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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Get First Win Over Five Stripes

Junior Urso, Chris Mueller, and Nani supplied the offense and Orlando stayed organized in a deserved road win.

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4 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Junior Urso, Chris Mueller, and Nani scored to serve as exorcists, banishing the Atlanta United demons in a deserved 3-1 road win by the Lions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Despite being the team on fewer days of rest, Orlando City (4-2-2, 14 points) showed good energy on the press and in transition and defended well overall to finally beat Atlanta United (3-4-0, 9 points).

Mueller and Urso also added assists in the match.

The Lions won their second straight match and first true road game this season, and Orlando improved to 1-6-2 in the all-time league series against Atlanta — 1-7-2 in all competitions — and 1-2-2 at Atlanta. Now that Orlando has bloodied Atlanta, maybe this series can become a rivalry.

Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the game that he was happy about the team’s commitment and energy on a short turnaround.

“The three points are the most important for the motivation,” he said. “This is the first time we beat Atlanta so we’re happy. We keep going.”

Pareja made four changes to his usual lineup, starting Pedro Gallese in net behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. The defensive midfield consisted of Uri Rosell and Andres Perea, behind an attacking midfield of Benji Michel, Urso, and Mueller, with Dike up top for the third consecutive match. Ruan, Sebas Mendez, and Nani started on the bench, with Mauricio Pereyra not in the 18 and Tesho Akindele not available for selection for the second consecutive match.

“It’s good news for all, knowing they took the responsibility against a very difficult rival and on a very difficult turf,” Pareja said of his young players starting in the attack. “And they had that character to come out and play that game that way. The young boys today showed the future is bright here. And the core of the players who have been getting results before, we had the opportunity to rest some of them and the boys came in and took that responsibility.”

Dike fired a shot across Atlanta’s bow in the first minute, skipping a shot just wide to the left. The rookie had a couple of players breaking and may have been better served to slip someone through but he didn’t miss by much. The Lions showed early on that they weren’t going to press as persistently as usual on short rest, instead hanging back and taking away options for goalkeeper Brad Guzan and his defenders when they tried to play out of the back.

“Today it was probably too much to ask the boys to go and press all the time,” Pareja said, due to the fixture congestion, traveling and quick turnaround. “So we considered that just giving them the ball sometimes will help us just to save some energy. That’s why I want to remark [about] the discipline defensively of the team. We knew that they would give us some space in the back and we took that.

Atlanta started to control the game about three minutes in and did so for about a solid five minutes, resulting in the game’s first corner. Brooks Lennon got onto the corner kick cross with a thunderous header but Gallese reached out one of his eight arms and made a spectacular goal-line save to keep it scoreless. The play was checked by VAR to see if it had crossed the line but it had not.

Orlando finally regained the ball and earned its own first corner in the 13th minute. Mueller sent in a perfect ball for Urso, who smashed a low header that skipped off the turf in front of Guzan and squirted through his legs for the opening goal — Urso’s first in MLS.

Urso sent a shot from outside the box just a bit wide in the 18th minute as Orlando got more of a hold on the match. Dike won a corner shortly thereafter and Mueller’s delivery found Carlos but the Brazilian was spinning a bit in the run-up and couldn’t make good contact, sending his header over in the 21st minute.

Atlanta’s Manuel Castro got his side’s second good look of the half just seconds later, dragging a shot wide of Gallese’s goal.

Perea fizzed a wicked cross through the top of the six in the 29th minute, but none of his teammates could get onto it. Then Dike won another corner off a good buildup when he took a pass from Michel and had his shot blocked behind. Atlanta cleared Mueller’s service, and as Moutinho was bringing the ball back into the area, the whistle blew for a foul on Urso, but it just looked like two Atlanta players collided with each other.

No matter, after a brief pause for the trainers to come out, Orlando scored its second. Moutinho won a ball off Guzan’s ensuing restart, sending his header to Mueller, who gathered and sent it forward to Dike in the middle. The rookie smartly played to his right for Michel and the second-year Homegrown wisely cut a pass back to Mueller, who had never stopped his run. Mueller finished into the empty net to make it 2-0 in the 35th. Mueller’s career-high sixth of the season — the most on Orlando — was a great way for the winger to celebrate his 24th birthday.

“I looked up and I thought that I was going to have a go at the outside back actually,” Mueller said about the play. “I looked up and I saw Daryl finding some space in between the two center backs, so I picked out a pass to him, and I saw that he turned and laid back [a pass] and I just continued my run and I was screaming to Benji for the ball back across because the space was so wide open and I was right there. And he found me so well and laid one on a platter and gave me the best birthday present I could have asked for.”

It was nearly Michel to Mueller again in the 41st as Benji got to the end line and crossed for Mueller, who was crashing the back post. Guzan stuck out a foot to knock the cross behind for a corner. The Lions should have made it 3-0 on the set piece, with Perea getting a free running header on the back side of the play but he sent his shot agonizingly wide of the net in the 42nd minute.

Atlanta failed to do much with a pair of late set pieces and the teams went to the break with the Lions ahead, 2-0. Orlando led in shots (7-4) and shots on goal (2-1), with both teams completing 84% of their passes and Atlanta holding a slim possession advantage (51.5%).

The Five Stripes dominated possession in the second half. Orlando stayed organized and looked for counter opportunities, coming close a few times before finally getting a late insurance goal.

Pity Martinez was dangerous throughout the second half, shooting from everywhere and nearly breaking in behind the defense multiple times. Jansson denied him getting in alone with a vital tackle early in the second half and good team defending prevented him getting a shot off in the box a few minutes later.

Lennon got off a glancing header in the 55th minute off a corner kick but it was well off target. Martinez then sent in either a shot or a cross. Gallese came off his line to grab it before being fouled by Adam Jahn.

Atlanta continued to look for offense and brought Cubo Torres and Ezequiel Barco on in the 60th minute. Orlando, which had been struggling to keep possession, brought on Nani and Sebas Mendez for Dike and an exhausted-looking Rosell.

Nani quickly got involved, getting whistled for a foul after taking an elbow from Torres that split his lip open. That led to a prolonged spell of possession and set pieces in the attacking third for Atlanta. Gallese made a good play to get up and tip a dangerous shot from Barco over the bar in the 66th minute.

The Lions finally got forward and won a counter shortly after that and this time the cross found Jansson at the near post but his flick skipped wide of the far post in the 69th minute on what would have been a nice goal for the Beefy Swede.

Disaster struck for Orlando in the 75th minute. Mendez headed a ball back toward his own goal and Gallese had time and space to come out and pick it up. Either Moutinho didn’t hear the Octopus calling him off or he just wanted to be safe, and the Portuguese left back sent an emphatic clearance out of play but was injured in the process. He was in obvious pain and holding his groin area and had to be stretchered off the field. Kamal Miller came on to replace him.

Michel put the ball in the net on a quick counter in the 81st minute but he was correctly ruled offside and the game remained at 2-0. That only lasted two more minutes, as the Five Stripes took advantage of Moutinho’s replacement.

Second-half sub Jurgen Damm received the ball on the right for Atlanta and faked toward the end line, then faked back the other way. Miller overplayed to block the cross and Damm went back toward the end line to get his cross in cleanly. Lennon peeled back off of Smith and looped a header inside the post to make it 2-1 in the 83rd minute.

Ruan nearly pulled that goal back a minute later, getting a touch to a good cross right in front, but it skipped wide of the post. But the Lions sealed the game two minutes later. The Atlanta defense played the ball to Martinez, who had been dropping deep to get on the ball and start the attack. Urso recognized this as his moment and pounced, dispossessing Martinez and breaking in on goal. As Guzan faced him up, Nani called for the ball on the left and Urso slid it over for the captain to finish. His third of the season made it 3-1 in the 86th minute.

“I know he don’t like when we pressure behind him,” Urso said of Martinez. “So I just waited for a good moment to try to take the ball, to recover the ball for us. When the defender gave it to him I knew it was a good moment to take the ball for us. So I tried to take it. And when I was in front of the keeper, if Nani doesn’t ask me, 100% I will shoot because I have a good position to score. But when I heard his voice, I know he’s free so I have to think about the team first. So I passed to Nani and he was happy and scored one more goal for us.”

“Today’s performance from Junior — not starting the last game — was incredible and another level of commitment from the team,” Pareja said.

The Lions got a scare in the 88th minute when Carlos cleared a bouncing ball, jumping high into the air. After the clearance, Lennon collided with the Brazilian’s foot and went down. The referee went over to review the replay but ruled that it was a legal play by Orlando City’s center back and no penalty was given.

From there, Orlando survived a few Atlanta set pieces, a shot off the crossbar by Barco in the 96th minute, and 10 minutes of stoppage time. The Lions heard the whistle and finally had their first win of the series.

Atlanta finished with more shots (11-10), shots on target (4-3), possession (61.3%), and corners (9-6), and out-passed Orlando (86%-79%). But the Lions made the most of enough of their opportunities to get the victory.

“It was a tough grind,” Mueller said. “I think that we put in a really good team performance. Obviously we had some guys rotated in there and I think everybody from top to bottom played an unbelievable game and I’m just so happy for the guys as well.”

It’s another quick turnaround for Orlando as the Lions will make the trip to Tennessee to face Nashville SC away on Wednesday night.

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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.

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2 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?

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4 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.

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8 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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