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

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2 years ago

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Orlando City’s season came to an end in Nissan Stadium after a 3-1 loss on the road to Nashville SC in the MLS playoffs. Daryl Dike scored early on to give Orlando a lead, but Hany Mukhtar’s brace and a late goal from Jhonder Cadiz snuffed out Orlando’s postseason campaign.

How did each player perform in the Lions’ final game of 2021?

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5.5 — El Pulpo didn’t have much of a chance on Nashville’s first goal as Mukhtar’s shot from distance took a deflection. Later on in the first half, Gallese came up with a great diving save to deny Mukhtar’s well-placed shot toward the bottom left corner. He wasn’t able to make a save against Nashville’s two goals in the second half and finished with three saves. Gallese did well in terms of distribution as he was accurate on 10 of his 13 long balls and completed 20 of his 23 passes for an 87% success rate.

D, Emmanuel Mas, 6 — The left back was kept busy against Nashville’s offense as he led the Lions with four tackles and also had three interceptions and two clearances. He was out-paced on Mukhtar’s second goal, with the MVP candidate beat him in the 1-on-1 by racing right to left across the top of the area and no help arrived from the center backs or midfield. Mas also led the Lions with a whopping 85 touches while completing 83% of his 54 passes. He was successful on his lone cross and was subbed off in stoppage time for Silvester van der Water.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The Beefy Swede got twisted around by a good run in the box from CJ Sapong that gave Mukhtar just enough time and space to pick out his shot for Nashville’s second goal. Jansson had two clearances in the match as he worked to stop Nashville’s offense. He completed 48 of his team-high 55 passes for an 87% success rate and had 61 touches to help Orlando build possession out of defense.

D, Antonio Carlos, 5.5 — The Brazilian center back led the team with five clearances, with all five taking place in the first half. His effort to stop Mukhtar’s shot in transition was unfortunate as the deflection prevented Gallese from attempting a save on the first goal. He and Jansson needed to communicate better on the second Mukhtar goal and he was beaten for the insurance goal late by the fresh legs and large frame of Cadiz. Carlos did well on Orlando’s goal as he drew attention with his run towards the near post to open up space for Dike. Carlos ended the game with 64 touches, two interceptions, and 53 passes at a 79% success rate.

D, Ruan, 5 — It was a quiet match from Ruan as the right back finished with 45 touches and 35 passes at a 77% completion rate. He had no shots, crosses, or key passes as Orlando wasn’t able to get him involved on offense. Ruan also didn’t have any defensive stats as most of Nashville’s scoring opportunities came on the counter rather than building possession on his side of the pitch. During a game in which Orlando’s wingers found themselves in good positions, it’s surprising that Ruan wasn’t able to utilize his speed to impose himself more on the match.

MF, Sebas Mendez, 6 — The Ecuadorian midfielder had a pair of shots following corner kicks in the second half. The first shot would have been on target but was deflected out of play while the second was sent just wide of goal. Mendez helped out on defense with a tackle and two interceptions, but he could’ve better pressured Sapong on the play that led to Nashville’s second goal. His yellow card in the 65th minute took some of the bite out of his presence in the midfield as he had to be a bit more decisive in his challenges. Mendez was substituted off for more firepower in the 80th minute, finishing with 58 touches and 48 passes at a 90% success rate.

MF, Junior Urso, 4.5 — The Bear had one of his roughest performances this year. His turnover in the midfield wasn’t solely on him due to the weight of the pass, but it led to Nashville’s equalizer in the 21st minute as Godoy picked his pocket and Mukhtar was there to make something happen. While Urso completed 90% of his 39 passes, he was sluggish at times against Nashville in the midfield and indecisive in the final third. Of his two shots, one was off target while the other was easily handled by Joe Willis. His lone key pass set Nani up for a shot that was blocked. Urso’s only defensive stat was a block and he ended the game with 51 touches.

MF, Benji Michel, 5 — The winger made decent runs at times and got into good areas but wasn’t able to make much happen. There were indecisive moments, slips, and heavy touches that affected him throughout the night. Although he led Orlando with two key passes, Michel had no shots in 75 minutes of action and often tried a cutback move that Nashville had no trouble dealing with. The Homegrown Player had 37 touches and completed 14 of his 17 passes for an 82% success rate. It was a rough outing for Michel, although he helped defensively with a tackle and won four of his five aerial duels on offense. His biggest contribution in the match was winning the corner that led to Orlando’s goal.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — The Uruguayan delivered a perfect ball from a corner kick for Dike to get on the end of to give the Lions an early lead. Although that assist was Pereyra’s only key pass and the one of his five crosses that was successful, there were other great passes from the Designated Player throughout the match. However, Nashville did a good job cutting off passes and double teaming him, as he ended the game with 50 passes at a 74% success rate. Pereyra had 67 touches, a tackle, an interception, and picked up a yellow card while playing every minute of the match.

MF, Chris Mueller, 4.5 — In his last game as a Lion, Mueller struggled to get much going on offense. He didn’t have any shots or key passes and was unsuccessful on his lone cross. He played 81 minutes and completed 28 of his 38 passes for a 74% completion rate. Mueller had 51 touches in the match and helped out defensively with two tackles as well. Like Michel, Mueller lacked a killer instinct when attacking and wasn’t able to lift the Lions as his time in Orlando comes to a close.

F, Daryl Dike, 7 (MotM) — The forward scored yet again against Nashville as he gave the Lions an early lead in the 14th minute. Dike did well to meet a corner kick from Pereyra to flick a header past Willis and into the back of the net. His other shot was blocked late in the match as Orlando hunted for an equalizer that never came. Dike won four of his seven aerial duels to gain possession upfield and finished with 22 touches and 11 passes at a 73% success rate. The 21-year-old is our Man of the Match for stepping up and scoring on the road against one of the best defenses in MLS.

Substitutes

F, Nani (75‘), 6 — Coming onto the field just moments after Mukhtar gave Nashville the lead, Nani gave the Lions a needed spark to try and claw their way back into the match. His only shot was heading in but was blocked by Walker Zimmerman and neither of his two crosses were successful despite good service into the box. He had 16 touches and completed four of his eight passes. The Designated Player ultimately wasn’t able to give the Lions an equalizer in a tough environment, but was able to create some chances.

F, Alexandre Pato (80’), 6 — Pato didn’t have any shots or key passes, but still did a good job facilitating play in the midfield once he came on. His silky movement also won a free kick in a dangerous area for Orlando to take advantage of. He finished with eight touches and completed five of his six passes.

F, Tesho Akindele (81’), 6 — Although both of Akindele’s shots were off target, they weren’t easy chances. On the first, he tried to weave a quick shot around Daniel Lovitz and he followed with a flicked a header towards the far post that went wide. He also had a key pass for heading a ball towards Dike, who had his shot blocked. Akindele was successful on three of his five aerial duels, had seven touches, and completed all five of his passes.

MF, Silvester van der Water (90’+2), N/A — The Dutchman came on late in an effort to throw everything Orlando had at Nashville. His only cross was successful as he whipped a great ball in that found Akindele in the box. That was about the extent of his contributions though as Cadiz scored shortly after and the whistle blew. Van der Water had four touches and completed one of his two passes.

That’s how I saw things play out in Orlando’s 3-1 loss on the road to Nashville SC. Make sure to leave your thoughts down below and vote for your Orlando City Man of the Match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Daryl Dike29
Mauricio Pereyra3
Emmanuel Mas0
Nani1
Other (Comment Below)4

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look to right the ship on the road in Philadelphia.

Published

11 hours ago

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May 11, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City SC (2-5-3, 9 points) and the Philadelphia Union (3-2-5, 14 points) at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the first of two regular-season meeting between the Eastern Conference clubs in 2024, with the Union scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Oct. 2.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 5-7-6 in the 18 MLS meetings with the Union since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015, and 6-8-6 in all competitions. The Lions are 3-5-1 against the Union on the road in league play and 3-6-1 away against Philadelphia in all competitions.

The teams last met on June 21, 2023 in Orlando, with the Lions blowing a two-goal lead in a controversial 2-2 draw. Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda scored early in each half, only to see Jack McGlynn score on a cross into the box that missed everyone and got past Mason Stajduhar at the far post, followed by a rocket shot by Jose Martinez from distance. Ivan Angulo’s would-be game winner by Ivan Angulao was chalked off after a questionable foul call in the buildup against Ercan Kara.

The teams met in Philadelphia most recently on March 25, 2023 with the Lions jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Angulo and Ojeda. Former Lion Andres Perea pulled one back but the Lions held on for a 2-1 road win. The victory snapped Philadelphia’s incredible 24-match home unbeaten streak.

The Union put the Lions to the sword in the last meeting of 2022, a dominant 5-1 win by Philadelphia on Sept. 10 of that year. That was Orlando’s first match since winning the U.S. Open Cup title three days earlier. Joao Moutinho’s own goal started the scoring and the Union got goals from Mikael Uhre, Daniel Gazdag (penalty), Alejandro Bedoya, and Jack Elliott. Perea, who was then still a Lion, scored for Orlando but the team was trailing by 4-0 at the time.

The Eastern Conference foes met on July 23, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Two controversial video review decisions went against Orlando that night and the Lions were wasteful with their chances in an evenly matched 1-0 Philadelphia win. Gazdag scored the game’s only goal off a set piece.

The teams also met in U.S. Open Cup play on May 10, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-1 at home. Kara and Perea hoisted Orlando to a 2-0 lead. Stuart Findlay pulled one back late, but the Lions saw it out and advanced.

On Sept. 19, 2021 the Union prevailed 3-1 at Subaru Park, largely due to a brace by Kacper Przybylko after he got away with what appeared a clear elbow to the face of Rodrigo Schlegel. Instead of being sent off and/or conceding a free kick to Orlando City, the Union scored on the ensuing play and went on to win the match. The teams met in Orlando on July 22, 2021 and the Lions got goals by Benji Michel and Perea on the team’s only two shots on target to win 2-1. Przybylko, who had feasted on Orlando since arriving in Philadelphia, pulled one back for the visitors but the Lions hung on.

The teams faced each other in the group stage of the MLS is Back Tournament in 2020 in the only meeting to date that did not take place in either side’s home stadium. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after a Mauricio Pereyra goal canceled out a strike by Ilsinho. That draw allowed the Lions to win Group A in the competition and they went on to reach the final.

The Lions and Union tangled in what was then known as Talen Energy Stadium on July 7, 2019, with the teams drawing, 2-2. Dom Dwyer and Santiago Patino brought Orlando back from 1-0 down but Przybylko poached a goal in the 90th to capture a share of the points for the Union. That match was postponed by MLS on the night it was set to take place — a move that Orlando City fought against — and instead was played the next day.

The two teams had met just a few days earlier on July 3, ending in Orlando’s 3-1 home loss against the Union. Chris Mueller and Przybylko swapped goals in the first half before Robin Jansson was sent off just prior to the break. Afterwards, the 10-man Lions gave up two more goals — to Przybylko and Fafa Picault — and then went down another man with Sacha Kljestan seeing red.

The teams drew 2-2 in a wild finish on Sept. 1, 2018 in Orlando. Just when it looked like Picault had lifted the Union to victory with a strike in the 88th minute, Scott Sutter equalized in stoppage time to salvage a point for the Lions. Dwyer and Cory Burke also scored in that match. The Lions prevailed over the Union in Philadelphia on April 13, 2018 by a 2-0 score. Dwyer and Mueller provided the offense. Orlando and Philadelphia also met that season in U.S. Open Cup play, with the Union capturing a 1-0 home win back on July 18, 2018 on a goal by Bedoya.

The teams split their two matches in 2017, with the home side prevailing both times. The Lions won 2-1 at Orlando City Stadium on March 18. The rematch was an ugly 6-1 Philadelphia win in the season finale for both teams.

The Lions were 1-1-1 against Philadelphia in 2016. The team’s first road victory in the series came on Oct. 16, 2016, as the Lions roared, 2-0. The teams played to a 2-2 draw on May 25 in Orlando. Tranquillo Barnetta’s free kick gave Philly a 2-1 win.

Orlando drew 0-0 at home and lost on the road, 1-0 (on a penalty kick), against Philadelphia in 2015.

Overview

Orlando City enters tonight’s match looking to turn things around after two straight losses put a screeching halt to a four-game unbeaten run. The most recent of those was last Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to FC Cincinnati on a goal conceded in the opening half minute. From there, Cincinnati didn’t create a lot, but Orlando struggled to finish and fell at home.

Orlando is 1-2-1 on the road this season, but the draw and the win came in the Lions’ two most recent away matches at Montreal and D.C. United, respectively. One reason for that is that Orlando scored a total of five goals in those two matches, whereas the team has struggled to score for most of the season so far.

Philadelphia enters tonight also not quite living up to expectations, but at least the Union are currently above the playoff line — in eighth place, which would result in having to start with the play-in game if Philly stays where it is. The Union are just 1-2-1 at home so far this season — a far cry from their long home unbeaten streak the Lions snapped in their 2023 visit to Subaru Park.

coming off a weekend off following a 2-1 road loss at San Jose 11 days ago. The Union are 3-4-1 on the road in 2023, however, Philly had won three straight on the road and was unbeaten in four prior to visiting the Earthquakes. Only three Eastern Conference teams have scored more goals than Philadelphia’s 28, yet only three Eastern teams have conceded fewer than the 17 goals the Union have allowed. Philly enters on a four-match winless skid (0-2-2), which includes losses in the team’s last two home games against Western Conference opponents Seattle and Real Salt Lake.

Typically, the Union like to deploy in a 4-4-2 diamond formation under Jim Curtin. Gazdag is the key man as he can both score and turn provider for others. He leads the Union with six goals to go along with one assist in 2024. Carranza, who is Philly’s second-leading scorere, will miss the match due to yellow card accumulation, but Uhre is another danger man that Orlando City must always keep under wraps. Uhre is third among Union scorers with three goals on the season, and he has one assist as well. The surprise player for Philadelphia in 2024 has been Quinn Sullivan, who leads Philly with four assists on the year. Bedoya has chipped in three assists, and fullback Kai Wagner — always a threat with crosses and set pieces — also has three.

“Philadelphia, a very traditional model they have. They have changed a couple things here and there, but not many changes on the roster,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “What I see from Philadelphia is a very traditional team that plays very direct. They are trying to find the best version too. That’s what we see.” 

Orlando City will be without Rodrigo Schlegel (suspension), Ramiro Enrique (ankle), Rafael Santos (shoulder), and Homegrown defender Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh), while Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (concussion protocol) is listed as questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (3-5-2),

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Robin Jansson, Wilder Cartagena, David Brekalo.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Martin Ojeda, Nico Lodeiro, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, Alex Freeman, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Abdi Salim, Felipe, Jeorgio Kocevski, Yutaro Tsukada, Jack Lynn.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2 diamond)

Goalkeeper: Oliver Semmle.

Defenders: Kai Wagner, Damion Lowe, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel.

Midfielders: Jose Martinez, Jack McGlynn, Daniel Gazdag, Alejandro Bedoya.

Forwards: Quinn Sullivan, Michael Uhre.

Bench: Andrew Rick, Olwethu Makhanya, Jack Elliott, Jeremy Rafanello, Jesus Bueno, Leon Flach, Sanders Ngabo, Chris Donovan, Tai Baribo.

Referees:

REF: Timothy Ford.
AR1: Brian Dunn.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4TH: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Michael Radchuk.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Subaru Park — Chester, PA.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Opinion

Resetting Expectations for Orlando City in 2024

What expectations are reasonable for Orlando City fans for the remainder of the 2024 MLS season?

Published

13 hours ago

on

May 11, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After another agonizing loss at home a week ago to FC Cincinnati, Orlando City finds itself near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings almost a third of the way through the regular season. For an organization that entered the 2024 Major League Soccer season with lofty expectations, the beginning of the season has fallen significantly short of preseason projections.

For the most part, the facts that supported those preseason projections still mainly hold true. Orlando brought back its core offensive and defensive pieces, made some specific and pointed acquisitions in an attempt to upgrade, and was still managed by a coach who had enjoyed unparalleled success at the helm for the club.

So with all those things holding true, the head scratching question at this point in the season is what has gone wrong? During the first five to six weeks of the season, Orlando had to balance the regular season and Concacaf Champions Cup. Those days are now long past and that excuse for poor on-field performances no longer holds water.

In years past, Orlando has demonstrated its ability to grow into the season and last year’s record-setting team didn’t find its form until after the Leagues Cup competition. Nonetheless, Orlando City fans have not seen a team stumble out of the gate this badly in recent years. It’s time to reset the expectations for the 2024 MLS season and look to see what the team would have to do to turn the season on its head.

In 2023, Orlando City put up a club-record 63 points by season’s end, but if we break down the numbers of the early season, we can see that it might not be time to press the panic button just yet. Through the first 10 matches of 2023, Orlando put up 14 points on a 4-4-2 record with a goal differential of zero. Orlando City currently sits on nine points through its first 10 matches with a 2-5-3 record and a -7 goal differential. On the surface, those numbers seem to be a stark contrast to one another, but when you take into account a five-goal drubbing at Inter Miami, the goal differential that the team is supporting this year is mainly dragged down by one forgettable outing.

Add in a short-handed loss in Atlanta earlier in March, when the team was banged up and missing Wilder Cartagena due to suspension, as well as a heartbreaking last-ditch collapse against Toronto FC two weeks ago, and the picture starts to look less bleak than just what the numbers would suggest. Still, good teams find ways to not drop points at home and to manage matches where there are pieces of the machine missing.

With 24 matches still on the schedule, there is time to climb the table, but with every dropped point or bad loss the clock ticks closer to midnight and the margin for error becomes smaller.

In 2023, Charlotte FC snuck into the playoff wild card position with 43 points on the season, and only 10 wins. It doesn’t seem wildly out of the imagination that Orlando could reach that level this year. Extrapolating the data going back to 2021, with the current MLS playoff qualifications, a team would need an average of 44 points to make the postseason. That equates to Orlando needing 35 points over its final 24 matches — or 1.45 points per match — to reach the wild card round.

A somewhat more lofty goal would be qualifying for the playoffs without the wild card. Again, going back to average the seventh-place spot in the East over the last three years, Orlando would need to reach 48 points this season to avoid a play-in game. That equates to 39 points over the final 24 matches, or 1.62 points per match. In 2023, Orlando managed 49 points over its final 24 matches of the year — that’s 2.04 points per match.

I am not projecting Orlando to go on that same massive (MLS best) type of run over the summer and fall portions of the season, but I do believe that when it comes to expectations on the season there is still hope to be had for Orlando qualifying for the playoffs. The more likely scenario would be for Orlando to end up in the wild card matchup, but with a few extra matches breaking Orlando’s way, it is not a stretch yet to consider the club could climb slightly higher. There is also still the Leagues Cup on the horizon, and regardless of one’s opinion on the competition, a deep, competitive run in that competition could give meaning to the Lions’ 10th anniversary season.

We can likely put to bed the hopes of competing for the Shield or the top spot in the East at this point in the season, given the number of teams above the Lions and the number of matches remaining. However, it is still far too early to give up on the season as a whole. Orlando was five minutes away from going undefeated in the month of April, and there are still meaningful and winnable games on the calendar ahead. My recalibrated expectation of the season is for Orlando to earn a wild card spot, and anything above that would be gravy as far as I am concerned.

What reset expectations do you have for the year? Let us know in the comments below and as always, Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union

Get caught up with everything you need to know about the Philadelphia Union from someone who knows them best.

Published

2 days ago

on

May 10, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City is set to continue a difficult May schedule Saturday, and will try to avoid a three-game losing streak in the process. This week sees the Lions travel north to face the Philadelphia Union, which will be the first of three taking place in a span of eight days, with two of those on the road, forcing Orlando to shuttle back and forth across the country.

A date with the Union means I caught up with Joe Lister of the always excellent Philadelphia Soccer Now. As usual, Joe was very helpful in getting us caught up on what’s been happening with the Union, and I also answered some of his questions about OCSC, which you can find over at their place.

Run me through Philadelphia’s off-season transfer business. Are there any new names who have stood out?

Joe Lister: Philadelphia’s transfer business is nearly nonexistent. They sold a few guys, but didn’t really bring anyone notable in. The group that will be available against Orlando on Saturday is the same group that’s been around with the team for (generally) two or three years.

Quinn Sullivan, however, has been a relevation this season. His brother, Cavan, has obviously been in the news as of late. However, Quinn, 20, has been great for Philly. He’s got great pace down the side of the pitch and has a motor that doesn’t seem to quit. If he can perfect his final touch, he’ll make the Union a good bit of money.

It’s still quite early in the season, but its strange to see the Union not occupying their typical spot near the top of the East. Is there any concern among the fanbase, or are people largely happy with what they’ve seen so far?

JL: People are upset. This team, by Philly fans’ standards, sucks. The Eastern Conference is obviously super tough this year (Miami and RBNY are worth shoutouts), but Philadelphia just isn’t performing. They nearly lost three games in a row for the first time since 2017 with their draw against D.C. United. They were saved by a blast from Jack McGlynn that they didn’t necessarily deserve.

The Union are underwhelming. The front office has operated under the impression that the teams from 2020, 2021, and 2022 can still compete in MLS. The issue is that while the league has gotten better, the Union have just gotten worse.

The Union’s only two losses of the season have come at home. Is that simply down to playing two good teams in Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders, or is there something else at play there?

JL: That’s just the team being in a funk. Again, this team is underperforming by Philadelphia’s standards. Losing at home is a true showcase of how far this team has fallen. I think the Union will be fine longterm — this is a playoff team, but nothing more than that.

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

JL: Defender Olivier Mbaizo and goalkeeper Andre Blake were both out for last match with injuries. Blake’s been in-and-out all season, but I think the team has started to realize that backup Oliver Semmle is good enough that the three-time Goalkeeper of the Year doesn’t need to always be on the pitch. Julian Carranza is also suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Lineup (4-4-2 diamond): Oliver Semmle; Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel; Jose Martinez; Leon Flach, Alejandro Bedoya; Daniel Gazdag; Quinn Sullivan, Mikael Uhre.

I think this is a 2-2 draw. Based on where the Union are at right now, Orlando will get two first-half goals, the Union will pull back in the second half. Feels like a game where Daniel Gazdag should find the net at some point.

Thank you to Joe for the inside info on the Union. Vamos Orlando!

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