Lion Links: 4/17/22

Happy Easter, Mane Landers. It was a packed Saturday with both Orlando City and the Orlando Pride in action. Hopefully you are spending this Easter Sunday resting and enjoying some time with family. To get your day started, let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Beats Crew in Columbus

The Lions stayed unbeaten on the road, thanks to a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew Saturday night. Rodrigo Schlegel opened his Orlando City account and celebrated with a touching tribute to his father, and Ercan Kara provided some insurance after halftime. Oscar Pareja was also able to rest Ruan and Alexandre Pato to keep them fresh ahead of a double match week. Be sure to check back later today for our five takeaways from the match, as well as our player grades.

Pride Lose Fourth Straight Match After Awful Start

It was another rough night for the Orlando Pride on Saturday and it started just three minutes in with a Megan Montefusco own goal. The Pride conceded three goals in the game’s first nine minutes on the way to a 4-2 home loss to the North Carolina Courage. The lone bright spot on the night was forward Darian Jenkins, who not only opened her Pride account, but she also added a second goal to complete her brace.

Results Around MLS

CF Montréal played its home opener against a fellow Canadian club in the Vancouver Whitecaps and posted a 2-1 win for the home crowd. Over in Foxborough, the New England Revolution took care of business at home, also winning 2-1 over Charlotte FC. Staying in the northeast, the New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas played to a scoreless draw at Red Bull Arena. There more scoreless draws that included the Houston Dynamo at home versus the Portland Timbers, Cincinnati away at Atlanta United — along with an injury to Brad Guzan —and the Chicago Fire home at Solider Field against the LA Galaxy. Toronto FC helped the Lions gain points on Philadelphia after defeating the Union, 2-1 with goals from Jesús Jiménez and Alejandro Pozuelo. Former Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath and his Minnesota United defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-1 at home. Austin FC earned earned an away win over D.C. United in a match that saw Ola Kamara scoring twice before a second yellow got him sent off. And Nashville denied San Jose its first win in 2022 with a 2-2 draw. Inter Miami shocked a heavily rotated Sounders side in Seattle, winning 1-0.

Notable EPL Results

Across the pond, Manchester United defeated Norwich 3-2 at Old Trafford on the heels of Cristiano Ronaldo, who notched his 50th club hat trick. In an upset 1-0 win for Brighton, Tottenham took another hit to its Champions League hopes. There was another shock win in the Premier League when Southhampton beat Arsenal, 1-0.

Free Kicks

• The San Jose Earthquakes have reportedly parted ways with head coach Matias Almeyda.
• Pep Guardiola still stands behind Zack Steffen after the goalkeeper’s blunder against Liverpool.
• Ralf Rangnick is baffled by fans’ criticism of Paul Pogba.
• Erling Haaland ended his Bundesliga goal drought in Dortmund’s 6-1 win over Wolfsburg.

That will do it for today. Enjoy the Easter holiday.