Lion Links: 9/29/21

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I can’t believe it’s almost the end of September already. I spent my weekend with friends checking out the Puerto Rican Festival in Chicago. There’s plenty of soccer today, so let’s dive right into today’s links.

Lions Take on Nashville SC Tonight

Orlando City will close out a three-match road trip tonight when it visits the Music City to take on Nashville SC at 8:30 p.m. Both teams shared the points in a 1-1 draw in Nashville back on Aug. 18 in the first game between them this season. The Lions will aim to bounce back after a 2-1 defeat to the New England Revolution this past weekend. Daryl Dike scored in that match to get his fourth goal of the season while Mauricio Pereyra notched his 10th assist. Nashville SC comes into this match following a scoreless draw against the Chicago Fire this past Sunday. Orlando Head Coach Oscar Pareja discussed the opposing side ahead of tonight’s match.

“Talking about Nashville [SC], the way that they play and the way that they have done their job, I think that they have a very rigid model with not many changes,” said Head Coach Oscar Pareja “Especially in comparison with the game that we [already] played with them in Nashville, their typical 1-5-3-2 that we see against other teams. A team that has confidence too, a team that has gotten good results and we’re now with the urgency that is obviously trying to get out of this difficult moment.”

Orlando City Academy Returns

Orlando City’s academy teams returned for their fall seasons as both the U-15 and U-17 teams played against Florida Rush Soccer Club. The U-15 team picked up its first win of the season with a 3-2 victory thanks to goals from Christian Gies, Colin Guske, and Israel Daniels. Meanwhile, the U-17 team played a friendly against the Rush’s U-19 side and came away with a 2-2 draw as Alejandro Granados and Johann Chirinos scored for Orlando. The U-17 squad was crowned MLS Next Cup champion in its age group this past summer so it will be interesting to see how the Young Lions fare this season.

NWSL Announces Update on Washington Spirit Investigation

The National Women’s Soccer League provided an update on its investigation into the Washington Spirit for allegations of misconduct within the club. The league announced that suspended Spirit head coach Richie Burke was terminated with cause and will not be allowed to work with NWSL players in the future. The NWSL also determined that the Spirit and their ownership failed to act in the best interest of the league and representatives are suspended from any league governance and the club must respond to this violation within 14 days.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Continues

Many of Europe’s biggest clubs are in action this week for the Champions League. There was a massive upset as Sheriff Tiraspol stunned Real Madrid 2-1 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in its first away match in the competition. The other big match was in France as Paris Saint-Germain shut out Manchester City 2-0 with goals from Idrissa Gueye and Lionel Messi. Elsewhere, Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig lost 2-1 to Club Brugge, Atletico Madrid converted a late penalty kick in stoppage time to win 2-1 over 10-man AC Milan, and Liverpool dominated FC Porto in a 5-1 win.

Today, there are plenty of big match-ups as Juventus hosts Chelsea FC, Manchester United takes on Villarreal, and FC Barcelona looks to rebound on the road against Benfica. There is also a showdown between Americans as Brenden Aaronson and RB Salzburg will play against Tim Weah and Lille OSC.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City remained in 14th in the MLS power rankings after its loss to the Revolution.
• The United States Men’s National Team’s roster for World Cup qualifiers in October will be announced today.

• Here’s a statistical breakdown of the many teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
• Former Lion and New York City FC right back RJ Allen has retired from playing.

• FC Cincinnati is reportedly negotiating to hire Philadelphia Union Technical Director Chris Albright to become the club’s new general manager after the firing of Gerard Nijkamp this August.
• Lucas Zelarayan will join Armenia for its upcoming World Cup qualifying matches in October against Iceland and Romania.

• Italy will play against Argentina in June in a match that pits the European Champion against the Copa America winner.

That will do it for me, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Wednesday and I’ll see you next time.