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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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4 years ago

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In the final game of Orlando City’s 2020 MLS regular season campaign, a late collapse resulted in a 3-2 loss against Nashville SC. Despite a strong start, the defense gave way to Nashville’s second-half substitutes, conceding twice in the final two minutes of the game and four minutes of injury time. Daryl Dike continued his torrid form with another goal and we saw a moment of brilliance from Nani (who was allowed to play after his red card was rescinded by the league), but it wasn’t enough to hold onto the points.

Orlando fell to fourth in the Eastern Conference and will play bitter rivals New York City FC in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. Here’s how the Lions performed in a very disappointing close to the season.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 5 — I don’t want to put too much of the blame on Rowe for the goals, but it was far from a great performance from the veteran backup. He did make a hat trick of saves, including a very nice stop on Derrick Jones, but he did concede three goals. The first goal was simply a wonder-strike from Daniel Lovitz — nothing he could really do there — but the other two feel like maybe he could’ve done more. It would’ve been very impressive as both headers were wide open on the doorstep, but Rowe was in position to potentially make a play, but he couldn’t.

D, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — It was far from the best performance for Smith against Nashville. Going forward he was a complete non-factor with no shots and only one cross, though he did draw the free kick on which Nani scored. He struggled to contain Randall Leal, losing several duels on the outside, and also committed a team-high five fouls, including the one that set up the game-winning goal. On the bright side, he was fairly good in possession, completing 40 passes at an 83% clip, and had a solid five ball recoveries. He wasn’t horrible but it was far from a great game for the fullback.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The big Swede had a solid game leading the back line but it was a struggle at times. On the bright side, his distribution was solid with 43 completed passes at 84% and three very solid completed long balls. He also led the team in clearances with seven. Unfortunately for Orlando, he was very poor in the air, losing both of his aerial duels.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6 — It may have been a frustrating defensive performance, but Antonio Carlos was mostly impressive once again. His distribution was excellent, completing 88% of his passes, including six out of eight long balls. He nearly found his way onto the score sheet with a brilliant bit of skill off a corner in the 64th minute, but the final effort was well wide. Defensively, Carlos was the anchor of the back line with five clearances, four interceptions and five ball recoveries. But much like Jansson, his play in the air in the last few minutes of the game was poor. He wasn’t in a good position on Mukhtar for the second goal, making it far too easy for the designated player to score.

D, Ruan, 5.5 — The pacey Brazilian had his moments against Nashville, but it was a poor showing for the right back. He was solid going forward once again, registering a key pass and three crosses, but defensively things were inconsistent. He did lead the team in completed tackles with three, but down the stretch it was a struggle. He really struggled with Alex Muyl allowing the ball into the area that led to Nashville’s second goal. He also got shielded by Muyl on the third goal, leaving Cadiz to run in unmarked. Maybe it felt like it was a worse performance than it really was, but it was disappointing regardless.

MF, Chris Muelller, 7.5 — Mueller’s breakout season continued in this one as he was a force to be reckoned with going forward. It was his pressure and excellent run that led to the assist on Dike’s goal early in the first half and he created several other chances as well, finishing with a pair of key passes. His energy created a spark in transition and set the tempo for the Lions going forward. It wasn’t always the cleanest for the Money Badger, but he now sits at 17 goal contributions (goals plus assists), only behind LAFC’s Diego Rossi and Toronto’s Alejandro Pozuelo.

MF, Andres Perea, 6.5 — It wasn’t a particularly dynamic performance, but the Colombian youth international continues to look very sound in the center of midfield. He led the team in passing with 61 completed passes at an incredible 92% clip, with a team leading 10 successful long balls as well. His defense was solid as well with three interceptions and eight ball recoveries. However, he provided very little going forward, failing to register a key pass or shot on target despite getting an excellent open look from the top of the area. Even if he’s not a particularly dynamic player, he’s looking better and better every game and I really hope that his loan can be made permanent this offseason.

MF, Junior Urso, 6 — The Bear had a quiet performance in his 72-minute outing, but it was fairly effective. He was a beast winning the ball back, as per usual, with a solid seven recoveries. Against the physical Anibal Godoy and Dax McCarty it’s important to match the intensity and Urso provided that energy and strength in the middle of the park. Like Perea, he wasn’t much of a factor going forward, though he found himself with a chance at a header in the box on multiple occasions.

MF, Jordan Bender, 5 — The most interesting lineup decision made by Oscar Pareja in the regular season finale by far was giving Homegrown Player and Lake Mary native Jordan Bender his first ever MLS start. The 19-year-old attacker showed plenty of promise with a few impressive runs, but he’s clearly still a very raw prospect. Multiple times the moment got away from Bender and he took a slightly heavy touch or had a slightly late reaction that squandered a potentially lethal attack. He did make one nice cross in the 33rd minute that Dike headed on goal. It wasn’t the a dynamic introduction for the youngster, but it’s very exciting to see the him make his first start.

F, Nani, 7.5 — MLS thankfully rescinded the captain’s garbage red card against Columbus, and the Portuguese superstar delivered against Nashville. He was fairly inefficient and ineffective for much of the game, completing only 78% of his passes and only racking up a single key pass, but he still delivered a moment of brilliance when the team needed it. His 61st-minute free kick goal was the moment of the match for Orlando and looked to potentially seal the three points. Things took a turn for the worse following his substitution, but when his team needed him, the captain delivered.

F, Daryl Dike, 8 (MotM) — The rookie striker has been in impeccable form as of late and that certainly didn’t stop against Nashville. He returned to the score sheet early in the game, capitalizing on a Mueller counter attack with an excellent low drive to the far corner. It’s not a goal that will break the internet, but the class on the strike was excellent from the young man. He nearly grabbed a second with an inviting header off Bender’s cross in the 33rd minute, but a nice save by Joe Willis kept Dike from his brace. For much of the game, Nashville really struggled to contain Dike. His strength, and a surprising show of pace and skill, allowed him to easily get by defenders and put his team in dangerous positions while his holdup play continues to be superb. Dike is quickly becoming one of the better strikers in the league and could become the Lions’ best striker since Cyle Larin.

Substitutes

F, Tesho Akindele (46’), 6.5 — It was a quiet game for Tesho, who came on for Bender in the second half, but it was far from poor. He didn’t create any chances, but his ability on the ball helped Orlando transition from defense to offense. Though he’s a striker by trade, the Canadian has shown that he’s plenty capable dropping into midfield, and against Nashville that versatility was on display once again.

MF, Sebas Mendez (71’), 6.5 — For the second match in a row, Sebas came off the bench to help bolster the midfield down the stretch and he played fairly well in limited action once again. He completed all of his 11 passes including a key pass. His defensive work was solid as well, with a clearance and an interception. He couldn’t help the Lions secure the three points (or one point for that matter) but it was another solid performance from the young Ecuadorian international.

F, Benji Michel (72’), 5 — After his heroics against the Crew midweek, it would’ve been impossible to match that performance, but even so it was a slightly disappointing outing. The homegrown striker only had eight touches in his 20 minutes on the pitch and was a complete non-presence.

MF, Joey DeZart (87’), N/A — It was a cameo performance from the rookie in an attempt to secure the result, but things soured once he came on the pitch. That’s not really on DeZart but he did very little in his few minutes in this one.

F, Matheus Aias (90’), N/A — Pareja brought on Matheus in a desperate attempt to secure the three points in stoppage time, but the Lions were unable to generate any offense in injury time.

That was my take on Orlando’s disappointing end to the regular season, but how do you think the Lions played? Vote on who you thought deserved man of the match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Daryl Dike29
Chris Mueller6
Nani3
Andres Perea0
Other (write in comments)0

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Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

Published

15 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to advance to the Eastern Conference final?

Published

17 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continues its playoff journey against Atlanta United Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions are coming off an emotional penalty shootout win over Charlotte FC in their best-of-three, first-round series. Likewise, Atlanta United stunned everyone by taking out Inter Miami to advance in its own best-of-three matchup. Now, the rivals meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

What does Orlando City need to do to get past Atlanta United to advance to the Easter Conference final?

Beat Guzan

Brad Guzan made 16 saves over Atlanta’s three matches against Inter Miami, including seven in the 3-2 win on the road in Game 3. The 40-year-old former USMNT keeper is in excellent form and is a big reason why the Five Stripes are facing Orlando City. Converting chances against Guzan will be crucial to earning a result. There have been times this season when the Lions have struggled to convert their chances. Despite that, the team has done enough offensively to get to this point. Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and others have contributed and will need to do so this weekend.

Cartagena is Essential

Orlando City lost twice to Atlanta United during the regular season. What is interesting, and perhaps relevant, is that Wilder Cartagena was out for both of those matches. Cartagena was shown a straight red in the match against Minnesota United prior to the first match against Atlanta way back in March. He was shown a yellow card in the match against FC Cincinnati and then served a yellow card accumulation suspension for the final match of the season against Atlanta. Fortunately for Orlando City, Cartagena will be available for the match this weekend. I’ve mentioned before the importance of Cartagena to Orlando City’s success. When he and Cesar Araujo are on the field together, the defense is simply better. Cartagena is frankly one of the better defensive midfielders in MLS. Atlanta scored five goals in the series against Miami, and Orlando will need to keep the visitors from having that kind of offensive success.

Overcome the Past

That darn international break in the middle of the playoffs is something I don’t love. More precisely, I don’t like it because Orlando City often struggles after a break. It would have been nice if Orlando City could have ridden the momentum from the penalty kick victory into the Atlanta match, but that’s not to be. Now is the time for Orlando City to break some bad habits, including turning around its historical lack of success against Atlanta, and tendency to struggle in the first match after a break. Oscar Pareja needs to have the players in the right frame of mind, and the players need to execute the plan. A full house of supporters can also make a difference. Given it’s a Sunday afternoon match, there’s no reason not to pack the house.

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

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/21/24

Marta’s chance to shine in NWSL Championship, NWSL and MLS award winners announced, 2025 SheBelieves Cup details, and more.

Published

21 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

  • District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

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

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