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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Final Score 3-0 as Lions Fall Flat on the Road

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5 years ago

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Orlando City looked like the team below the line and Atlanta appeared to be the conference’s second-place team as the Lions were played completely off the field in a 3-0 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Lions (10-5-8, 38 points) saw their seven-match unbeaten streak snapped by the same Atlanta (7-7-9, 30 points) club that it started against and split the points in the season series, finishing 1-1-1 in the three meetings.

It was a poor night from the Lions in every facet of the game. They didn’t press, defend, pass, attack, or even touch the ball well all night. Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja lost against Atlanta for the first time since taking over the Lions and Gonzalo Pineda won his first game as the Five Stripes’ new coach. George Campbell and Ezequiel Barco scored for Atlanta, sandwiched around a Daryl Dike own goal.

“Very disappointed today. Not just the result but the way that we played,” Pareja said after the game. “I think it’s one of those nights where we couldn’t put our game on the field and Atlanta took advantage of two silly mistakes on those set plays that we had in the first half.”

Pareja’s lineup again featured Adam Grinwis in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Andres Perea started in place of the suspended Junior Urso, beside Joey DeZart in the central midfield. Mauricio Pereyra and Benji Michel were tasked with facilitating the attack in the middle third, with Nani and Dike at the top of the formation.

Despite it being a strong lineup for Orlando, and outside of the central midfield and goalkeeper was more or less a first-choice starting XI, the Lions were never in this one. From the opening minutes, the Lions did little to bother Atlanta or even let the Five Stripes know they were in the game. There was no organization when the Lions pressed, and there were no clear game tactics on display. It was simply an entire game played on the back foot.

Part of the problem was a curious lack of energy by Orlando City, but the midfield was also an issue all night and the forwards’ poor touches and wayward passes didn’t help in those few instances that some semblance of buildup took place. Without Urso or Sebas Mendez, there was no bite in the midfield. Atlanta ran through the Lions in the middle of the pitch with ease, and it wasn’t until Uri Rosell checked in during the game’s later stages that anyone wearing an Atlanta uniform had to turn back with the ball.

“We didn’t look urgent today,” Pareja said. “We were outplayed by intensity, especially in the middle, and then the reactions when the goals came in the first half, they were not natural for us. We were slow to react. The middle of the field looked so big for us. I think we were very spacey.”

Atlanta dominated the opening 45 minutes and it always seemed like a matter of when the hosts would score and how many. Luiz Araujo couldn’t capitalize on a couple of early chances. He hit the left post from the right side in the fourth minute, sending a curling shot off the woodwork after the Lions failed to get anywhere near closing him down from just outside the area.

Five minutes later, Grinwis made a diving save to deny Marcelino Moreno from outside the area when he too was given space. In the 12th minute, it was Araujo again failing to capitalize on a good opportunity, sending a shot just wide of the right post.

During all of these Atlanta chances, the hosts were comfortable in possession as the Lions struggled to even gain possession, let alone string passes together. Orlando hardly crossed the midfield stripe in the opening 20 minutes.

Orlando’s first opportunity came in the 17th minute when Dike was fouled by Alan Franco just outside the area but Nani’s free kick smacked off the wall and skipped out for a throw.

The first dangerous shot by the Lions came in the 20th minute. Moutinho did well to cut inside and find Michel on the left side. Michel fired with his left foot toward the far post but the shot stayed high and sailed just over the bar.

Five minutes later, the hosts scored. Atlanta played a corner kick short, and the Lions kind of milled around as spectators as Moreno was given acres of space to send a cross into the box. Nobody seemed interested in reacting to the cross except Campbell, who headed off the fake grass and past Grinwis to open the scoring.

Atlanta scored off another set piece in the 34th minute. Carlos committed a foul and drew a yellow card just outside the area to Grinwis’ right. Ezequiel Barco sent in a cross that bounced off Nani, hit Dike, then deflected in for an own goal. It was the second Orlando City own goal in the last two matches.

“Tactically they were better than us,” Pereyra said. “They played without a center forward and they’ve got many people with quality in the half pitch. We didn’t know how to accommodate in the pressing that we’d been working on in the week and it’s something that we need to grow now because we should adapt in the game.”

The only potential opportunities Orlando had to break in transition were both broken up by Atlanta defenders. Franco and Campbell were each booked for taking down Michel on the counter. The first would have been a 2-v-1 with Dike but Franco was likely in position to thwart the second, when Campbell drew a yellow for his foul.

It was a deserved lead at the half for the hosts and they honestly didn’t need to work that hard for it. The Lions just seemed flat, bereft of ideas, and both their touch and passing was poor throughout the opening half.

Atlanta United dominated the opening half statistically as it did on the scoreboard, leading in shots (7-3), shots on goal (2-0), possession (63.3%-36.7%), and passing accuracy (90.2%-79%), with each team earning one corner kick.

Any hope that things would change in the second half were quickly dashed. The Lions, trailing by two and needing to show some kind of urgency, failed to register a shot attempt until a weak effort from distance right at Brad Guzan from Perea in the 62nd minute. So, it took 17 minutes to even get an attempt.

In that 17 minutes, Moreno had three chances, sending one well over the bar, hitting a free kick wide, and then hitting a shot just wide after a Michel turnover. Barco also fired just over the net in transition after a Pereyra turnover.

Nani fired a shot from distance in the 71st minute but didn’t get the placement he wanted and it ended up comfortable for Guzan on only the second Orlando shot on target.

Barco put the game away a minute later. Brooks Lennon sent a ball over the top that found Barco, who moved to his right around Ruan, avoided a tackle attempt from Carlos, then beat Grinwis to make it 3-0 in the 72nd minute.

Pareja made some substitutions, including sending Tesho Akindele on for his 200th career MLS appearance, but nothing really changed. Grinwis made two huge stops late on Lennon and George Bello to keep it at 3-0 but the Lions couldn’t threaten Guzan.

Atlanta finished with a whopping 18-8 advantage in shots (5-2 on target), more possession (55.1%-44.9%), more corners (4-3), and a higher passing percentage (87.8%-82.7%). It was simply a terrible game for Orlando and perhaps behind only the trip to play New York City FC that preceded the seven-game unbeaten streak.

“We have to accept it, we have to move on, and the boys will be prepared for the next game,” Pareja said.

The Lions return home for a midweek match-up against Montreal at Exploria Stadium on Wednesday night.

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

The Lions head north for their final match prior to Major League Soccer’s World Cup break.

Published

11 hours ago

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May 23, 2026

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Image of Wilder Cartagena booting the ball against FC Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (4-8-2, 14 points) and FC Cincinnati (4-5-5, 17 points) at TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) in Cincinnati. It’s the first of the two meetings between the teams this season, with FC Cincinnati scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Aug. 15.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

Orlando City leads the all-time series, 5-4-4, with a 3-1-3 mark on the road. The teams last met on Sept. 28, 2025, with Alex Freeman’s goal late in stoppage time salvaging a 1-1 draw for Orlando City on the road, canceling out Kevin Denkey’s second-half strike.

Prior to that, the teams also met last year on June 28 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, with FC Cincinnati winning 2-1. An Evander brace, which included a poorly conceded set piece goal from distance, was enough to offset Marco Pasalic’s goal.

These two teams met at TQL Stadium on Oct. 5, 2024, with the Lions leaving southwest Ohio with a 3-1 victory in their final road match of the regular season. Ramiro Enrique scored twice and had a third chalked off for a controversial foul on a corner kick. He also assisted on a goal by Ivan Angulo in an impressive performance. Luciano Acosta scored Cincinnati’s goal.

These two sides also met on May 4 of that year in Orlando with FC Cincinnati claiming a 1-0 road win on a first-minute goal by Acosta. The Lions went down a man early in the game when Rodrigo Schlegel was called for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on Yuya Kubo. Orlando City had a second-half goal waved off for an offside in the buildup. Cincinnati lost Bret Halsey to a second yellow card late but the Lions couldn’t take advantage.

The teams met in Ohio on Sept. 2, 2023, with the Lions claiming a 1-0 win on enemy soil, becoming the first road team to beat FC Cincinnati all season. Facundo Torres scored the game’s only goal. Orlando had to hold on down a man late when Wilder Cartagena was sent off. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on March 4, 2023 in Orlando.

The Lions fell 1-0 at TQL Stadium on June 24, 2022. A second-half goal from Brenner represented all the offense, but it could have been worse for Orlando City as Pedro Gallese made eight saves in the match. The first meeting of 2022 took place in Orlando on March 12, with FC Cincinnati notching its first win in the all-time series, 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were more in control but were wasteful, despite dominating the stat sheet. The visitors got a brace from Brandon Vazquez to offset Junior Urso’s goal.

The final meeting of 2021 was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati, when Orlando City got its first road victory in the series, 1-0 on Urso’s early goal. Tesho Akindele should have scored a second off the crossbar late in the game, but the play was never reviewed, despite video evidence that the ball was completely across the line.

On Aug. 7, 2021, the match in Cincinnati ended up in a 1-1 draw. Nani’s strike rescued a point after Brenner had opened the scoring for the hosts just before halftime, taking advantage of an obviously injured Uri Rosell, who subbed off moments later. The first of the three meetings in 2021 came on May 21 in Orlando, with the Lions posting a 3-0 win. Akindele scored in the first minute and Nani and Urso each added a goal.

In Orlando’s first trip to the banks of the Ohio River, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019. Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescued a point for the Lions after Allan Cruz had given the hosts a lead. The draw officially eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention that year, but realistically the Lions had been out of it for a while.

The first-ever meeting between the two sides took place on May 19, 2019, when the Lions pummeled the expansion side, 5-1. Both Nani and Akindele bagged braces in the match and Dom Dwyer added a goal as well.

Overview

The Lions are coming off back-to-back matches at home against Atlanta United. Orlando City conceded a late goal a week ago, allowing the Five Stripes to snatch a point in a 1-1 draw. On Tuesday night, Orlando City ran roughshod over Atlanta in the first half on the way to a 4-0 lead at the break and a 4-1 win. The Lions are playing their fifth match in 15 days, and now they take their heavy legs with them on the road, where they are a terrible 1-5-1 on the season.

FC Cincinnati is the much better-rested side, having last played a week ago in a wild 3-3 draw at San Diego FC. That match featured two goals deep in stoppage time, with Cincy scoring the final one in the 98th minute to snatch a road point. Tonight’s hosts are 3-2-1 at home this year, but they’re also 0-1-2 in their last three games.

To win tonight, the Lions will have to play much better defense than they have throughout most of the season. Cincinnati is second in the Eastern Conference and tied for third in MLS in goals scored (30). Neither side has been good defensively, with Orlando continuing to lead Major League Soccer in goals conceded (38) and FC Cincinnati second in that category (35). Orlando City’s offense has come to life in recent weeks — at least at home — but with so many miles logged in May, the Lions can’t afford to make tonight’s match a track meet.

“We are preparing this game like it’s the most important, not because it’s more important than the previous ones, but because the next one always is the more important for us,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “So, it’s true that this one is the last one of this semester (before the World Cup break), but for us it’s about one game at a time, so hopefully we can do a good job against Cincinnati. We know them. I think they know us as well. Both of us, we changed a little bit some things, but Cincy’s a good team and we’re going to be ready to go there and do our best in order to bring the points to Orlando.”

The Lions will be without Joran Gerbet (knee), while Tyrese Spicer (ankle) is questionable. FC Cincinnati will be without Teenage Hadebe (leg) and Alvas Powell (leg).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forward: Martin Ojeda, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Marco Pasalic, Tyrese Spicer, Duncan McGuire.

FC Cincinnati (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Roman Celentano.

Defenders: Kyle Smith, Matt Miazga, Samuel Gidi.

Wingbacks/Midfielders: Bryan Ramirez, Gerardo Valenzuela, Evander, Obinna Nwobodo, Pavel Bucha.

Forwards: Kenji Mboma Dem, Kevin Denkey.

Bench: Evan Louro, Ayoub Lajhar, Gilberto Flores, Nick Hagglund, Andrei Chirila, Brian Anunga, Ender Echenique, Tom Barlow, Ayoub Jabbari.

Referees

REF: Rubiel Vazquez.
AR1: Cory Richardson.
AR2: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho.
4TH: Allen Chapman.
VAR: Ismir Pekmic.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: TQL Stadium — Cincinnati, OH.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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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Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati

Learn everything you need to know about this year’s FC Cincinnati team, courtesy of someone who knows it best.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 22, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It hasn’t been the easiest of 2026 seasons for Orlando City, but things have been better lately. The Lions have started to pick up a few wins and booked a place in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, thanks to a raucous midweek win over Atlanta United. With just one match remaining before going on break for the World Cup, OCSC will try to finish the first half of the season strong when it hits the road to take on FC Cincinnati.

A bout with Cincy means I spoke to Rupesh Sharma, one of the authors over at Cincinnati Soccer Talk. He was kind enough to bring us up to speed on this season’s iteration of FCC, and we appreciate his help.

Talk me through FCC’s off-season transfer business. Who went out the door, and who came in to replace them?

Rupesh Sharma: FCC did not have an especially busy transfer season. There were two major outbound transfers at the end of the 2025 season. Brenner returned to Italy after his loan spell with FCC ended.  The club tried to work out a permanent transfer but a deal could not be reached. Luca Orellano also left FCC, joining Monterrey. 

Inbound, FCC brought in Tom Barlow via free agency as depth on the forward line.  He has scored four goals in MLS play this season, including the last-second tying goal this past weekend in San Diego. The second major player brought in was left back Bryan Ramírez from Quito. Bryan is still finding his footing in MLS but has started most of the games this season.

Like Orlando, keeping the ball out of the net seems to have been an issue for Cincy, as the club has conceded the second-most goals in the league. What has been going wrong on the back line, and how does it get fixed?

RS: In 2025, the defense overperformed its underlying expected goal numbers, allowing about 20 fewer goals than expected.  This led to a belief that the team had a stronger defense than it did. A regression to the mean should have been expected, but that does not entirely explain why the defense has been so poor. My feeling is that the defense got old and that a lot of the players the club was going to lean on have been injured this year.  Each of the top four center backs in Miles Robinson, Matt Miazga, Teenage Hadebe, and Nick Hagglund have missed significant time. FCC may have found a solution to its “old” defense in 17-year old center back Andrei Chirilâ, who has come on and played significant minutes in three matches until he got a concussion against Miami.  I do not believe this defense is going to get better until it finds some more young talent.

Aside from the headline names of Evander and Kevin Denkey, who has been the most important player for Cincinnati up to this point?

RS: The most important under the radar player to me the last two seasons has been Pavel Bucha. Last season, he was the glue in the midfield and this season, he has played wherever Coach Noonan has asked him to. Bucha has started the last five games at right back, and after a rough first few minutes at the position, he has looked pretty good. He has a goal and three assists from right back this year.

Will any players be unavailable due to injuries, suspensions, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

RS: Miles Robinson took a knock in the first half of Saturday’s match in San Diego and according to Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press, he was not in training on Wednesday, so I would expect him to miss the match. 17-year-old Andrei Chirila, who has been a revelation this season, was in concussion protocol after the Miami match, but he has reportedly cleared it and could be available this week. Teenage Hadebe picked up a leg injury a few weeks ago, so I would expect him to miss this match.

I would expect the lineup to look something like this:

Roman Celentano; Kyle Smith, Matt Miazga, Nick Hagglund; Bryan Ramirez, Gerardo Valenzuela, Samuel Gidi, Pavel Bucha; Evander; Kevin Denkey, Kenji Dem.

[No score prediction provided.]

Thank you to Rupesh for the excellent primer on FC Cincinnati. Vamos Orlando!

Image of the famous "The more you know" graphic from TV.
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Orlando City

PawedCast Episode 534: Atlanta USOC Rewind, Cincinnati Preview, and More

The Lions advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals and close out the pre-World Cup schedule at FC Cincinnati.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 22, 2026

By

Image of Tiago attacking against Atlanta United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City bounced back from conceding late in a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United at home to crush Atlanta United 4-1 at home. The rematch between the Eastern Conference rivals turned into a rout as the Lions built a 4-0 halftime lead and saw the match out in the second half to advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. It was a big night for the likes of Tiago, Griffin Dorsey, Braian Ojeda, and others.

We break down the match, discuss the many goals and breakaway opportunities, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

After our game rewind, we touched on Marco Pasalic being named to Croatia’s World Cup squad. Congrats to Orlando City’s right winger!

Our mailbagbox asked us about spying. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we discussed Orlando City B’s upcoming match against Inter Miami II on Sunday. The Young Lions are much higher in the table but in a rivalry match, anything can happen — especially in an OCB rivalry match.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s final match before the World Cup break. The Lions head north to face FC Cincinnati on Saturday. There will be a lot of heavy legs and possibly a bit of a letdown emotionally after a charged win over rival Atlanta in a knockout game. We discuss the series history, provide our key matchups, and make our final score predictions.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 534 went down:

0:15 – The Lions destroyed Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. It was fun!

25:02 – Our mailbagbox is small and surveillance-related.

32:06 – OCB hosts rival Miami while the senior Lions head for Cincy in a weekend filled with Orlando soccer.

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