Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. LA Galaxy: Final Score 1-0 as Lions Get First Ever Win in California on a Facundo Torres Goal

Published

3 years ago

on

The last time Orlando City played the LA Galaxy, the Los Angeleenos came into Exploria Stadium and smash-and-grabbed a 1-0 win despite being dominated by the hosts. The Lions (2-1-1, 7 points) returned the favor today at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles with a 1-0 road win over the Galaxy (2-2-0, 6 points) on an early Facundo Torres goal.

It was Orlando’s first ever win in the state of California and may have erased some of the bad taste from being victimized a week ago by FC Cincinnati at home on a similar smash-and-grab. The Lions held their concentration for 95 minutes, weathering 20 shots and an incredible number of set pieces to keep LA’s offense quiet.

“Today we showed a lot of things that we liked and we’re looking (to build on), which is our character, and willingness, and our braveness to be a team that can go away and get results and be strong at home,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We’re very pleased. I think we won a game against a very good rival in a difficult place. Our boys did a fantastic job.”

Pareja made one change from the team that dominated — but lost — at home to Cincinnati a week ago, inserting defensive midfielder Sebas Mendez for Alexandre Pato. Pedro Gallese had the usual back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan in front of him. Cesar Araujo, Junior Urso, and Sebas Mendez were deployed to slow down the Galaxy attack, while Mauricio Pereyra was the main facilitator for Torres and Ercan Kara.

Urso played as a false winger and Pareja said that although Araujo has been playing well and learning the league quickly, he wanted to give him some help for this match against LA’s tough attacking players.

“Today (we were) playing against a very good team with good players,” Pareja said. “That’s why we decided to reinforce the middle. We thought it was obvious that some territory would be conceded to LA, but sometimes you have to choose. I would like to see more control with the ball and the way we want to do things.”

The Galaxy were on the front foot from the jump, working the ball around the perimeter and looking to slip balls through or over to Chicharito and Kevin Cabral in the middle. Sometimes they’d try balls over the top from Victor Vazquez and came close to connecting a few times. Rayan Raveloson took the game’s first shot from the top of the area and Jansson got a piece of it to deflect it out for a corner on a dangerous early chance in the third minute.

Jansson did well to deny a dangerous cross from Julian Araujo a minute later when a cross from Vazquez found the fullback sneaking toward the back post. Orlando did well to clear multiple LA set pieces to keep the game scoreless, and that allowed the Lions to strike first.

Torres opened the scoring in the ninth minute in transition. Ruan sent Kara down the right flank and the Designated Player picked out a perfect cross for the onrushing Uruguayan to nod home for his first MLS goal on Orlando’s first shot attempt. It was Kara’s first MLS assist as well.

“Kara was able to get the ball high up the field and I knew that he was going to put it in, so I needed to anticipate where he was going to put the ball and try to find the space in (between) the defenders,” Torres said through a club interpeter. “Thankfully I was able to get up, and now we’re taking a goal and three points home as I go back to Uruguay for the international window.”

Torres said he feels the chemistry starting to build with Kara up top after the Austrian international’s return from injury.

“We’re all kind of integrating into this team, especially with Ercan being able to come in and go a few more minutes and adjust with everyone,” Torres said. “It provides a respite for us in the attack. A lot of us in the attack are a little bit on the smaller side. So, having someone out there that’s big and physical gives us a respite and we’re able to create a lot of options behind the defense with that. It’s coming along and I think we’re on a good path.”

Orlando was bolstered by the go-ahead goal and created a couple more opportunities. Ruan bombed down the right in the 12th minute in plenty of space but his cross attempt was well behind his attacking teammates. In the 15th minute, Kara looked to be in position to double the lead but he was run down from behind by Raheem Edwards at the last second while teeing up a shot. He could have perhaps played in Urso instead for a better chance.

Less than a minute later, Chicharito nearly tied the game. He sent a spinning shot on target but Gallese did well to make a save. Cabral couldn’t make good contact with the rebound, allowing the goalkeeper to collect it.

The Galaxy had some near misses on shots and crosses as the first half wound down. A cross was inches in front of Cabral in the six in the 35th minute. LA won multiple corners down the stretch as Orlando struggled to hold possession and to hold the hosts at bay.

Cabral went down a bit easily in the 44th minute on a minor bump by Ruan on a ball over the top. The referee not only bought it, giving LA a free kick just outside the area but also booked Orlando’s right back. Douglas Costa hit the ensuing free kick into the wall.

Orlando got one more decent look in the second minute of stoppage time, with Torres blasting a shot from outside the area that sliced wide of the goal.

LA dominated the stat sheet at halftime, with more possession (60%-40%), shots (10-3), shots on target (2-1), corners (5-0), and passing accuracy (90.2%-82.9%).

The second half was much more of the same, as the hosts won another corner within 30 seconds of the restart en route to seven in the second half and 12 in the match. That’s not even counting a number of set pieces that weren’t corner kicks. Somehow, the Orlando defense held firm.

Efrain Alvarez had a go just moments into the second half but couldn’t get his shot on frame.

The Lions nearly created something off the mounting number of set pieces in the 52nd minute. Orlando got forward in transition after clearing a corner and Araujo fired a shot toward goal but a desperation slide by a defender knocked the ball out for an Orlando corner. Carlos got his head on the ensuing set piece delivery from Pereyra but the cross was behind him and he could only harmlessly pop it well over the goal.

After Orlando dealt with two more quick corners from the Galaxy, the Lions created a chance at the other end when Urso slipped Ruan down the right side of the area. With Kara in the middle and Torres running at the back post, the right back sent his cross harmlessly at the keeper instead of across the top of the six, wasting a chance to double the lead in the 56th minute.

A moment later, that looked like it would cost Orlando when Moutinho gave the ball away in his own defensive third. Carlos cleared the dangerous cross in from the wing to snuff out the danger.

Chicharito laid a pass off for Cabral at the top of the area in the 59th minute but the Galaxy forward whiffed badly on his swing and made a mess of the shot. Two minutes later, Edwards fired from the left corner of the box but missed wide of the far post. LA had a great passing sequence moments later to free up a shot for Chicharito at the top of the area but his effort skipped a foot wide of the left post.

Former Lion Sacha Kljestan came on in the second half and fizzed a shot over Gallese’s goal in the 73rd minute from distance.

Orlando finally fashioned another decent chance in the 77th but substitute Kyle Smith hit his shot at goalkeeper Jonathan Bond. A minute later, Alvarez skipped past Moutinho in the corner and fizzed a shot across the front of goal that hit Gallese but the keeper was able to smother it, preventing it from bouncing in or dangerously out in front.

Neither team got a clear-cut look the rest of the way. Chicharito skied a header well over from the top of the area on a good cross in and the Lions did well to waste most of the five minutes of stoppage time. The lone exception was when sub Benji Michel tried to take on Julian Araujo at the corner of the box rather than taking the ball to the corner. He lost control and teammate Cesar Araujo took a tactical foul — and a yellow card — that he ordinarily wouldn’t have had to take.

Moments later, the Lions had their victory.

Like the Lions a week ago, LA led in every statistical category but the most important one at full time. The Galaxy had more possession (62.8%-37.2%), shots (20-6), shots on target (3-2), corners (12-2), and passing accuracy (89%-82.2%).

“I was very proud of the players,” Pareja said. “The full squad had a terrific week of training, trying to bounce back from that result we had at home. That control that we had defensively and the concentration today was first class against a good rival.”

The Lions will be out west again in their next game as Orlando City visits the Portland Timbers next Sunday. That is also an afternoon start, at 4 p.m. Eastern.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

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.

Published

18 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

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!

Continue Reading

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?

Published

20 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

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!

Continue Reading

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.

Published

23 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

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!

Continue Reading

Trending