Orlando City
Orlando City vs CF Montreal: Player Grades and Man of the Match
Orlando City hosted Montreal in Exploria Stadium for a midweek clash of Eastern Conference foes in the playoff race. The Lions were hoping to take all three points at home against a very tough to break down Montreal, but it wasn’t to be. Orlando City gave up an equalizer in the second half to draw their Canadian opponent 1-1.
Just a note for those who read our player’s grades: Each staff member has their own scale on how they grade players. My grading involves not just stats and key moments, but also how the player performs against my expectations. If you disagree with how I, or any of our staff, approach our grades, I sincerely encourage you to join The Mane Land staff so you can use your own criteria. Now, let’s see how the Lions did in the draw against their Eastern Conference foes.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Gallese only made one save in the match, but it was a huge one. In the 49th minute, El Pulpo’s left tentacle stretched out as he was moving to the right and made what should be the MLS Save of the Week. Unfortunately, he had no chance on the Montreal goal off the corner kick in the 52nd minute. Gallese also made a bad giveaway pass in second-half stoppage time to give Montreal a corner and an opportunity to waste time. Fortunately, it didn’t result in anything worse. He attempted 17 passes at a 70.6% passing rate and connected on one of six long balls. Not the best overall match from the keeper, but certainly not a bad one either.
D, Emmanuel Mas, 6.5 — Mas got the start again for the injured João Moutinho. Mas was more effective this match at getting into the offense, which was a byproduct of Orlando City’s pressing. On defense he had one clearance, six interceptions, and committed one foul. He did a good job of stopping the Montreal offense before much could develop, especially in the first half. They were more effective in the second half, but Mas still played well. He attempted 53 passes and had a 77.4% passing rate with one key pass, while completing two of three long balls.
D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 (MotM) — Jansson was seemingly everywhere during this match. He was a rock on defense, and wasn’t shy about getting into the attack. Even to the point of bringing the ball into the opponent’s box and taking a shot to earn a corner. It wasn’t the only run he made in the offensive half of the pitch, as the Beefy Swede made his presence known. Like others, he did have a giveaway in the 21st minute, but it amounted to nothing. Just before the half, he took the ball off the opponent’s foot and cleared the ball. It was Jansson who started the attack with a pass to Mauricio Pereyra that ended up in Chris Mueller’s goal. Defensively, Jansson made two tackles, two interceptions, one clearance, one blocked shot, and committed no fouls. Offensively, Jansson made two shots, with one on target. He also attempted 75 passes and had an 84% passing rate, with two successful dribbles. The usually accurate Jansson completed just one of 11 long balls.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel was once again pressed into the starting position due to Antonio Carlos serving a yellow card suspension. Having a backup center back of his quality is something to appreciate. He attempted 63 passes and had a 90.5% passing rate, and completed three of three long balls. Defensively, he made three tackles, two interceptions, five clearances, and won three aerials. He committed one foul, earning a yellow card in second-half stoppage time, and also suffered one foul.
D, Ruan, 6 — Ruan played a very Ruan match. He made his runs up the right side as Orlando City pushed the attack through the speedy fullback during the first half. He also made several not great crosses, and finally connected on one that slid past Benji Michel and out to a waiting Mueller on the back post. He also had an opportunity on a rebound in the 76th minute, but was unable to put it away. It was his only shot in the match. He did make two key passes, four crosses (including an assist), and one dribble. He suffered two fouls, and found himself offside twice. Defensively, he made one interception, and two clearances. Ruan attempted 39 passes, had an 84.6% passing rate and attempted one long ball.
MF, Uri Rosell, 6.5 — Rosell played a solid match. He absolutely stood up Kamal Miller in the 35th minute to start the break for Orlando City. Rosell played within himself and as such was generally where he needed to be to help his club, though he wasn’t able to fight through a moving pick to contain the larger Rudy Camacho on Montreal’s set piece goal. Defensively, he won an aerial, made three tackles, two interceptions, two clearances, and committed three fouls. One of which was a professional foul in the 30th minute. He attempted 49 passes, had a 91.8% passing rate, and connected on two of two long balls. He came off in the 70th minute for Sebas Mendez after getting injured. It was a head impact that had his right side bleeding. He was the second Lion to get bandaged up in the match and on the play he was injured he made a vital challenge in the penalty area to prevent a Montreal scoring chance.
MF, Júnior Urso, 6.5 — The Bear put in his usual iron man shift. His best chance at goal came on a missed header in the seventh minute. He was instrumental in Orlando City’s goal when he took Pereyra’s pass and put a long ball up to Dike to continue the attack. He took three shots, though none were on target. One of them deflected off the back of an opponent and caught the crossbar. Defensively, he had one tackle, one clearance, one interception, committed one foul, and suffered two fouls. He attempted 65 passes with a 93.9% passing rate, made two key passes, and attempted one long ball. Urso also spent part of the match in a head bandage after he and Dike collided in the box. It wasn’t enough to warrant concussion protocols, but it was enough for him to look like a partial mummy.
MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6 — Pereyra played the role that we expect from the number 10. Montreal’s Camacho played an outstanding match, which prevented several of Pereyra’s passes from getting to the target. He made an excellent delivery on the free kick in the seventh minute, but no one was able to take advantage of it. It was also Pereyra who deftly took the pass from Jansson and made a one-touch pass to send it to Urso on the way to Orlando City’s goal. Pereyra attempted one shot (just off target), had two successful dribbles, was fouled twice, and committed one foul. He attempted 41 passes with a 75.6% passing rate, made eight crosses, had one key pass, and completed one of four long ball attempts.
MF, Chris Mueller, 7 — Cash Money has woken up in the last match or two and this time he gave Orlando City the lead with his 45th-minute goal in the first half. The Money Badger did well in the first half press when the Lions were having their way. He attempted two shots, with one on target for the goal. Mueller made one key pass, committed one foul, and suffered two fouls. Defensively, he made one interception. He attempted 22 passes with an 81.8% passing rate and attempted two crosses. He also completed his one long ball attempt. He subbed off in the 66th minute for Silvester van der Water.
F, Benji Michel, 6 — Michel was a pest on the right side of Montreal’s defense. He worked well with Mas, and made good runs with both the ball and without. He connected on two of his three crosses, and his early cross to Dike almost earned a goal. Offensively, Michel had one shot. He did have a team-high five poor touches. Defensively, he registered no statistics. He attempted 13 passes with a 76.9% passing rate, including two key passes, and one long ball attempt. He made two key passes, two successful dribbles, and committed one foul. He was subbed off in the 65th minute for Nani.
F, Daryl Dike, 6.5 — Dike did everything he could to score, short of actually putting the ball in the net. Given how many guys were either riding his hip or worse, it was a tough night for the big guy. His 29th-minute header was just over the bar. Later, he muscled his way through four defenders but couldn’t get a shot off. He was fouled in the buildup of Orlando’s goal, but the ref rightly called play on, and his touch took the ball out to Ruan on the right side for a secondary assist on the goal. He got in for a late shot that was saved. Dike attempted three shots, with one on target. He also suffered one foul, made three dribbles, and was dispossessed twice. Defensively, Dike made one clearance. He also made two key passes on 11 attempts with a 90.9% passing rate. He was subbed off in the 86th minute for Tesho Akindele.
Substitutes
MF, Silvester van der Water (66’), 4.5 — Van der Water was not his usual self. His passes were not good, he gave the ball away consistently after coming on, and he just wasn’t sharp. Montreal dared him to play the ball with his right foot by overplaying his left side and the Dutchman tried to force it rather than taking what the defense was giving him. He attempted 18 passes with a 66.7% passing rate, made one cross, and was successful on one of two long balls. He made one interception and was dispossessed once.
F, Nani (66), 5 — Nani was not able to make the type of impact he usually does when coming on late. There was no stoppage time golazo in the run of play or from a free kick. He attempted 11 passes with a 63.6% passing rate, had one successful dribble, and suffered one foul.
MF, Sebas Mendez (70’), 6.5 — Mendez attempted 37 passes with a 94.6% passing rate, and connected on two of three long balls. He also had one successful dribble. It was good for Mendez to get back on the pitch, and help with the defense to see out the match.
F, Tesho Akindele (86’), N/A — There simply wasn’t enough time or possession for Akindele to contribute to the attack. He attempted two passes on his two touches, with a 100% passing rate.
MF, Alexandre Pato (86), N/A — As much as I would like to give the Duck a grade for simply making an appearance, he didn’t have enough time to contribute much to the match. Pato attempted four passes with a 50% passing rate. Hopefully, we will see more of him in the coming matches so he can get up to game speed and achieve full match fitness.
That is how I saw the game. How do you feel about the individual performances? Tell us by commenting and voting on the Man of the Match below.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Robin Jansson | 10 |
| Junior Urso | 2 |
| Chris Mueller | 9 |
| Uri Rosell | 2 |
| Benji Michel | 1 |
| Other (put in the comments below) | 1 |
Lion Links
Lion Links: 5/20/26
Orlando City defeats Atlanta United, Anna Moorhouse called up, Arsenal wins EPL championship, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I love the U.S. Open Cup. I love the history, the cupsets, and the magical moments. I especially love it when my team wins and wins big like Orlando City did Tuesday night. It was unexpected result but a very welcome one. Let’s get to the links.
Orlando City Advances to USOC Semifinals
Orlando City defeated rival Atlanta United 4-1 in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. The Lions unleashed an offensive firestorm in the first half against Atlanta United, scoring four goals before halftime. Frankly, it could have been more. The Lions were unable to add to the lead in the second half and conceded one goal to Atlanta, but it was more than enough to secure the victory.
Moorhouse Called Up
Anna Moorhouse has once again been called up by England for Women’s World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Ukraine. It is always an honor for a player to represent their country. We are happy that Moorhouse will have the opportunity.
World Cup News
We are only weeks away from the start of the World Cup and we know who most of the players representing their countries will be. For example, Granit Xhaka will captain Switzerland in the tournament. Most of us are primarily concerned with the USMNT and which players are in form for club and, hopefully, country.
Premier League News
The 23-year wait is over as Arsenal won the English Premier League championship following a 1-1 draw between Bournemouth and Manchester City on Tuesday. It is all but certain that Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City this summer. It’s not the ending that Guardiola wanted for his time at Manchester City, but he leaves the club in a good position. While the Gunners celebrate, Tottenham Hostpur is fighting relegation.
Free Kicks
- Unsurprisingly, Janine Solis was named NWSL Player of the Week thanks to her brace against the Orlando Pride.
- You can always count on Roy Keane to call it the way he sees it, even when it’s about the captain of his former team, Manchester United. Keane is not keen on the way Bruno Fernandes is chasing the EPL assist record.
- Major League Soccer cities like Orlando will host soccer celebrations and other fan events during the World Cup.
- Southampton was expelled from the Championship playoff final after the club was caught spying. Now the Southampton players may take legal action due to loss of earnings.
- Here’s a fitting farewell for Antione Griezmann from Atletico Madrid. We can’t wait to welcome him to Orlando!
That will do it for today. Check back later this week as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Atlanta United, 2026 U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 4-1 as Lions Maul Five Stripes
A big first half filled with breakaway opportunities helped Orlando City knock Atlanta out of the U.S. Open Cup.
Orlando City ran wild over Atlanta United in the first half, building a huge advantage in what was ultimately a 4-1 victory over their Southeast rivals at Inter&Co Stadium in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals tonight. David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey, and Tiago (twice) provided the fireworks in a wild first half that could have seen Orlando ahead by even more goals if not for the offside flag and good goalkeeping by Atlanta’s Jayden Hibbert.
“I’m happy, of course, for the result, as well for the performance. But more than anything, I’m happy first of all for our group of players, because they do a huge effort every day,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game. “From the very beginning they have been fighting and I’m happy they were able to gift us a performance like this.”
Perelman’s lineup included Javier Otero in goal behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, Brekalo, and Dorsey. Braian Ojeda and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Tiago, with Martin Ojeda and Justin Ellis leading the attack up top.
The Lions decimated Atlanta in the opening 45 minutes to build a huge 4-0 halftime lead that could have been more if not for Tiago and Angulo being offside on breaks that they finished and a couple of huge saves by Hibbert. Orlando City ripped the Atlanta defense to shreds either by moving the ball quickly or simply placing perfect through balls or long balls into the gaps in the visitors’ three-man back line.
However, the first goal of the game came off a set piece. Atlanta cleared a corner kick in the fifth minute, but Braian Ojeda sent in a good ball on the recycle and Brekalo was able to sneak in behind by timing his run well, nodding home for his first goal of the year to get the scoring party started.
“I’m so relieved that it happened, and it happened in this kind of game, magnitude of importance, and I hope this is the first of many this season, because I know I’m capable of scoring more goals,” Brekalo said.
Three minutes after the opening goal, Dorsey came forward and beat Hibbert but the defense cleared the shot off the line.
Atlanta’s first good look at goal came in the 14th minute on across from the left that found Aleksey Miranchuk on the right. The Atlanta attacker sent his header just wide of the left post.
Tiago nearly got in behind in the 15th minute but the defense knocked the ball away for Hibbert to collect. Orlando scored a minute later anyway. Marin sent a good ball forward for Angulo to run onto. The Colombian got down the left and centered a pass for Dorsey to tap home to make it 2-0 in the 16th minute.
Ellis played Martin Ojeda in behind in the 20th minute. The Argentine put his shot on goal and Hibbert made a good save, but the flag came up for offside anyway, although that one looked clean to me.
Atlanta United could have cut the lead in half a minute later when Emmanuel Latte Lath caught Otero off his line but the chip shot hit the right post.
It was a costly miss for Latte Lath, because Tiago made it 3-0 in the 24th minute on a good hustle play. The Brazilian pressed high and blocked Hibbert’s pass attempt. Martin Ojeda was offside, so he let the ball go and Tiago recovered and fired past Hibbert to triple the lead.
Like Dorsey just did recently, Tiago celebrated with the traditional ball under the shirt to honor his pregnant wife.
“It was recent news that we found out my wife was pregnant, obviously very happy about it, and today we actually found out it’s a boy,” Tiago said. “So, that’s what kind of gave me extra motivation for the goals, for my wife and now my son. They’re the two most important people in my life.”
Angulo got in behind and scored in the 33rd minute but the flag came up for offside again.
Miranchuk redirected a cross on goal in the 34th minute but sent his effort straight at Otero for a comfortable save.
The Lions then had more excellent chances to extend the lead just after Atlanta’s chance. Hibbert made an excellent save to deny Tiago in the 36th minute, getting his hand up just in time to keep it out of the net. Two minutes later, Dorsey bombed forward again on the break but the defense forced him wide. The fullback chipped it toward goal anyway and the defense cleared it off the line just before it could cross. In the 39th minute, Martin Ojeda got behind on a pass from Angulo but Hibbert made another solid save to keep the game at 3-0.
Brekalo got his head to the ensuing corner kick cross but the post denied the center back a brace in the 40th minute. A minute after that, Dorsey blasted a hard shot that Hibbert palmed over the crossbar.
Tiago thought he had his brace in the 44th minute, getting in behind and firing past Hibbert, but the flag came up once more.
Otero made a good save to stop Jay Fortune’s shot in the third minute of first-half stoppage time on one of Atlanta’s best chances of the game.
The Lions went the other way and made it 4-0. Braian Ojeda sent a good through ball to unlock Tiago. The Brazilian put the ball past Hibbert again to bag his first brace in an Orlando City uniform in the fifth minute of stoppage time on the last chance of the half.
“Extremely happy,” Tiago said of his brace. “I know the quality of the player that I am. I’ve spoken to Coach Martin (Perelman) during the week, and he told me the runs I should make, so naturally the goals came out of it.”
At the end of the first half, the Lions had the advantage in shots (11-7), shots on target (9-3), and corners (4-0). Atlanta led in possession (60%-40%) and passing accuracy (85%-80%).
“We were obviously extremely focused on the game,” Tiago said. “We know Atlanta is a tough team. We played them over the weekend, obviously we drew them, so we came into this game very focused, and we knew the quality of the group and knew we could advance.”
“I think I have to give credit to the coaching staff here, where they prepared the plan really well,” Brekalo said. “That was the main point: either take the ball super high or super low when we’re defending and counterattack them, so it worked exactly like the planned, and like we saw first half, I think many times, three or four times, that didn’t result in a goal, could be a goal, I think by a few inches or something. So, I would say that that was the whole plan, so it was either take it super low when in the our last third or super high up, and obviously the hard work of everybody, you know, defenders shifting, midfielders running like crazy. Everybody worked so hard today.”
Atlanta made four substitutions at the break and went to four at the back. This prevented Orlando City from getting the numerous breakaways the Lions enjoyed in the first half. Saba Lobjanidze’s introduction also gave the Five Stripes more bite in the attack.
The Five Stripes offense looked better right from the jump as the visitors looked to get something on the board to make a game of it. Matias Galarza fired just off target in the 49th minute on the good first look of the second half.
Orlando’s first look at goal came three minutes later, when Martin Ojeda fired a hard shot straight down the middle at Hibbert.
Lobjanidze just missed the left post from the right side in the 54th minute as Atlanta pressed numbers forward. Two minutes later, Lobjanidze dropped a cross onto Miranchuk’s head but the redirection went wide.
Tristan Muyumba volleyed a cleared corner kick toward goal in the 68th minute but missed the target badly.
“I think the challenge when we went out in the halftime, we imagined that they were going to make substitutions and strong players were going to come in, because they have a really good roster and talented players,” Perelman said. “And we knew the first 15 minutes were going to be very important. We tried to maintain the plan. I think we were able to do it, maybe not the first five minutes of the second half, but yes, we knew we needed to go over those first 15 minutes, and fortunately we could.”
Having weathered the early second-half storm, Orlando settled into protection mode, still looking to get forward when it could, but not taking many chances in possession. The Lions won a couple of corner kicks in the 72nd and 73rd minutes but couldn’t do anything with them.
Galarza again fired over the bar in the 75th minute, and Lobjanidze missed on a good opportunity in the 83rd minute as the visitors kept coming. A minute later, Latte Lath spoiled the shutout by volleying a beautiful shot just under the crossbar from the top of the box to make it 4-1.
Angulo got forward and fired over the bar in the 88th minute in the first good look for Orlando in quite some time. Two minutes later, the Lions broke forward and Braian Ojeda looked for a passing route, but the defense kept the channels blocked, so the midfielder went for goal himself. It was a good effort, but Hibbert made a nice save to push it wide. The corner kick was cleared out to second-half sub Wilder Cartagena in space. The Peruvian fired from outside the box but sent it right at Hibbert at the near post.
The match ended without another look at goal for either team and the Lions advanced past their rivals.
Atlanta’s second-half surge allowed the visitors to finish with the advantage in possession (59.5%-40.5%), shots (16-13), and passing accuracy (84.7%-79.4%). The Lions finished with more shots on target (10-4) and corners (6-1). Most importantly, Orlando won on the scoreboard by a wide margin.
“I’m happy to move forward in this competition, to put the team in a semifinal, which is important for us, for our club,” Perelman said. “I’m happy for our fans, because they deserve it. They support us always in the good ones and in those ones that are not that good ones. And of course, I’m happy for the entire club, managers, owner, Ricardo (Moreira), everybody here. We work really hard, so I think today is a good day for us and I’m happy for us.”
“I’m so happy that we advanced to the semifinals,” Brekalo said. “The team performed really well. We know we played against the same opponent, a tough game three days ago, so it was not easy, like energy-wise. And yeah, I’m so happy and proud of this team.”
The Lions advance to play the winner of tomorrow’s match between New York City FC and the Columbus Crew on the road on Sept. 15 or 16. Orlando City returns to league action Saturday on the road against FC Cincinnati. After that, the team is off for the World Cup break until late July.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Atlanta United, 2026 U.S. Open Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions look to bounce back after conceding late Saturday in their draw vs. Atlanta in tonight’s knockout game against the Five Stripes.
Welcome to your match thread for a Tuesday night U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal matchup between Orlando City and Atlanta United at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network). It’s the second of three scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals — the second in three days — with the Lions scheduled to make the return trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sept. 9 in MLS play.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.
History
The Lions are 5-11-8 in the all-time series against Atlanta in league play and 3-6-4 at home. Orlando City is 6-12-8 against tonight’s visitors in all competitions (regular season, playoffs, and U.S. Open Cup), 4-7-4 at home in all games played, and 0-1-0 in the U.S. Open Cup against the Five Stripes.
Orlando City and Atlanta United met just three nights ago on Saturday, playing to a 1-1 draw. Griffin Dorsey gave Orlando the lead early but the Lions squandered chances to extend the lead, allowing Jay Fortune’s late goal to steal a point for the visitors.
The Lions led 2-1 in Atlanta on May 28, 2025, on goals by Cesar Araujo and Ramiro Enrique to more than offset Alexey Miranchuk’s goal. However, Araujo foolishly got himself sent off. The Five Stripes turned the game around on Bartosz Slisz’s goal with seven minutes remaining in normal time and Jamal Thiare’s winner deep in stoppage time in a 3-2 victory for Atlanta. The teams just met in Orlando a month earlier on April 26. The Lions prevailed 3-0 on goals by Luis Muriel (from the penalty spot), Alex Freeman, and Marco Pasalic.
The rivals met in the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals, with the Lions eking out a 1-0 home victory on Nov. 24, 2024. Enrique provided the game’s only goal, and the Orlando defense was dominant, allowing the visitors just seven total shot attempts — none on target. That win pushed the Lions into their first-ever conference final.
Prior to their postseason meeting, these two teams met on Decision Day 2024, with Atlanta scoring two early goals and holding on for a 2-1 win on Oct. 9. Saba Lobjanidze and Thiare gave the visitors an early lead. Martin Ojeda pulled one back and Duncan McGuire appeared to tie the game late, but the latter goal was overturned on video review for a handball. The teams also met at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 17, 2024, when Orlando City fell 2-0 on goals by Lobjanidze and Giorgos Giakoumakis.
The last meeting of 2023 took place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Orlando City capturing a 2-1 away win. Atlanta took the lead through Caleb Wiley, but Antonio Carlos and McGuire scored to lead the Lions’ comeback. The southeast rivals also met in Orlando on May 27, 2023, at Exploria Stadium and played to a 1-1 draw. It was a heartbreaking dropped two points for the Lions, who took the lead through Kyle Smith at the half-hour mark and held that advantage until four minutes from full time, when Tyler Wolff pounced on a fortunate rebound in the box and equalized.
Atlanta went 1-0-1 in the season series in 2022. On Sept. 14 at Exploria Stadium the Five Stripes won 1-0 on a Thiago Almada goal despite the Lions out-shooting Atlanta 20-10. The sides played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting of that year on July 22 in Atlanta. Mauricio Pereyra staked the Lions to an early 1-0 lead on a beautiful free kick. Juan Jose Purata equalized in the second half, but Atlanta bombarded Orlando the majority of the game and completely controlled the midfield, outshooting the Lions 18-3 in the match.
Orlando had a six-match unbeaten streak in the series (3-0-3) snapped on Sept. 10, 2021, as the Five Stripes won 3-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. George Campbell and Ezequiel Barco scored for Atlanta, sandwiched around a Daryl Dike own goal to hand Gonzalo Pineda his first win as manager for United.
The second of three 2021 meetings took place July 30 at Exploria Stadium, with the Five Stripes taking the lead twice on goals by Josef Martinez and Marcelino Moreno, but the Lions not only fought back twice on strikes by Smith and Silvester van der Water, but Nani scored a late game winner by heading in VDW’s cross in Orlando City’s 3-2 win. The first meeting of that season between the two rivals came on opening day — April 17 — and they played to a 0-0 draw.
The final meeting of 2020 came on Oct. 28, when Orlando City ran away with a 4-1 win over Atlanta at Exploria Stadium. Dike, Chris Mueller, Tesho Akindele, and Matheus Aias scored the goals for the Lions, with Cubo Torres preventing a shutout with a late goal for the visitors. Prior to that, the teams met in Atlanta on Oct. 7, 2020 and played to a 0-0 draw. Robinho and Nani each hit the woodwork and Brad Guzan stood on his head to prevent Orlando from taking a deserved three points in that one, while Brian Rowe held down the fort at the other end to earn a shutout in Pedro Gallese’s absence.
Back on Sept. 5, 2020, a late, unforced turnover by Kamal Miller led to Adam Jahn’s 92nd-minute tying goal that offset a Benji Michel strike in a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium. Orlando City finally got on the board in the series against Atlanta United with a 3-1 win on the road on Aug. 29, 2020. Junior Urso, Mueller, and Nani supplied the offense to more than counter a Brooks Lennon headed goal. That three-goal explosion snapped a three-match scoreless streak against the Five Stripes for Orlando.
Orlando City created an incredible 17 scoring chances on Aug. 23, 2019, yet finished none of them in a 1-0 home loss. Martinez scored the game’s only goal in the second half. Only 17 days earlier at Exploria Stadium, Orlando also failed to score and lost 2-0 to Atlanta, getting bounced from the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. On Mother’s Day of 2019, Atlanta United claimed a 1-0 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Pity Martinez scored the goal.
Atlanta won at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 24, 2018 by a 2-1 final score. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez bundled home a rebound off Joe Bendik, who misplayed Barco’s free kick to open the scoring just 21 minutes in. Scott Sutter tied the game just before the half, but Josef Martinez broke the deadlock in the second half, with only 16 minutes remaining in normal time.
Atlanta easily claimed the June 30, 2018 meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 4-0. Josef Martinez and Barco each scored a goal and Miguel Almiron added a brace. Orlando lost the first matchup of 2018, 2-1, on May 13. An early penalty on a Cristian Higuita foul gave the visitors a leg up on a Josef Martinez goal from the spot and Barco doubled the lead before halftime. Justin Meram scored his first goal as a Lion to pull one back, but Orlando could get no closer. The unfortunate ending included a shower of debris coming out of the stands due to dissatisfaction with referee Alan Kelly’s decisions that night.
Hector Villalba’s two late goals in the first two meetings turned what could have been an Orlando draw and a win into a loss and a draw. The two teams kicked off their series with Orlando suffering a late 1-0 loss at home on July 21, 2017. Villalba found the net late. He then scored a stoppage-time tally to rescue a 1-1 draw for Atlanta in the second meeting on July 29, 2017. Kaká scored one of his best goals as a Lion in that match to provide Orlando’s lone score.
Orlando City became the first visiting team to take any points out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 3-3 draw in Atlanta that September. Dom Dwyer scored his first brace as a Lion (in MLS, anyway) and also assisted on Cyle Larin’s goal. Josef Martinez’s hat trick spoiled Orlando’s bid to take all three points.
Overview
The Lions and Atlanta obviously played just a few days ago and walked away splitting the points, but not all draws are created equal. The Five Stripes rotated more than Orlando City did, which should position them better for tonight. They were already better rested than the Lions and all Orlando did was add more miles to legs that have logged a lot of them this month. To make matters worse, captain Robin Jansson left with a knock at halftime on Saturday.
Orlando got to this point in the tournament by squeaking past two opponents it should have overpowered. The Lions were fortunate to get a 1-0 road win at FC Naples on April 15, with a Nolan Miller goal-line clearance that was perhaps fortunate to not have to stand up to video review. Naples outplayed Orlando City by a wide margin in the game, especially in the second half, but the Lions got the game’s only goal.
In the Round of 16, Orlando went north to face New England and was met by a youthful Revolution side made up almost entirely of prospects. The Revs didn’t even dress stars like Carles Gil and Matt Turner. City fell behind that makeshift lineup three times but fought back to ultimately win it 4-3 on April 29.
Atlanta is 3-0-1 in its last four road games in all competitions (two U.S. Open Cup, two MLS). The Five Stripes got to this point in the competition by beating Chattanooga FC 3-1 in the Round of 32 and Charlotte FC 2-0 in the Round of 16.
Orlando City’s defense will have to keep tabs on Lobjanidze and Miranchuk in particular, but the Lions can’t switch off in their own end regardless of who is on the pitch and what the score is. OCSC has been fragile with late leads and even bringing on defense-for-offense substitutions has not helped. If they again don’t rotate much, the Lions will also need to conserve energy and pick their spots to make long runs as they are playing in their third match in seven days.
Match Content
- Our Intelligence Report features info on tonight’s opponent from Sydney Hunte, one of the co-founders of Atlanta blog Scarves and Spikes.
- The latest episode of The Mane Land PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for the match.
- Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory over Atlanta United.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Javier Otero.
Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.
Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Justin Ellis.
Bench: Maxime Crepeau, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Marco Pasalic, Duncan McGuire.
Atlanta United (4-4-1-1)
Goalkeeper: Jayden Hibbert.
Defenders: Elias Baez, Stian Gregersen, Pedro Amador, Ronald Hernandez.
Midfielders: Cooper Sanchez, Jay Fortune, Will Reilly, Matthew Edwards.
Attacking Midfielder: Aleksey Miranchuk.
Forward: Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Bench: Lucas Hoyos, Juan Berrocal, Tomas Jacob, Tristan Muyumba, Matias Galarza, Sergio Santos, Saba Lobjanidze.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.
TV/Live Stream: Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.
Enjoy the match. Go City!
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