 16-year-old Homegrown defender gets a start it’s worth a mention. Congratulations, young man.
• It seems that not everyone is on board with esports, as a match between the Young Boys and Basel in the Swiss League was paused when fans threw tennis balls and game consoles onto the pitch.
• In a barely soccer related bit of news, comedian Jim Gaffigan is being sued by a man who was hit in the head by a soccer ball hit by his daughter.
• We all know how important beards are, but it seems that Lionel Messi has shorn his facial hair. It was probably a contributing factor to not being up for the player of the year award this year.

Thanks for stopping by this morning. Keep checking back for more Orlando City and Orlando Pride news from The Mane Land.