Lion Links: 8/24/20

Hello, Lionesses and Lions. I hope you overcame this weekend with ease. On the back of negative results for both Orlando City and Orlando City B, it was not the best week for Orlando fans. Luckily, with the congested fixture list, neither side can dwell on the poor results for too long.

This Friday, Orlando City B has a chance to make up for its poor result against Forward Madison FC when the Young Lions take on Tormenta FC. But first, Orlando City can bounce back with a game against Nashville SC on Wednesday in the Lions’ first fixture at Exploria Stadium since the coronavirus pandemic struck. With that, let’s get into the links.

Orlando City B Beaten by Forward Madison

The Young Lions fell by a margin of 3-1 to Forward Madison after 90 minutes of play and a lengthy weather delay. The Wisconsin side sits fourth in the USL League One table while Orlando City B rests at 10th out of the 11 sides. The Young Lions have just one win this season and must redeem their poor run of form this weekend against Tormenta FC at home. OCB lost the previous fixture against Tormenta on the road 2-0 to the fifth-place team in the league. The return of the Young Lions has been underwhelming to say the least.

Chris Mueller is Excited for Exploria Stadium Return

After Orlando City suffered an agonizing loss to Inter Miami, awarding the Fort Lauderdale side its first MLS win, Chris Mueller is ready to return home against Nashville SC this Wednesday. A limited number of supporters will be allowed to attend and the Lions supporters might be able to help cheer the side to victory. Like Mueller said, let’s keep pushing.

Bayern Munich Wins Champions League Title

In the UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to claim its sixth title and complete a treble. French winger Kingsley Coman scored the game’s only goal to cap off Bayern’s unbeaten run in the tournament. Former MLS star and Bayern left back Alphonso Davies started in the win and the soccer community took to social media to celebrate how far the Canadian has come.

For Davies, his attention turns to his girlfriend, Jordyn Huitema, as she aims to do the same with Paris Saint-Germain Feminine in the Women’s Champions League. Davies beat the Parisian men’s team and now the pressure is on Huitema to bring some joy to Paris with a semifinal match this Wednesday against Olympique Lyon. Doing so could establish her and Davies as the ultimate power couple.

UEFA Considers Keeping Knockout Format

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin stated that a single-game knockout format will be considered for the Champions League in the future. Personally, I found the play particularly entertaining and if UEFA opted to keep the format going into next season, I’m sure many would be appeased. The way the tournament played out may have been by force, but it may end up sticking around. according to Ceferin.

“We were forced to do it but in the end we see that we found out something new.”

Free Kicks

• Yet another Philadelphia Union II game was postponed. This is the third straight game cancelled “out of an abundance of caution.”
• In more Alphonso Davies news, the Whitecaps celebrated the former Homegrown Player’s win and also enjoyed a hefty bonus for the transfer two years ago.

• Yesterday was the late Kobe Bryant’s birthday, and the Orlando Pride were among those to pay homage to the basketball legend. What Bryant did for sports as a whole will never be forgotten.

That’ll do, pig. That is all for your Monday links. It has not been a great week for Orlando soccer. Let’s hope this coming one is better. Until then, I’ll catch you on the flip side.