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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Stay Unbeaten on the Road

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3 years ago

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Rodrigo Schlegel and Ercan Kara scored and Pedro Gallese earned his fifth clean sheet of the season as Orlando City bested the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field. Orlando (4-2-2, 14 points) improved to 7-6-3 in the all-time series againt the Crew (2-3-2, 8 points) and got just its second win in seven trips to Ohio’s capital city (2-4-1).

Combined with last Saturday’s home win over Chicago, the Lions put together back-to-back wins for the first time during the 2022 season. Meanwhile, the Crew suffered their third consecutive loss via shutout and Columbus is now winless in its last four (0-3-1).

“Big big result, but more important, big performance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I have a lot of respect for this group. The players understand that this is a commitment that we all have for instruction, this is a commitment that we have for a common objective, and sometimes you may work with some difficulties. But if we all have that heart and they have that discipline, I think we are going to get many good results like tonight. We played against a very good team in a very difficult place. A fantastic performance.”

Oscar Pareja made a couple of surprise changes to the starting lineup. Kyle Smith took Ruan’s spot at right back on the back line, along with Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, and Schlegel, in front of goalkeeper Gallese. Junior Urso started in central midfield with Cesar Araujo. Benji Michel took Alexandre Pato’s spot in the starting XI on the attacking midfield line with Facundo Torres and Mauricio Pereyra, and Kara started up top.

Much of the first half was one-way traffic toward Gallese’s goal. Lucas Zelarayan was active and won some fouls early while Steven Moreira gave Moutinho problems down Orlando’s left side. A dangerous ball through the middle of the box in the eighth minute was dealt with.

Smith blocked a shot from Yaw Yeboah that would have been an opening goal in the 22nd minute after the Lions fell asleep on a throw-in. Torres tried a couple long-range shots in the next couple of minutes, trying to chip Eloy Room from near midfield on the first and firing over the bar from outside the area on the second.

The Crew’s closest chance for a first-half goal came in the 32nd minute. An unnecessary foul on Zelarayan by Smith set up a free kick just outside the box to Gallese’s right. Zelarayan smashed a shot that got over Gallese near the back post but crashed off the crossbar.

Moments after hitting the woodwork, the Lions got disorganized in their own end and Artur had an open look from the top of the box, but he hit his shot over the bar. Gallese went down after that shot and needed some attention from the trainers but he was able to continue.

The Lions struck against the run of play in the 37th minute. A free kick from distance was knocked down by the defense and picked up by Kara on the left side of the six. He passed back to Torres, who fizzed a dangerous low cross into the area. Urso arrived as a late runner in the box and knocked it down and it fell for Schlegel to knock in for his first Orlando City goal.

Schlegel celebrated by displaying a t-shirt under his jersey with a picture of his late father, Adrian, who died of COVID-19.

“I remember him every day, but this goal was a special moment,” Schlegel said of the celebration. “There was a lot of happiness when I scored. I know he’s overseeing and watching me and I want to dedicate the goal to him and my family. I’ll never thank my teammates enough for having that confidence in me and with their help, one enters the pitch with more confidence.” 

The Crew should have equalized in the 44th when they again got the Lions’ defense out of sorts. The ball found its way through Smith to Etienne to Gallese’s right. Etienne fired for the back post but missed wide of the net.

Orlando was able to see out the remaining time in the first half and take its lead into the break. Columbus led in possession (57.2%-42.8%), shots (8-4), corners (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.1%-79.9%) but the Lions got two shots on target, while the Crew failed to put a shot on frame in the opening half.

Orlando came out of the break with a bit more possession and better passing to start the second half. Pereyra nearly picked out Kara in the box just after the restart but the pass was just beyond the Austrian striker.

In the 48th minute, Gallese made a fantastic save on a shot by Zelarayan. The Columbus Designated Player fired from range and the ball deflected. Gallese seemed to see it late but was able to reach down and knock it away with a strong hand.

Kara got his goal a few minutes later. An incredible team goal sequence began with Michel down the left side. The winger peeled back and found Pereyra at the top of the area. Pereyra gave off to Torres, who dropped it to Urso deep. Urso shifted the ball right to Pereyra and the captain found Kara, who laid off to Torres. The Uruguayan sent it right back to his striker. Back to goal, Kara was able to spin himself around and blast a shot into the upper right corner to make it 2-0 in the 51st minute.

“They understand that things are going to bounce their way if they keep doing the good things,” Pareja said, after so many chances went wanting in recent weeks. “So, seeing that quality of the play, the combination that they had on that second goal, the many good decisions that they took, and finalizing with the number nine getting a good shot and putting the ball in the back of the net is a reward for those guys. It is a reward for them and I’m very, very happy. I really congratulate this group of players.”

Orlando bossed the game for the next several minutes as the Crew tried to regroup from the second goal. The Lions won several corner kicks but couldn’t do much with them.

As the second half wore on, Orlando City did well to limit the Crew’s chances but the Lions were extremely cautious in moving forward, opting to slow things down and take the air out of the ball rather than attack for a third. It was an effective tactic overall, despite a few silly fouls that handed Columbus unnecessary set pieces.

Gallese didn’t have to make any difficult saves in the final half hour of the match as the team in front of him did well to gum up the works for the Crew attackers. Pareja was able to give Homegrown defender Thomas Williams his first MLS minutes with a stoppage-time substitution and the Lions hung on to get the shutout.

The Crew dominated the stat sheet, with more possession (59.6%-40.4%) and shots (17-8), and a more accurate night passing (85.6%-78.8%). Each team put three shots on target and the Lions won more corners (6-5). But the important stat is the scoreboard, and the Lions’ win pulled them within two points of first-place Philadelphia, albeit with the Union holding a game in hand.

Despite the Crew having so much possession in the attacking half, the Lions did well to limit clear sights at Gallese’s goal all night and ultimately didn’t break even if they bent a lot.

“We always strive to be together defensively and to be a team that is tough to break down defensively. And, you know, we did that,” Schlegel said. “We’ve continued to stay compact as a team and all push and pull in the same direction. We had a great night on the defensive end and that’s the way — always moving together as one team and moving together in the same direction. So, if we continue working the way that we have been working, I think we’ve we’ve got a very strong chance to to fight this season.”

“I see how they’re collectively growing and it just (makes) me more content,” Pareja said of his team’s performance.

The Lions return home next Sunday when they’ll take on the New York Red Bulls.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The recently offensively challenged Lions return home to face a red-hot Revolution side with the best defense in MLS.

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6 hours ago

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May 10, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (4-2-5, 17 points) and the New England Revolution (5-4-1, 16 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the first of the two scheduled meetings between the two MLS Eastern Conference rivals this season with the Lions scheduled to make the return trip to Massachussetts on July 19.

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

History

The Lions are 5-7-7 in the regular-season series against New England and 6-8-7 in all competitions. At home, Orlando City is 4-1-5 against the Revs in the regular season and 5-2-5 in all competitions.

The last meeting between the teams took place on Sept. 14, 2024, with the Lions completing their first-ever sweep of the Revs with a 3-0 win. Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres (from the penalty spot), and Duncan McGuire provided the offense in a dominant performance. The teams previously met on July 13 at Gillette Stadium, where the Lions won for the first time, handing the Revs a 3-1 home loss. Torres’ brace led the way to an Orlando comeback, with Ramiro Enrique also scoring to overturn an early 1-0 deficit provided by Giacomo Vrioni.

The teams met in Orlando on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-2 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Orlando City clinched second in the Eastern Conference as McGuire and Torres built a 2-0 lead. Pedro Gallese gave up a soft goal from distance to Carles Gil, but Ivan Angulo pulled that one back three minutes later. Gil added a second goal deep in stoppage time to improve the result cosmetically.

New England got the better of the Lions in the previous matchup of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 at Gillette Stadium on June 17. After a scoreless first half, the Revs went up by two with goals from Emmanuel Boateng and Gustavo Bou 18 minutes apart. McGuire pulled one back late, but Gil scored the dagger five minutes later.

These teams met at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 6, 2022, and the previously struggling Revolution whipped Orlando City, 3-0. New England got goals from unlikely sources, as central midfielders Matt Polster and Wilfrid Kaptoum and center back Henry Kessler provided the offense. The teams met at Gillette Stadium on June 15 of that year, and the Revs went ahead on a Gil goal, but the Lions pulled that back with a Robin Jansson strike en route to a 1-1 road draw.

New England went unbeaten in the 2021 season series. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 24, 2021. The Lions built a 2-0 lead through goals by Nani and Daryl Dike, but two late Adam Buksa goals allowed the Revs to steal a point. The teams met at Gillette Stadium just over a month prior to that draw in Orlando, with Nani’s missed penalty a costly one in a 2-1 Revs home win. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal by Buksa and an own goal off of Rodrigo Schlegel, in which the referee was quite lenient with Buksa’s treatment of the Orlando defender in the lead-up to Tajon Buchanan’s cross. Dike pulled one back for the Lions and later won a penalty, but Nani’s attempt to go down the middle was read at the last second by Matt Turner, who got his shoulder to it to preserve the lead.

The Revolution ended the Lions’ season at Exploria Stadium in the 2020 playoffs, knocking Orlando City out of MLS Cup contention in the conference semifinal round on Nov. 29, 2020. That 3-1 win by the Revs was the first road win for either side in the series in any competition. Gil put the Revs up early from the penalty spot after a call against Uri Rosell, and Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later, finishing a play that started with a Nani turnover. Junior Urso pulled a goal back before the halftime whistle, but Mauricio Pereyra was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Polster at the hour mark. Still, Nani had a chance to equalize from the spot, but a poor penalty was saved by Turner. Bou added a late insurance goal.

In the final year of the pre-pandemic times, the Revs went 1-0-1 in the season series. The Lions and Revolution met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, with Orlando overcoming a Tesho Akindele own goal and two deficits — the second by two goals — and rallying for a 3-3 draw. Shortly after Akindele’s own goal opened the scoring, Nani tied things up. Cristian Penilla and Bou scored goals five minutes apart just before halftime to seemingly give the visitors control. But Dom Dwyer pulled one back after the restart and Nani tied it up.

The teams also met at Gillette Stadium in 2019 on July 27, and the Revs put the Lions on full blast, 4-1. Bou scored within the first two minutes of the game, and the Revolution got goals from Penilla, Gil, and Diego Fagundez. Akindele scored to avoid the shutout.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium in U.S. Open Cup action that year on June 19, with the Lions scoring twice in a 30-minute extra time session and holding on for a 2-1 victory. Benji Michel and Akindele staked Orlando to a 2-0 lead before Justin Rennicks pulled one back off a Gil back-post cross. City was able to see the game out.

The last meeting of 2018 saw the Revs top a depleted Orlando side, 2-0 in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13. In the first matchup of 2018, the teams combined for six goals in a 3-3 draw at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 4.

Orlando City and New England split the season series in 2017. City completed a 6-1 demolition of 10-man New England at home Sept. 27, 2017. New England won at Gillette Stadium that year by a 4-0 count.

The Lions went 1-0-2 in the series in 2016, winning 3-1 at home on July 31. The teams played a controversial 2-2 draw in Orlando on April 17, 2016. The second 2016 meeting reached the same final score on April 30 in New England.

The teams met twice in 2015, with Orlando City rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 17 minutes to draw 2-2 at the Citrus Bowl in April. The Sept. 5 rematch at Gillette Stadium didn’t go as well, with New England taking a 3-0 win. Fagundez, Agudelo and Chris Tierney scored for the Revolution.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off its fourth scoreless draw in five matches. The 0-0 result at Chicago was a hard pill to swallow, as the Lions were up a man for more than half the match. While the lineup hasn’t exactly been the same for all of the recent scoreless draws, the common denominator is that midfielder Eduard Atuesta has missed time. He had tightness the first time but shortly after returning to the lineup for Orlando’s 3-0 win over Atlanta United, he sustained a neck injury in training and was listed as out again tonight on the club’s availability report.

The Lions are unbeaten in eight games (3-0-5), but a lack of offense has cost them two points four times during that run, as 0-0 draws could easily have become 1-0 (or better) wins with more lethal finishing. Orlando City has shut out five consecutive MLS opponents and a heavily rotated side also blanked the Tampa Bay Rowdies in St. Petersburg 5-0 on Wednesday for a sixth straight shutout in all competitions.

The Revolution are ninth in the Eastern Conference and sit just one point behind Orlando City. New England may be the league’s hottest team, arriving in Central Florida riding a four-game winning streak in the league without allowing a goal in that span, as well as a five-match winning streak in all competitions after Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup road victory over Rhode Island SC. Goals won’t be easy to come by, as the Revs boast the league’s best defense, allowing just seven goals in 10 matches this season. The team’s weak spot has been offense, with just nine goals to New England’s credit in 2025 — the third fewest in the Eastern Conference. However, the Revs have scored six of those goals during this four-game run, which has been sparked by a formation change to a 5-3-2, with the wingbacks pushing up while in possession.

Having any success against New England usually demands that the opposition keeps tabs on Gil, one of the league’s most lethal playmakers and a guy who can score goals of his own as well. Gil has five goals and an assist for six goal contributions — two-thirds of those the Revolution have scored this season. Leo Campana has two of the other three goals after arriving in New England via trade from Inter Miami.

“New England is a team that we have seen in the last four or five games that has changed their structures,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We have seen noticeable changes from the way they played before in the first part of the season. But a reference of the players that we also know. So, we’re trying to be prepared for it.”

Orlando City will be without Atuesta (neck), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Joran Gerbet (lower leg) and Favian Loyola (thigh) are questionable. New England will be without Malcolm Fry (leg), while Tomás Chancalay (groin) and Luca Langoni (quad) are questionable.

Match Content

Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Kyle Smith.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Muriel, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Duncan McGuire.

New England Revolution (5-3-2)

Goalkeeper: Aljaz Ivacic.

Defenders/Wingbacks: Peyton Miller, Mamadou Fofana, Brayan Ceballos, Tanner Beason, Ilay Feingold.

Midfielders: Alhassan Yusuf, Carles Gil, Matt Polster.

Forwards: Leo Campana, Ignatius Ganago.

Referees

Ref: Rubiel Vazquez.
AR1: Cory Richardson.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4th: Elton Garcia.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30p.m. ET.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

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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Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New England Revolution

Get to know this year’s New England Revolution team courtesy of someone who knows them best.

Published

1 day ago

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May 9, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City remembered how to score on Wednesday night, as the Lions put five goals past the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the U.S. Open Cup. OCSC will try to carry that sort of offensive performance over to league play Saturday, when the New England Revolution come to town.

A match against the Revs means I caught up with Jake Catanese, one of the writers over at The Blazing Musket. As always, he was extremely helpful in bringing us up to speed on what this year’s version of the Revolution looks like.

Talk me through the Revolution’s off-season transfer business. Who are some of the new names to know?

Jake Catanese: Okay, so some of the new faces are from the end of last year: winger Luca Langoni and midfielder Alhassan Yusuf were both acquired back in August. Yusuf is a Nigerian international and has cemented himself in the lineup as one of the holding midfielders, and Langoni had a great spell at the end of the last year but was dropped to make room for the Revs’ newfangled 5-3-2 wingback setup — more on that in a bit. Also, Tomas Chancalay isn’t a new face but is fresh off the season-ending injury list from an ACL injury last May and is working his way back up to full fitness, and both he and Langoni started the USOC win against Rhode Island (Wednesday) along with MLS veterans Maxi Urruti and Jackson Yueill, who were picked up this off-season.

The big off-season stuff happened up front, with the Revs making a record GAM trade with Miami for Leo Campana and making an interesting short-term loan for Ligue 1’s Ignatius Ganago out of Nantes. In the Revs’ 4-2-3-1 setup to start the year, it was Campana as a lone striker and Ganago in what I’ll call the “Gustavo Bou” winger/striker role, but both have moved up top with the formation change and it’s been fairly successful. Campana did miss a month with a hamstring injury, which did not help the Revs early on, but the strike partnership is starting to blossom with productivity.

The Revs have been the best defensive team in the entire league, with just seven goals conceded in 10 games. What’s been the secret sauce there?

JC: To finish the rest of the question above, the Revs absolutely hit a massive home run with two new center backs in the off-season. Malian international Mamadou Fofana (age 27) and Colombian Brayan Ceballos (age 23) entered the starting lineup together and basically have been there ever since, and they’ve been tremendous. Ceballos got a Team of the Week nod on debut in Week 1 against Nashville and has been a solid aerial presence, which is something the Revs have struggled with in recent years. Fofana is tremendous on the ball and he’s passing at a 90% clip with an over 50% clip on long balls, as well with several deeper, line-breaking passes that have opened up the defense.

League veteran Tanner Beason was added as the third center back to go with Homegrown Peyton Miller and Israeli youngster Ilay Feingold as the wingbacks/fullbacks, and the Revs have pulled off effectively changing over their entire back line in one off-season, which, given the success this group is having, is rather unheard of. Combine that with keeper Aljaz Ivacic having a top season and his back line blocking a lot of shots for him as well, the Revs have a foundation that looks set for many years to come unless some big transfer offers come in.

The opposite side of that coin is the fact that New England has scored the third-fewest goals in the league with nine in 10 games. The Revs have come on stronger in recent weeks though, with six tallies in their last five matches. What’s changed for the Revs that has allowed the goals to start going in a little easier?

JC: Let me explain…no, there is too much, let me sum up. The Revs in a 4-2-3-1 to start the year were horrific. Campana’s injury didn’t help, but they weren’t moving the ball effectively up field to the attacking group, and turnovers often caught the fullbacks too high as well — almost a carbon copy of 2024, when the Revs were second to last in the East and more or less were to start this year as well. The solution was to drop the struggling Langoni and add a third center back and put Ganago into a second striker role, which on paper I had a lot of doubts about. However, Carles Gil is still a magician and the Revs did solve a major problem with the formation switch.

Having the wingbacks allows one of them to get forward without exposing the defense, so New England is able to switch the point of attack easier and not compromise their center back duo, because Beason is there to help put out any fires. Now the Revs get their width and deep support from the wingback spot and are able to use Miller and Feingold more effectively and confidently going forward, because they have enough strength in the back of the formation. It also helps that the two wingbacks have been really good with high passing numbers despite not registering any official assists yet. Feingold essentially had the assist on the Revs’ opener in Toronto last weekend, but his very dangerous initial cross into the box was half-cleared only to have Gil volley it top bins from the top of the box. Feingold isn’t the pure speedster Miller is, but as a duo they complement each other very well and bring back a 1-v-1 element the Revs really haven’t had since Tajon Buchanan.

Now, do I still think that Caleb Porter’s possession system is too slow and hampers the offense? Yes. Do I think the Revs should counterattack a lot more than they do currently? Also yes. Their two goals against Toronto were very direct — a turnover sent out wide to Feingold set up Gil and then a semi-broken play leading to a long through ball to Campana. I think this is when the Revs are at their most dangerous, because they generally have opponents on their back foot and not in an established and/or set back line. But they are improving and against Toronto were generating better chances and doing so more frequently. And despite their win streak, big chances have been a rarity so far this year. If New England is able to consistently counter and create chances inside the box, the defense is going to carry them very far and you will see this team protecting a lot of leads.

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

JC: No suspensions to talk about, and most of the longterm injuries are off the board as well with Chancalay and Campana back in action. Andrew Farrell and Wyatt Omsberg were listed as questionable last week, but Farrell started in the midweek Open Cup game and Omsberg was on the bench and subbed on for the final 15 minutes. Youngster Malcolm Fry is likely the only person that will still be listed as out come gameday.

5-3-2: Aljaz Ivacic; Peyton Miller, Mamadou Fofana, Brayan Ceballos, Tanner Beason, Ilay Feingold; Alhassan Yusuf, Matt Polster, Carles Gil; Ignatius Ganago, Leonardo Campana.

Same lineup as last week in Toronto — the midfield triangle sees Carles Gil work his magic as the roaming No. 10, so you might see the wingbacks listed with the holding mids in a 3-4-1-2 looking thing. The running joke with the PawedCast demands I predict a 2-2 draw, but given the defensive stinginess of these two teams in the last month or so, I find it highly unlikely this game will have four goals in it…which is exactly why it will happen. We’ll add another to Carles’ tally and I think Mr. Ganago is due for another one. He’s been robbed a few too many times this year.

Thank you to Jake for the excellent primer on this year’s Revolution team. Vamos Orlando!



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Lion Links: 5/9/25

Orlando City’s next U.S. Open Cup match date revealed, MLS matches to watch, top soccer club valuations, and more.

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1 day ago

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May 9, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to Friday! I hope the week has treated you well as we get ready for a Mother’s Day weekend packed with soccer. Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are both in action at the same time on Saturday, so make sure to plan accordingly depending on how you want to enjoy the action. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Orlando City Will Face Nashville in USOC on May 21

Orlando City will officially host Nashville SC on May 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 16. That match is sandwiched between a road game against Inter Miami on May 18 and a home game against the Portland Timbers May 24, so at least there won’t be much travel during that week during an already jam-packed month. The Lions reached this stage of the tournament after beating the Tampa Bay Rowdies 5-0 Wednesday, while Nashville won 1-0 against the Chattanooga Red Wolves on Tuesday.

What to Watch In MLS This Weekend

We’ll all be tuned in for Orlando City’s match on Saturday against the New England Revolution, but there’s plenty more MLS action to look forward to as well. Before Orlando’s match, Inter Miami will head to St. Paul to take on a Minnesota United team that leads the league with six clean sheets this season. Another notable match this weekend is a clash between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference standings when the Philadelphia Union host the Columbus Crew. That game has Daniel Gazdag written all over it. Sunday night’s match should be a doozy between two heavyweight Western Conference teams, as LAFC will hit the road to take on the league-leading Vancouver Whitecaps.

MLS Clubs Listed Among World’s Most Valuable

Sportico announced the valuations for the top 50 most valuable soccer clubs in the world, and a whopping 19 MLS teams made the list. The Lions aren’t included, but it’s still neat to see some clubs like Minnesota, Sporting Kansas City, and Charlotte FC listed. LAFC is the highest listed MLS side, coming in at 16th with a $1.28 billion valuation. Real Madrid tops the list at $6.53 billion, and six of the top 10 are from the English Premier League. While valuations aren’t exactly hard evidence of success or influence, I think this is a testament to the growth and parity of MLS through an international lens.

English Clubs Reach Europa League Final

This year’s Europa League final will feature a pair of EPL teams as Manchester United and Tottenham breezed through the semifinals. United overcame a shaky first half to beat Athletic Club 4-1 at Old Trafford, with Mason Mount scoring two of the team’s four goals in the second half. Tottenham avoided an upset in Norway by winning 2-0 against Bodo/Glimt. The final will take place on May 21 in Spain, and there’s both a trophy and Champions League qualification on the line. Both United and Tottenham struggled this season and are respectively 15th and 16th in the league standings, but winning the Europa League is all that matters now.

Free Kicks

  • American midfielder Johnny Cardoso played every minute of Real Betis’ 2-2 result against Fiorentina to advance to the Europa Conference League final, where the Spanish club will face Chelsea on May 28. Enjoy this goal from Antony to help his side prevail.
  • In honor of Mother’s Day, AC Milan players will wear their mothers’ last names on the back of their jerseys in today’s match against Bologna. I love this idea and hope more clubs follow suit moving forward.
  • An ownership group led by David Beckham and Gary Neville acquired Salford City of England’s League Two.
  • Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra’s MMA debut will have to wait, as the 43-year-old’s fight set for May 23 in Paris was postponed.
  • We’ll end our links with what looks to be some unexpected Orlando Pride representation in Vatican City!

That’s all I have for you this time around. Have a fantastic Friday and enjoy the holiday weekend!

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