Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Five Takeaways

Published

6 years ago

on

Orlando City had a chance to make a statement Wednesday night against the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Union. Not only were the Lions trying to win consecutive matches for the first time in 2019 after alternating league wins with losses, but a victory would also announce that James O’Connor’s bunch was truly progressing from a league bottom feeder to a legitimate threat for postseason play.

For 45 minutes, the Lions did make that statement. Orlando played well in the opening 10 minutes, looking eager to run the Union off the pitch. You could look at the period after Chris Mueller’s goal as a lull by the Lions or as the conference leaders responding to an early kick in the teeth, but either way, Orlando largely did what it had done on Saturday in Columbus: kept most of the danger out on the perimeter and relied on a strong central defensive pairing to clear away the crosses in hopes of springing a counter.

The game plan was fine but it all flew out the window just before the half when Robin Jansson was sent off and started a chain of events that led to a 3-1 home loss — the team’s third multi-goal loss of the season, with all of them coming at home.

Seeing Red

The most glaring takeaway is that Jansson’s sending-off ruined the game for Orlando, and the fans who braved awful weather on a midweek night. Fafa Picault’s pace was the catalyst and although the Swede gamely tried a desperation tackle — and did manage to touch the ball first — he didn’t knock it far enough off line to clearly deny a goal-scoring opportunity and his awkward position after the lunge resulted in scissoring down the speedy Philadelphia winger. I can’t argue the red card and won’t pardon the offense, but the alternative there is to allow a dangerous opportunity where the Union likely would have scored anyway. That’s an unfortunate result for a player who has largely settled down Orlando’s back line and has combined with Lamine Sané to finally create some stable play in the Lions’ central defense for the first time in the team’s MLS era.

Seeing More Red

There’s really no way to dispute Sacha Kljestan’s red card either. It was perhaps as desperate an attempt to win the ball as Jansson’s, but it was far more dangerous and infinitely less necessary. Unlike Jansson’s play, there was no immediate danger of conceding after the turnover in Kljestan’s case. I don’t believe the midfielder had any intent or malice on the play. I think he was just frustrated and desperate to win the ball back and made a horrible decision to make a flying lunge at it. Sacha is no spring chicken anymore, and perhaps he once would have closed the gap enough to win a ball in that fashion but he’s been logging a lot of minutes in recent weeks and age hasn’t been kind to him in the lost steps department. Fatigue may have played a role in both the decision he made and the lack of intended execution and O’Connor alluded to that in his post-game press conference. I expect he’ll receive an additional game or two suspension for his horror tackle on Jamiro Monteiro as his desperation lunge resulted in his studs finding a leg rather than a soccer ball.

Cash Money is Progressing

With goals in each of his last two matches, Mueller has not only achieved a new modest career high total of five, but he’s also shown that his body has adjusted to the rigors of Major League Soccer. Last season, Mueller had scored all three of his goals on the year (in consecutive games) by the end of April, and didn’t find the net for the final six months of the season.

“Yeah, I feel good,” Mueller responded to my question last night about him finding his groove. “I feel confident and I just want to keep helping the team any way I can. I want to get results, first and foremost, right? So the goals are nice, but first I want to win.”

Mueller was part of 10 total goals last season (three goals, seven assists) and he’s already contributed to eight in 2019 (five goals, three assists). Becoming a more consistent threat, as it not only eases the burden on Dom Dwyer, Nani, and Tesho Akindele, but it also forces opponents to recognize the danger he possesses, which can in turn open up distribution lanes for others to score more easily.

Welcome Home, Will

More and more of Will Johnson’s haters are coming around in 2019 and it was nearly impossible to look at his performance last night and see beyond the positives. Johnson ran his hind end off all night, regardless of how many of his teammates were sent to the locker room early. He shuttled the ball back and forth, finding spaces for continued possession. Johnson tied Kljestan for the team lead in chances created (2), went 3/3 in long ball completion, completed 98.2% of his pass attemps, and was his usual pest of a self defensively (a team-high four tackles, a co-leading five clearances, and an interception). He also tied for the team lead in shot attempts (three), although his accuracy on those shots was very defensive-midfielderesque. He was easily the Man of the Match for Orlando on the night and a reunion with Cristian Higuita and Sebas Mendez as the starting trio can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this passing chart as much as I do:

View post on imgur.com

The Other Half

I won’t argue that his game was without flaws last night, because it wasn’t, but Lamine Sané is still showing himself to be a useful player when healthy and paired with someone with whom he has time to build chemistry. Sané got caught of two minds on the Union’s first goal, starting with an intention of coming out to meet Monteiro, then changing his mind. This created uncertainty in Jansson, who strayed too far from Kacper Przybylko as a result, and ultimately it allowed both too much time for Monteiro to pass and too much space for Jansson to recover after. Sané also may have been able to make a desperation lunge to block the eventual Przybylko shot. (As an aside, I’ve seen nothing on replay that changes my initial opinion watching it live that Tesho Akindele was fouled to jump start that play, although I have only the highlight package to go on, so you can’t really get a good look at the players’ feet. I digress.)

Aside from that, Sané — playing like Oates without a Hall or Garfunkel without a Simon — managed two tackles, five clearances, three interceptions, and a blocked shot. His 95.8% passer rating was good, he completed all four of his long ball attempts, and even got in a cross. In fact, as part of O’Connor having Orlando still pursuing the match rather than just seeing it out, Sané even got forward a few times, winning a corner while taking on two Philadelphia defenders with the ball at his feet.

People tend to give Lamine stick largely because he earns nearly a million dollars a year. That’s not an indictment of Sané, nor is it his fault. I’ll never begrudge a player making whatever he can get his boss to pay him. It just shows the wasteful nature of Orlando City’s previous regime. If the former Bundesliga man and Senegalese international were making half his current salary, most fans would likely be fine with the team’s investment in him.

That’s what stood out to me on a lightning-delayed night at Exploria Stadium. If you want a bonus takeaway it’s that I’d like to see another referee for a game against the Union (which we’ll get on Saturday). Chris Penso officiated both league games against Philadelphia last season — making three consecutive games against the Union he’s officiated — as well as the final meeting in 2015. Penso has given 12 yellow cards to Orlando, sending off three players in those four match-ups (two straight reds), to nine yellows for the Union. Eight of those yellow cards against Orlando came in one game, so those bad vibes have never gone away, even though Penso was completely justified in both red cards last night. However, I do think two Union players were extremely fortunate not to be booked early last night.

The good news is that although Orlando lost by two, we still haven’t seen one of those 3-0 or 4-0 howlers that have been all too common in recent years (the Lions suffered four of those last year, as well as 4-1 and 5-2 thrashings, and five in 2017 to go along with a 6-1 beatdown).

Incremental progress is still progress, although we’ll find out if that continues Saturday with an Orlando team that’ll be missing perhaps its best defender.

Anyway, let me know what you saw in the comments space below.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City Relies on Starters More Than Any Other MLS Team

An analysis of Óscar Pareja’s early lineup choices and substitution patterns and how that compares to the 2024 season.

Published

11 hours ago

on

April 3, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Legendary swordsman Inigo Montoya, a man who is not lefthanded, once opened a conversation by asking the Dread Pirate Roberts if, by any chance, he had six fingers on his right hand. Nobody will need to prepare to die by the end of this column, but I will ask a similar question: I don’t mean to pry, but did you by any chance happen to realize that we are already more than one-sixth of the way through the MLS regular season? Six fingers, one-sixth of the season…close enough. Let’s go.

Time flies when you are having fun, and somehow Orlando City has already played 540 minutes of MLS soccer this season. I consider 500 minutes played to be a cutoff amount when looking at player and lineup performance, and with the conclusion of the most recent game in Los Angeles, the team has now surpassed that 500-minute threshold.

In looking at the opening 540 minutes, I was surprised to see how much continuity I found in the minutes played, considering how many injuries the Lions have had to work around during these first six games. In just the first six games, Orlando City has already had full games missed due to injury by César Araujo (1), David Brekalo (2), Robin Jansson (2), Duncan McGuire (3) and Nico Rodriguez (5). Brekalo and Pedro Gallese both missed a game for international duty as well. McGuire was not expected back during the first set of games, but all of those other players, with the possible exception of Rodriguez, were expected to contribute during the early part of the season.

These absences led to games where the substitutes list was full of players who will play big minutes for Orlando City B this year, but not players who Óscar Pareja was likely to turn to off the bench unless the game was out of hand or he was absolutely desperate. According to Opta’s tracking through the opening six games, Orlando City ranks last in MLS in the average minutes played by its substitutes, as the average amount of time per appearance for the players off the bench for the Lions is only 12 minutes. For context, 16 teams have an average amount of time per substitute appearance of 20 minutes or greater, and Inter Miami and Toronto are tied with a league-leading 27 minutes per substitute appearance.

The interesting thing about those two teams, Miami and Toronto, is that Miami leads the league in points per match with 2.6 and Toronto is second from the bottom with a scant 0.33 points per match. I think a lot of this data will even out over time, as right now there are several teams, including Miami, that are playing in multiple competitions and trying to keep players fresh for all of their matches.

When it comes to Orlando City, however, that is not the case, and thus far there has just been the standard one game per week on six consecutive Saturdays. The players are rested for each game. The issue has just been that Pareja has not had the depth and variety of players he thought he would have to bring off the bench to protect a lead or chase a deficit.

We often joke in articles or on The Mane Land PawedCast about how “Óscar gonna Óscar,” and once he finds a lineup he likes, he sticks with it. Even with all the injuries he has somehow managed to do this again this season, as you can see from the chart below. I started tracking lineup data last season, and even though the 2025 season is only six games old and there have been so many absences from key players this season, it was striking to see that the 11-man lineup that has played the most minutes together this season already outranks all but two lineups from the entire 2024 MLS season (including the five playoff games!):

Now, it is a little unfair to the one 2025 lineup on the above chart that it has such a negative goal differential per 90 minutes, because if it is only the 10 field players, with goalkeeper excluded, then that lineup has played 215 minutes together and has a +0.84 goal differential per 90 minutes. That group is +4 with Javier Otero in net in 74 minutes together, and removing the goalkeepers from the calculation turns that negative goal differential into a positive.

What that also tells us, however, is that when it comes to the 10 field players, Pareja has played the same unit in the field for 40% (215/540) of the team’s minutes already. Granted it is early in the season, but after six MLS games last season, the lineup that had played together the most had played a grand total of 74 minutes together (14% of all minutes). The top five most used lineups in last season’s opening six MLS games combined to play 302 minutes, or 56% of all minutes, and in 2025 it is 402 minutes, or 80%. My math, and everyone else’s math, says that is a much higher percentage and indicates that the team is focused on continuity early.

That continuity thus far this season has paid dividends, with the Lions earning 10 points from the first six games, twice as nice as last season’s five points after the first six games. Last year, the team was balancing midweek Concacaf Champions Cup games in addition to injuries and an international break during the opening weeks of the MLS season, so there were some good reasons for the lineup rotation and the slow start. This year’s squad will have to navigate two upcoming cup tournaments in the coming months, and so we likely will see a lot of new lineup configurations or more rotation once the U.S. Open Cup starts in May and then again when Leagues Cup starts in July.

Thus far though, Pareja has been able to stick with his starters deep into matches, and has only given playing time to 20 players, which is tied for third fewest across all of MLS. Fan bases often clamor for the coach to “play the kids,” but while Pareja has had young and inexperienced players on the senior roster for every game, he really has only given significant minutes to Alex Freeman from the group of players that could be referred to as “the kids.” Gustavo Caraballo has played nine minutes, which is incredible for a 16-year-old (15-year-old Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia is the only player younger than Caraballo to have played this season, and he has also played only nine minutes), and new signing Nico Rodriguez (20 years old) has played 11 minutes, but the next three youngest players to play are all at least 22 and were with the senior club last season (Otero and Ramiro Enrique) or came to the club after four seasons of college soccer (23-year-old, but nearly 24-year-old, Joran Gerbet).

The team’s record thus far shows that Pareja has been right to limit the minutes to the small group of players he trusts, and with one game per week for the next six weeks it will be interesting to see if the early trend of starters playing long minutes and only a few players getting all the minutes off the bench continues. The next match is on the road against Philadelphia, which so rudely came into Orlando and defeated the Lions 4-2 in the season opener, and my expectation is that while we likely will not see any players make their season debut in this game, I do think we will see a different starting lineup than the season opener and probably a different one than the game last weekend against the Galaxy.

No matter who the Lions go with, I am sure they will want to avenge the season-opening loss and bring three points back home to Orlando.

As we wish.

Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City at Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Philly?

Published

11 hours ago

on

April 3, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City is on the road yet again, this time heading to Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park Saturday night. The Lions will look to get a second road win in a row after the smash-and-grab victory against the LA Galaxy. Things don’t get any easier with the Union sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, but a win would catapult Orlando City above Philadelphia in the standings. Here’s what Orlando City needs to do to earn all three points against the Philadelphia Union.

Tie up Tai

Tai Baribo leads the way-too-early-to-call Golden Boot race with six goals in five matches. The Union striker has taken 13 shots, putting eight on target and the aforementioned six in the back of the net. He scored a brace in the season opener against Orlando to bag a third of those goals. It’s a pretty easy call to say stopping the league leader in goals is an important part of shutting down the Philadelphia attack.

It will be up to Cesar Araujo and whichever center back pairing we get to shut Baribo down. Of course, he’s not the only one the Lions need to worry about since the Union also have striker Mikael Uhre, and midfielders Daniel Gazdag and Jovan Lukic providing goals and assists. The point is that Philadelphia is second only to the Lions in offensive production with 13 goals compared to Orlando City’s 15 goals.

Formation Change

In the last match against the LA Galaxy, the Lions struggled to get things going with Luis Muriel up top, Ojeda at the No. 10 spot and Ivan Angulo on the left. Once Duncan McGuire came on, Muriel shifted back, Ojeda went wide, and Angulo subbed off. That really opened up the attack and allowed the Lions to get the two goals needed to secure the victory.

Perhaps Oscar Pareja could start things off like that against Philadelphia. Angulo hasn’t been great the last few matches, and perhaps some time on the bench will get his head straight. McGuire is still early in his return from injury, but Ramiro Enrique can start up top with Big Dunc coming in later as he has the last few matches. I think making this change could help Orlando City get an early goal on the road.

Vengeance is Thine

When the two teams met on opening day, the Union dropped four goals on Orlando City in Inter&Co Stadium. You would think it a completely dominating performance, but the Lions actually had more shots, more shots on target, and more possession than the Union. Philadelphia simply put each of its four shots on target past Pedro Gallese. That type of luck is unlikely to happen again.

Since that time, the Orlando City defense has stiffened — at least a little bit — and the team has been more difficult to break down. I’m not saying the defense is as stalwart as last season, but it has improved. Orlando City needs to use that four-goal drubbing at the hands of the Union to galvanize the defense to enact revenge with a multi-goal victory of its own.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/3/25

Martin Ojeda in the MLS MVP mix early, Orlando Pride players won’t play for Zambia this window, Tierna Davidson out for the NWSL season, and more.

Published

16 hours ago

on

April 3, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week has been going well for you as we gear up for a busy Saturday filled to the brim with soccer to enjoy. Despite my blender’s protests, I’ve finally figured out how to make frozen coconut mojitos and plan on having those get me through the rest of the week. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy 28th birthday to Orlando City legend Rodrigo Schlegel!

Martin Ojeda’s MVP Credentials

Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda placed second in Sacha Kljestan’s MLS MVP power rankings this week. With four goals and three assists so far this season, Ojeda leads the league in goal contributions and is a major reason why the Lions have scored a league-high 15 goals. It’s great to see the 26-year-old take the reins of the offense after Facundo Torres’ departure. Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez tops Kljestan’s rankings, despite only having a goal in five games this season. Tai Baribo, Evander, and Lionel Messi round out the top five in what could be an interesting MVP race this year.

Pride Players Won’t Join Zambia For International Duty

Zambia will be without four NWSL players when it takes part in the Yongchuan International Tournament in China this month. Along with Bay FC forward Rachael Kundananji, Orlando Pride trio Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were withdrawn from international duty, with the Football Association of Zambia stating it was due to additional travel measures by the current U.S. administration. FAZ General Secretary Reuben Kamanga expects the quartet to be available for future matches and both Banda and Kundananji played in friendlies in Zambia in February. Restrictions like this may limit the appeal of the NWSL to foreign players in the future.

Fan Banned For Hateful Language Towards Banda

NJ/NY Gotham FC announced that the fan who directed hateful language towards Banda has been banned following an investigation that included interviewing witnesses and reviewing security footage. The incident took place at the Pride’s match against Gotham on March 23 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The fan was found to be in violation of the NWSL Code of Conduct and their season ticket was revoked as well. Gotham also encouraged fans to report inappropriate behavior through the team’s encrypted text message service to inform the stadium’s incident management team.

USWNT Defender Tierna Davidson Out for the NWSL Season

American center back Tierna Davidson will miss the remainder of the 2025 NWSL season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in the club’s draw against the Houston Dash. It’s tough news for her, Gotham, and the United States Women’s National Team, as she captains the NWSL club and featured heavily in the Olympics last year. Davidson sustained an ACL injury in her right knee back in 2022, which contributed to her missing out on the 2023 World Cup. Gisele Thompson replaced Davidson for the USWNT’s upcoming friendlies with Brazil, and Pride defender Emily Sams will likely receive more playing time as the team prepares for the 2027 World Cup.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City received $100,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for former academy goalkeeper Zack Campagnolo’s Homegrown Player rights. The Lions will receive another $100,000 in GAM if conditions are met, and they retain a sell-on percentage if Campagnolo is transferred.
  • San Diego FC added Milan Iloski on loan from FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark through July of this year. Iloski is a San Diego native and won the USL Golden Boot for Orange County SC in 2022.
  • New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his free kick against the New York Red Bulls.
  • El Farolito SC, which is named after a burrito chain and bar local to San Francisco, has reached the third round of the U.S. Open Cup for the second straight year. The National Premier Soccer League side took down Monterey Bay FC to reach this point of the tournament.
  • Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to book its ticket to the Copa del Rey final, where it will face rival Real Madrid on April 26.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a terrific Thursday and rest of your week!

Continue Reading

Trending