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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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4 years ago

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I’ll admit that I didn’t know what to expect from the lineup that Oscar Pareja sent out against Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On the one hand, I knew he had to rotate the squad some, but it was a little surprising to see Tesho Akindele held out again and for Mauricio Pereyra not to be available off the bench if needed. The linchpin in the middle of the attack was Junior Urso and both of his wingers and his forward were young guys. The lineup didn’t seem like one that would go on to score three goals and narrowly miss on a couple other opportunities, but it got the job done.

Let’s look at the individual performances from an exciting 3-1 road win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 — El Pulpo faced only four shots on target and he made a wicked save on the first of those, robbing Brooks Lennon blind in the eighth minute. He made a couple of comfortable saves and was sharp in reacting to a long-range Ezequiel Barco blast that may have been able to sneak in under the bar. There weren’t a ton of opportunities for him to flash, owing largely to his back line and defensive midfield, but when he did, he had it covered. There wasn’t much he could do about Lennon’s looping header late in normal time. However, there may have been an opportunity for him to do more to call off Joao Moutinho and avoid what could end up being a critical injury. Mendez nodded down a ball that Gallese easily could have reached and picked up, but Moutinho smashed an emphatic clearance and hurt himself on the play. It appeared Gallese was shouting at him but, whether he couldn’t get through to the Portuguese left back or Moutinho simply didn’t want to take chances, is unclear. Better communication there would have avoided what might turn out to be a costly injury for the Lions.

D, Joao Moutinho, 6.5 — It was another good night for Moutinho, although with the short turnaround he didn’t get forward nearly as much as we’re used to seeing. He defended well, finishing with three clearances. He passed well (85.4%) and went 4/5 on long balls. He won two aerials, including one on a Brad Guzan free kick that ended up going the other way for Chris Mueller’s goal. He also helped put out a fire early in the second half by helping stop Pity Martinez from getting in alone. Now we wait and hope his injury isn’t serious.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — The beefy Swede bounced back after conceding in each of the last two matches. He wasn’t asked to do as much building out of the back and had more of a green light to knock the ball away in this one, but he still passed at an 85.7% rate and completed one of his two long-ball attempts. He made one tackle — a vital one in the 49th minute to deny a breakaway — and three clearances, and tried to tuck a flick inside the back post on his one shot but it skipped just wide.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6.5 — Carlos returned to the lineup after a match off and was steady, if unspectacular. He gave up a dangerous free kick late in the game and was reviewed for a potential penalty in stoppage time, but was otherwise solid. He had a co-team-high five clearances and two interceptions, with 80% passing and 2/2 long-ball accuracy. He got hung up a bit in traffic on an Orlando free kick, which kept him from being able to get his lone shot attempt on frame.

D, Kyle Smith, 6.5— Smith led the team in touches (65) and, despite conceding three free kicks — including two dangerous ones — did a fairly solid job slotting in for Ruan. He finished with one key pass, a dribble, three tackles, three interceptions and tied Carlos with five clearances. He might have gotten a higher grade if not for the 76.3% passing rate, long ball inaccuracy (2/7), and the trouble he had getting in crosses (and having his one cross attempt blocked by the first defender). He shifted to the left side, just inside Kamal Miller, late in the match when Orlando went to five in the back to see out the match.

MF, Uri Rosell, 6.5 — The Lions have been quietly getting a fantastic year from the Spaniard. Rosell ran his tail off and connected the lines as usual, doing the little things the team needs but which don’t typically get the glory. His 86.8% passing rate was best on the team and he connected on 3/6 long balls. He won two tackles with an interception and a clearance before making way in the second half for Sebas Mendez.

MF, Andres Perea, 6.5 — The Colombian teenager had a mixed night but it was a workmanlike effort that could have been a lot more glorious. He led Orlando in tackles won (4), and passed well (82.8%), hitting 1/2 on crosses and 1/2 on long balls, and creating two scoring chances. Perea absolutely should have scored in the 42nd minute, getting a free running header on the back side after a good job of Orlando disguising its corner kick strategy. Two runners cleared everyone out and all Perea had to do was hit the target, but instead it went wide.

MF, Chris Mueller, 8.5 (MotM) — The Money Badger was outstanding and even though he could have shared this honor with Urso, for me he just nips this award by a whisker. But rather than me spelling out everything about his accurate set piece delivery, smart decisions on passing and continuing runs, and his endless energy, let’s hear from someone else:

Plus, it was Mueller’s birthday, so that should break the tie anyway, right?

MF, Junior Urso, 8.5 — The Bear was about as good as Mueller in this match, and in his postgame comments he said he wanted to show who Junior Urso is, and that he thought he played his best in this match. It’s hard to argue. Urso was snakebit on his shot attempts Wednesday but powered a header through Brad Guzan on the early corner for his first goal. He won the ball back with his tenacity, with two tackles, an interception, and one clearance defensively. He passed at an 81.3% rate and went 2/2 on long balls. But his best play of the night came shortly after Atlanta pulled within a goal. He pressured Martinez, stole the ball, and fed Nani for an easy finish to put the Five Stripes away. Fantastic night for the Bear.

MF, Benji Michel, 6.5 — I’ve used this score a lot in this piece but it’s my honest opinion. Early in the game, I honestly thought Michel looked a step slow in closing down or getting to loose balls, and a half a tick slow to react. But he turned that around nicely. He made a huge heads-up play to find Mueller for the easy tap-in on the second Orlando goal to earn his assist. He passed at an 83.3% rate and was 2/3 on long-ball accuracy. He didn’t register a shot attempt but he chipped in two tackles and a clearance on the defensive end.

F, Daryl Dike, 6 — The rookie didn’t score a goal for the first time when starting an MLS match but he was a factor. He kept the center backs occupied, won a couple of corner opportunities and fired two shots. Dike doesn’t officially get credit for a key pass but he is the one who slipped Michel in on the play that ended in Mueller’s goal and picked up the hockey assist. He only passed at a 72.7% rate and struggled with his touch a few times, but for playing his third match in eight days, he still looked good. He hustles and even chipped in a pair of clearances on the defensive end.

Substitutes

MF, Nani (62’), 7 — While the captain’s passing wasn’t great (66.7%), it was on only 12 attempts and he registered a key pass. He was whistled for three fouls but two of them were attempts to waste time with Atlanta in possession and one was complete crap — he had just been elbowed in the mouth by Cubo Torres before preventing the Atlanta forward from reaching a ball going out of play. That should have been an Orlando free kick. As we saw with Dike on Wednesday, nobody makes the Lions bleed their own blood (nobody!). Nani finished off Atlanta by getting into position for Urso’s assist late. It was Nani’s only shot attempt. He also added a tackle and a blocked shot.

MF, Sebas Mendez (62’), 6 — The big contribution from Mendez was to provide fresh legs for Rosell and continue his strong work in the midfield. He did that, with the Ecuadorian winning three tackles. He passed at an uncharacteristic 70% but that was on only 10 attempts and at a time in the game when the team had an “anywhere will do” mentality.

MF, Ruan (74’), 5 — I thought Ruan would be the player to finish off Atlanta, bringing on that speed late in the game with the hosts pushing forward, but the Brazilian Flash was quiet in his reserve role. None of his three pass attempts found its mark. His only defensive stat was a clearance and he attempted one shot, which was off target.

D, Kamal Miller (78’), N/A — The Canadian came on in relief of Moutinho after the injury. He got abused a bit by Jurgen Damm on Atlanta’s goal but managed only five touches. Despite being on for 22 minutes (10 of it stoppage time), it is difficult to assign a grade for the performance and I’m going to hide behind N/A on this one, as is my prerogative.

That’s the way I saw things in the Lions’ first win over Atlanta. Be sure to vote in the poll below for your pick for Man of the Match and if you have some disagreements, let me hear it in the comments section below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Pedro Gallese3
Uri Rosell10
Chris Mueller35
Junior Urso90
Nani0
Other2

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/22/25

Orlando City transfer rumors, Orlando Pride preseason begins, USMNT at Inter&Co, and more.

Published

36 minutes ago

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January 22, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The ManeLand

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.

Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International

While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881755961125449765?s=46&t=pMoq7Wulqfb35D7C8ydroA

Pride Preseason Begins

The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.

USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight

Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.

Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move

USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.

MLS Transfer Updates

Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.

https://twitter.com/sandiegofc/status/1881741042904350864

Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881786193693823104

Free Kicks

https://twitter.com/weareangelcity/status/1881749040863588770?s=12&t=_WZBNG4ILAyRLdwBeB4mpQ
  • Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.
https://twitter.com/nwsl/status/1881749035218042954?s=46&t=pN-YJp3s7ZQlCXqnTAgSfw

That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

Orlando Pride release preseason camp roster, scouting Costa Rica, women’s soccer transfer grades, and more.

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1 day ago

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January 21, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone! If you had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then I hope you enjoyed some restful time off. If not, then I hope you got your week started off on a good and productive note. There’s a lot going on around here this week as the United States Men’s National Team is in town, and Orlando City will play its first preseason match on Saturday. That means we have plenty to discuss, so let’s dig into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Drop Preseason Roster

Monday might have been a holiday but the Orlando Pride were busy, as they announced the roster for their upcoming preseason camp. Almost all of the usual suspects from the 2024 season are back, as the Pride return 98% of the player-minutes from last season and every single scorer. Mariana Larroquette is on the list although she’s currently on loan in Argentina, and Amanda Allen is likewise included after her loan at Lexington Sporting Club was terminated due to a torn labrum. The biggest intrigue comes from the trio of non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

Scouting Costa Rica

The USMNT takes on Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium to wrap up the team’s annual January camp. Like the U.S., Costa Rica is bringing a roster devoid of the majority of its important players. Costa Rica also has a new manager at the helm in Miguel Herrera, who will take charge of the team for the very first time on Wednesday. Herrera typically lines his teams up in a 5-3-2 where the wingbacks take on a very important role and the team looks to hit on the counter while staying compact at the back. This will be the last time we see the USMNT in action until the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in early March.

Women’s Soccer January Transfer Grades

January has been a busy time for transfers in the women’s soccer world, so which teams have done the best business? Well, the Orlando Pride received an A grade for signing Marta to a new two-year deal, retaining a player who helped the team win its first ever trophies. Liverpool got an A for signing Julia Bartel on loan from Chelsea. Leicester City made an interesting call by transferring goalkeeper Lize Kop to Tottenham despite just being a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes get a C for the move, while Spurs get a B+ for adding a capable netminder.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in some very important games over the course of this week. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus face Club Brugge today in the UEFA Champions League, while Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malik Tillman and PSV Eindhoven take on Crvena Zvezda in the same competition. Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will play Girona in the UCL on Wednesday, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic take on Young Boys. On Friday, John Tolkin could make his Bundesliga debut when his new team, Holstein Kiel, travels to face Wolfsburg.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride players reported for their preseason physicals on Monday.
  • Meanwhile, Orlando City took on the dreaded beep test during Monday’s training session.

That’s all I have for you today. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Striker Suddenly a Position of Need for Orlando City

Departures and a key injury mean Orlando City needs a striker heading into the 2025 MLS season.

Published

2 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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Image Courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City reached the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 2024, a milestone for the club. The core of the team was locked up through the 2025 season, so there was no reason to believe it needed to add much this off-season. Unfortunately, injuries and departures have created a serious problem for the team.

The group of forwards last year consisted of Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and Jack Lynn. McGuire scored 15 goals in 2023 and was expected to depart for Blackburn Rovers before a clerical error allowed the Lions to keep their target man. The team’s primary striker scored 11 goals in 37 games — the same number as the previous season — but split time starting with Enrique. The Argentinian improved greatly in 2024, increasing his total goal tally from four to 12. Even Lynn showed tremendous improvement last year, playing a greater role in the team and scoring his first two MLS goals.

The future also seemed bright for the Orlando City forwards because of their ages. Lynn is the oldest of the trio at just 25 years old. Meanwhile, McGuire and Enrique are only 23, so there was no reason to believe this group couldn’t produce this coming season.

The problem at striker began in the postseason when McGuire was pulled down by Charlotte FC midfielder Djibril Diani in the final first round game of the playoffs. McGuire suffered a shoulder injury during the challenge that required surgery on Dec. 13. It’s expected that the striker could take four to five months to return to action, possibly leaving him out until May or June.

Another blow to Orlando’s attack occurred Saturday when Lynn surprisingly announced his retirement from professional soccer. In just over a month, Orlando City went from having three strikers to having just one as preseason training starts.

With McGuire injured and Lynn gone, one option would be to have Designated Player Luis Muriel play up top. However, the Colombian prefers to play a more withdrawn position and proved to be effective in that role last year. Since Head Coach Oscar Pareja prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, the Lions need someone up top to control the ball and involve the midfielders in the attack. That’s not Muriel’s game.

The result of these issues is that nobody is currently behind Enrique when the season begins. If the Argentinian gets tired, hurt, or simply needs rest, Pareja is limited in his options. 

Whether there was a lack of strikers or a lack of goals from the position previously, that problem was resolved by the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. Facundo Torres scored 20 goals in 2024, becoming the first player in Orlando City’s MLS history and the second player in club history to do so. He went on to set a new club record for total goals of 47.

However, Orlando City sold its best player to Brazilian side Palmeiras on Dec. 20. It was a gut punch to fans as Torres had signed a new contract on Jan. 10, 2024 that ran through the 2026 season. There had been talk for the last couple of years that the attacker would look for a move to Europe and rumors of a move to South America arose this off-season. Still, it created a huge gap the club has to fill.

There are players on the roster that can make up for the injury and departures. Martin Ojeda had a strong season in 2024, finishing with seven goals and 13 assists. His seven goals ranked fourth on the team and his 13 assists topped the squad alongside Nico Lodeiro. Muriel came on strong later in the season, finishing with five goals and eight assists. But those numbers are a long way from the 20 goals that Torres tallied last year.

Even if you consider all goal contributions, Ojeda and Muriel fall well short of Torres. Ojeda had a total of 20 goal contributions in 2024 while Muriel had 13. In addition to Torres’s 20 goals, he added nine assists for a team-leading 29 goal contributions.

All of this information leads to one undeniable fact — Orlando City needs to sign a striker prior to the season. And there’s not much time for Luiz Muzzi to act. The European transfer window closes on Feb. 3 and many MLS teams have already been filling similar needs. With the season starting in just over a month, the options will be limited if the Lions don’t do something soon.

After the best postseason finish in Orlando City’s MLS history, things were looking good heading into 2025. While the back line and most of the midfield is returning, McGuire’s injury and the departure of Torres and Lynn have left the Lions in a tough spot offensively. If they don’t do something in the next couple of weeks, it could be a long 2025.

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