Connect with us

Orlando City

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

Published

3 years ago

on

Well, I don’t think that went the way any of us were hoping it would. Orlando City had an excellent first half but a lapse of concentration and house of horrors error saw the Lions fighting an uphill battle all night long. The question now is, how did the men in purple grade individually in Orlando City’s 4-2 home loss to LAFC?

Let’s have a look at my player grades and Man of the Match from a night to forget for the good guys.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5 — It was a pretty quiet game from El Pulpo. Gallese passed at a 100% rate on his 13 attempts, which was good, but he was unable to do anything about any of the four LAFC goals, finishing with zero saves on LAFC’s four shots on target. The first two he was completely helpless on, and he might have gotten a bit stranded at his near post on Brian Rodriguez’s opener for the visitors, but it’s hard to be too picky considering the defensive breakdowns in other areas. He’ll have wished he did better on Ilie Sanchez’s go-ahead goal, since it went in fairly close to him, but he didn’t see it until late as it came through a mass of bodies. Overall, a tough night for Orlando City’s netminder.

D, Joao Moutinho, 7 — This was probably one of Moutinho’s better games of recent memory. He was menacing going forward and popped up in the attack often, usually to good effect. He completed a dribble, passed at a 77% rate, made two tackles, three interceptions, a clearance, a blocked shot, and won an aerial duel. His 92 touches led the team and he also did very well to move into unoccupied space at the back post and blast his shot low into the far corner for his goal. He loses points for failing to track Rodriguez into the box on the opening goal, but it was a mostly good night for him. He led the team in shots (4) and tied for the team’s most shots on target (2), creating one scoring chance.

D, Antonio Carlos, N/A — It was not good to see Carlos go down after only 15 minutes, and even worse to see him need a stretcher to be taken off the field. Hopefully the injury is nothing more than a nasty hyperextension but only time will tell. The Brazilian was playing pretty well up until he went down, and it might not be an accident that Orlando shipped an unusually high amount of goals in a game played mostly without him. Before going off, Carlos completed all 11 of his pass attempts.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — It was a mixed bag from Jansson. He did some really good things like winning two aerial duels and recording one tackle, two interceptions, and a clearance, passing at a 91% clip, and getting forward into the attack a couple times. Nine of his 11 long balls were accurate. Unfortunately, he and Moutinho failed to communicate in time to track Rodriguez on the first goal. It wasn’t a bad game from the Swede, but it wasn’t his best either.

D, Ruan, 5 — The good things Ruan did were recording a tackle, an interception, and a clearance, and completing a dribble. The bad is the hesitation on Carlos Vela’s ball that led to the first goal and the monstrously ill-advised back pass that gifted LAFC its second goal. He seemed to be trying to head it back for Gallese to collect, but he was in traffic and it was horribly misjudged, and the visitors couldn’t have asked for anything easier. That he was subbed out in favor of Kyle Smith while Orlando City was chasing the game was likely half due to tired legs and half due to a performance that he’ll want to put in the rearview mirror.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — At 89%, Araujo passed the ball well, creating two scoring chances and completing two of his four long balls, and defensively he also made two tackles. He picked up a completely needless fourth yellow card of the season for getting in Francisco Ginella’s face after he was deemed to have fouled his fellow Uruguayan, and he took umbrage with the decision. The youngster also had a couple of bad giveaways in the midfield on a night where LAFC looked dangerous on the counter to begin with.

MF, Junior Urso, 5.5 — This score maybe feels a little harsh, but the Bear’s influence on proceedings faded badly after halftime. He recorded a tackle and an interception and passed at 89% on the night. He also attempted one shot that didn’t hit the target and drew five opposition fouls, but his second half display contrasted badly with what he was able to do in the first period. Like the rest of Orlando City, he wasn’t able to get involved offensively as much during the second 45 minutes, and he also struggled to slow LAFC in transition moments.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — Torres looked lively out there, and was unlucky to not get an assist on an absolutely beautiful run of first-half play. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold or curl his run long enough to beat the offside trap. Still, he led the Lions with three successful dribbles, had one tackle and one interception, created two scoring chances, completed one of his two long balls, and passed at an 87% rate. He drew three fouls on LAFC with his quick movement, and all three could have been yellow cards. He looks more and more comfortable every week.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 7 — Pererya’s pass over the top to Ercan Kara for Orlando’s opening goal was perfection. The vision to see it, the weight and accuracy to put the ball exactly where it needed to be…chef’s kiss. He then did just as well to pick out Moutinho and deliver the ball to him for Orlando’s second goal, and he had a hugely influential first half. Like most everyone else, his second half was less effective but he still finished with four chances created, one dribble, two tackles, and two assists (one primary, one secondary). He was accurate on four of six long balls. The biggest knock on his performance is that he struggled to connect with teammates in the attacking half after halftime.

MF, Alexandre Pato, 7.5 (MotM) — Man, Pato is just different gravy. He looked dangerous from the moment the ball was kicked. He combined well with Torres and Kara on the goal that was chalked out for offside and he continues to see passing lanes and runs that no one else on the field does. His volleyed goal was supremely difficult to pull off, yet he made it look easy. He waited for the ball to drop, kept his knee over it without leaning back, and fired it low into the corner where Maxime Crepeau couldn’t reach it. He was heavily involved aside from his goal with two successful dribbles, two chances created, a tackle, and he even won an aerial duel. He maybe could have done better with a late header that he didn’t place far enough away from Crepeau late, and his passing rate of 53.9% needs to be better, but he was still the Lions’ best performer on the night.

F, Ercan Kara, 7 — It was a good night from Kara. He’s still yet to open his scoring account but his awareness to head the ball back across goal for Pato to volley home — for his second MLS assist — was excellent and the quality of the header itself was also top notch. His dummy for the offside goal was very clever, and he too looks to be meshing better in the attack with every passing game. He was unlucky not to grab a late equalizer for the Lions but he couldn’t generate enough power on a well-placed header and was unable to get it past Crepeau. He had the second-most shots on the team, with three (one on frame), created a scoring chance, and it feels like a matter of time before he gets off the mark. He chipped in a pair of defensive clearances as well.

Substitutes

D, Rodrigo Schlegel (18’), 5.5 — Schlegel had a difficult task on the night, as he came in completely cold for the injured Carlos and was asked to deal with the high octane LAFC attack. For the most part, he did well. The Argentine led the team in tackles with three, won one aerial duel, recorded two interceptions, two clearances, and a block, and passed at a 95% rate. However, he got caught well up the pitch on the first LAFC goal and he could maybe have smacked the ball clear before Sanchez scored, but he didn’t, and then got picked by an LAFC player and was unable to fight through and get his body in the way. All in all, it was a typical hard-working shift from him but one he’ll want to improve upon.

D, Kyle Smith (72’) 6 — Smith had an interception, a tackle, and won an aerial duel in a little over 15 minutes on the field. Overall, he didn’t impact the game much and he wasn’t able to add anything offensively, but the numbers back up that he was his usual solid self defensively.

F, Benji Michel (72’) 6 — Benji provided a bit more verticality to the Orlando attack after coming on, and was given long balls to run onto several times. He had a decent chance to shoot or pass on the left side of the goal shortly after coming on but a heavy touch meant that Orlando had to settle for a corner. He whistled a shot very close to the far post and made an absolutely lung-busting recovery run to make a slide tackle and prevent a chance for LAFC on the counter.

F, Tesho Akindele (83’) N/A — In a brief cameo, Tesho didn’t have a ton of influence on the game with only three touches of the ball. He did win an aerial duel and pressed hard from the front as usual.

F, Silvester van der Water (83’) N/A — Van der Water had 10 touches in his brief time on the field and his deflected cross very nearly resulted in a goal for Alexandre Pato.

That’s how we saw the individual performances in this one. Feel free to share your opinions down in the comments, and make sure to vote for the Man of the Match in the poll below.

Polling Closed

Player Votes
Joao Moutinho 12
Mauricio Pereyra 4
Ercan Kara 1
Alexandre Pato 39
Other (Shout them out in the comments) 0
Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-0 road win over Inter Miami?

Published

4 hours ago

on

May 19, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City went on the road and claimed a huge three points against Inter Miami CF in Fort Lauderdale last night, winning 3-0. The Lions took advantage of Miami’s poor defending, getting behind the back line and scoring three times. It’s the club’s first win against the South Florida team in over two years.

Let’s take a look at how the individual Lions performed in this big win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 8 (MotM) — Gallese was awesome in this game, keeping the Lions in it and maintaining their lead. The two most notable saves were a 22nd-minute, one-handed stop on Lionel Messi and a second big save in the 62nd minute on the same player from point-blank range. The Lions’ number one saved all four shots he faced for his sixth clean sheet this season. He touched the ball 36 times, completing 58.6% of his 29 passes and seven of his 19 long balls. His most notable pass came in the 43rd minute, when he assisted Luis Muriel’s goal on a long ball up field. Overall, it was a great night for Gallese.

D, David Brekalo, 6.5 — Brekalo is the more defensive of the two outside backs, allowing Alex Freeman to go further forward. The natural center back was terrific defensively, helping his team earn a clean sheet on the road. He had 45 touches and completed 90.9% of his 22 passes. The left back didn’t have an impact offensively, but he was great defensively. He finished the game with two tackles, a blocked shot, an aerial duel won, and a team-high eight clearances.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Orlando City was on the back foot for much of the game, conceding a significant amount of possession. It put a lot of pressure on the center backs, including Jansson. The Swede had 35 touches in the game and completed 66.7% of his 24 passes, including three of his 10 long balls. He didn’t push into the attack at all but was part of a center back pairing that was excellent. He recorded a tackle, a blocked shot, and five clearances.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — While Jansson was good in this game, Schlegel was the better of the two Orlando City center backs. He touched the ball 30 times and completed 89.5% of his 19 passes, but his lone long ball didn’t find its target. The Argentine also took one off-target shot, but it was his defense that shone. Schlegel ended the game with two tackles, an interception, three clearances, a blocked shot, and two aerial duels won.

D, Alex Freeman, 7 — This was one of Freeman’s best games since joining the first team. He had a team-high 64 touches and completed 83.8% of his 37 passes, including a team-high four key passes and three of his five long balls. The right back put one of his three shots on target and nearly set up a goal in the 88th minute, but Ramiro Enrique hit the post. Defensively, Freeman had an interception, four clearances, two blocked shots, and two aerial duels won while defending primarily Jordi Alba.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo didn’t have much of an impact on this game, only recording 18 touches and completing 80% of his 10 passes. However, he did have a key pass and completed his lone long ball. His only shot was on target, though it was on a breakaway and he perhaps could have done better. He helped defensively with two tackles and a blocked shot before being replaced by Kyle Smith in the 61st minute.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — The defensive midfielders played key roles in this game and were one of the team’s strengths. Araujo — the veteran of the two — had 52 touches and completed 85.7% of his 42 passes, including a key pass and two of his five long balls. He didn’t take any shots but was active defensively with a tackle, two clearances, a blocked shot, and two aerial duels won.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 7 — The rookie had a tough task defending Messi in this game and was terrific in doing so. He registered 47 touches and completed 90.9% of his 33 passes, including two key passes and his lone long ball. He didn’t take any shots but was excellent defensively with three tackles, an interception, four clearances, a blocked shot, and an aerial duel won.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Pasalic had 33 touches, completing 68.4% of his 19 passes. He was in the right place at the right time and had a little bit of luck in the 53rd minute, when a Martin Ojeda cross was deflected right to him. The midfielder sent a hard shot that deflected off Maximiliano Falcon’s leg and headed right at Oscar Ustari, who should’ve stopped it. But the ball slipped through and in to make it 2-0. It wasn’t a pretty goal, but it was an important one. Pasalic also helped defensively with an interception and was replaced by Dagur Dan Thorhallsson in the 70th minute.

F, Luis Muriel, 7.5 — Muriel had 35 touches and completed 78.6% of his 14 passes, including two key passes and his lone cross, but not his only long ball. He put two of his three shots on target and did well to finish the breakaway in the 43rd minute that gave the Lions the lead. He added a tackle, a blocked shot, and an aerial duel won before being replaced by Enrique in the 70th minute.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — Ojeda had a good game, touching the ball 37 times and completing 68.2% of his 22 passes, including three key passes, two of his four crosses, and three of his four long balls. He added a tackle and would’ve had a much higher grade if he hadn’t missed two golden opportunities to score. His night ended in the 89th minute when he came off for Duncan McGuire.

Substitutes

D, Kyle Smith (61’), 5.5 — Smith came on in the 61st minute for Angulo and made an impact. He had 14 touches but only completed 28.6% of his seven passes, missing on his lone long ball. However, he got a secondary assist by sending McGuire down the left on Thorhallsson’s late goal. Smith also didn’t record any defensive statistics in his 29 minutes of play.

F, Ramiro Enrique (70’), 5 — Enrique replaced Muriel in the 70th minute. He touched the ball 12 times, completing 60% of his five passes. The striker nearly had a chance in the 78th minute, but his touch was too heavy. In the 88th minute, his shot was saved off the post on what should’ve been the third goal. Overall, it was the missed chances that doomed Enrique’s performance in this game.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (70’), 6.5 — Thorhallsson replaced Pasalic in a double substitution, entering with Enrique. He touched the ball 16 times, completing 90.9% of his 11 passes, though his lone long ball was incomplete. His big moment came in second-half stoppage time, when he placed a perfect McGuire pass behind Ustari to make it 3-0.

F, Duncan McGuire (89’), N/A — It was a short appearance for McGuire, entering for Ojeda just before stoppage time. But the big striker took advantage of his minutes, touching the ball four times. He only had two passes, but he completed both, including a perfect pass across the six-yard box for Thorhallsson, providing the fellow substitute with an easy tap-in. McGuire took one shot of his own, but it was off target.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 3-0 win over Inter Miami. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote on your Man of the Match.

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from an enjoyable 3-0 victory over Inter Miami.

Published

6 hours ago

on

May 19, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After dominating Tampa Bay in the U.S. Open Cup and now Inter Miami in MLS play, I think it is safe to remind everyone that, as we all have always known, Florida is purple. Orlando City thrashed the Herons 3-0 on Sunday night, and the Lions could, and probably should, have scored five or even six goals with all the breakaway chances they squandered during this game. Nevertheless, they still walked away from the greater Miami area with three big, beautiful points, and here are my five takeaways from the latest edition of Tropic Thunder.

El Pulpo Pulverized the Herons

Orlando City fans have come to expect great performances from Pedro Gallese in terms of keeping the ball out of his own net, but on Sunday night El Pulpo not only did that, but he also created the game’s opening goal with a perfectly placed bomb of a pass that looked like it might have been thrown by Dan Marino in his Miami Dolphins heyday. But this was Fort Lauderdale, not Miami, and it was Gallese, not Marino, who arced the ball through the night right onto the foot of Luis Muriel, and Muriel’s first touch was just as perfect as Gallese’s aim. Then the Colombian was off to the races before giving the Lions the lead with a well-placed shot to the far post. Gallese collected his second career assist with that pass and then went back to his standard practice of saving everything, stopping four shots and partnering with the stout back line to shut out Miami — only the second time all season Miami was held without a goal.

Miami Block Party

Speaking of that stout back line, Orlando City’s defenders looked more like the Orlando Solar Bears out there with how they were giving up their bodies all over the field to block shots. Our friends at fotmob.com tracked a season-high nine blocked shots by Orlando City defenders on the evening, and it felt like there were even more. Every starting defender had one block except Alex Freeman, who had two, and Iván Angulo, César Araújo, Joran Gerbet, and Muriel each chipped in one as well. Orlando City’s defenders did an excellent job of keeping their hands behind them or out of the way while blocking all of those shots, and the frustration on the faces of the Miami players was evident, as despite taking 21 shots, they were only able to put four on goal. Sunday night was definitely not the kind of Miami block party the Herons were hoping to attend.

Pašalić Goes Five-Hole

I did not plan to work in multiple hockey references when I started this article, but hey, at least Miami fans can be happy that their NHL team won on Sunday. Their, well, Fort Lauderdale’s team most certainly did not, and Marco Pašalić’s early second-half goal doubled Orlando City’s lead when he took a slightly deflected Martín Ojeda pass and powered it through the legs of goalkeeper Óscar Ustari. All three Designated Players participated in the goal, with Muriel showing some fancy footwork before playing it to Rodrigo Schlegel, who gave it to Ojeda, and then his deflected cross fell perfectly for the left foot of Pašalić, and Orlando City had a two-goal cushion.

Firepower From the Bench

Óscar Pareja has always been a coach who likes to ride a hot lineup, and the same is true for how he chooses who comes off the bench — the hot player gets the first opportunity. Ramiro Enrique had scored more recently than Duncan McGuire, so it was not surprising to see Enrique enter before McGuire in this game, and Enrique nearly made it three goals in his last four games, but a fingertip save by Ustari pushed his shot off the post. McGuire eventually entered in the dying minutes of the game, and he clearly showed his desire to get back up in the pecking order, because he was flying all over the field, and it paid off for him when he sprinted onto a ball from Kyle Smith and played a perfectly weighted left-footed cross to fellow substitute Dagur Dan Thórhallsson for the third and final goal, one where all three goal contributors (secondary assist, primary assist, and goal scorer) were substitutes.

Midfield Did Not Get Messi’d

It is hard to ever write about Inter Miami without writing about Lionel Messi, and while he played well and created opportunities, the Orlando City midfield duo of Araújo and Gerbet more than held their own against Messi. Miami dominated possession (64%), but it was Orlando City that created far more chances, creating eight big chances (defined as chances where the analyst could reasonably expect a player to score) to only two for Miami, according to Fotmob’s tracking. Messi’s heatmap shows a player who played most of the game attacking down the right side of the field, but Angulo, Araújo, Gerbet, and Smith, the four midfielders/defenders — Smith came on for Angulo but was essentially a fifth man on the back line — who played in the middle or on the defensive left all contained him and rarely let him get loose, despite his 97 touches. The Argentinean did take nine shots, but only two were on target, and of course, none went in the goal — a testament to the entire defensive unit. Gerbet continues to impress, not just for a rookie but as a player in general, and when Eduard Atuesta returns from injury, he may find himself coming off the bench if Gerbet continues this run of form.

Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s 11th straight MLS game without a loss, an excellent and deserved road win that vaulted the team over Miami into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Let us know your thoughts about the Inter Miami match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/19/25

Lions defeat Inter Miami, Pride fall to Kansas City Current, OCB wins, and more.

Published

10 hours ago

on

May 19, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. Over the weekend, I was catching up with my former coworkers during Chicago House AC’s home opener against Czarni Jaslo in Midwest Premier League action. Let’s wish Orlando Pride goalkeeper Kat Asman, who turns 26 today, a happy birthday. The Pride lost, but OCB and our Lions picked up wins over the weekend. We have plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Defeats Inter Miami on the Road

Orlando City defeated Inter Miami 3-0 on the road Sunday at Chase Stadium and extended its unbeaten run to 11 league matches. Luis Muriel scored to put the Lions in front just before halftime. In the second half, Marco Pasalic scored and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson added the final goal for the Lions in stoppage time to seal the 3-0 win against their in-state rivals. Orlando moved ahead of Miami in the Eastern Conference standings into fifth with 24 points, while Miami drops to sixth, albeit with a game in hand. Miami has lost five out of its last seven matches. It will be a quick turnaround for Orlando City with a home match on Wednesday as Nashville SC visits Inter&Co Stadium.

Lions Sign Defender Zakaria Taifi to First Team Contract

Orlando City announced Saturday the club has signed Orlando City B defender Zakaria Taifi to a first-team contract as a Homegrown Player. The deal is through the 2026 season with club options for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 seasons. Taifi has made 44 appearances for OCB in MLS NEXT Pro. He has started 23 matches, scored one goal, and added three assists. Taifi was also part of the Orlando City Academy U-17 team that won the MLS NEXT Cup in 2021. Taifi made his first-team debut with Orlando City last month in a scoreless draw against CF Montreal. He also played in the Lions’ 5-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Round of 32 in the U.S. Open Cup.

Pride Fall to Kansas City Current at Home

The Orlando Pride fell 1-0 to the Kansas City Current Friday at Inter&Co Stadium. Temwa Chawinga scored the lone goal in the second half to seal the win for Kansas City. The Current have won two in a row, while the Pride have lost their second match at home this season. Orlando is on a three-match winless streak. The Current stayed atop the NWSL table with 21 points, while the Pride dropped to third with 16 points. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Friday at the Utah Royals.

OCB Defeats Inter Miami II at Home

Orlando City B defeated Inter Miami II 3-0 Saturday at Osceola County Stadium. Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, and Justin Ellis all got on the scoresheet for the Young Lions. Ellis also added two assists in this match. The win also snapped OCB’s five-match winless streak against Inter Miami II, and now the Young Lions are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with 14 points. OCB will be on the road to take on Atlanta United 2 Friday.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City defender Alex Freeman has been in stellar form so far this season for Orlando, scoring three goals in 15 matches with one assist across all competitions.
  • The U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer have reached an agreement on a 10-day transfer window beginning June 1. This window will only be for MLS clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup.
  • Crystal Palace defeated Manchester City 1-0 Saturday to win the FA Cup and lift its first-ever major trophy in club history. Defender Chris Richards and goalkeeper Matt Turner became the first Americans to win the FA Cup since goalkeeper Tim Howard won it in 2004.
  • Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-0 to win the Women’s FA Cup. USWNT midfielder Catarina Macario scored, and Sandy Baltimore netted two goals and added an assist to seal Chelsea’s domestic treble this season.
  • Jamie Vardy scored his 200th goal for Leicester City in his final appearance for the club, helping his side beat Ipswich Town 2-0 in the final home match of the season.
  • Angel City FC shared an update on social media, announcing defender Savy King was discharged from the hospital Saturday following her collapse on the pitch over a week ago during an NWSL match against the Utah Royals.

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

Continue Reading

Trending