Orlando City
Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Player Grades and Man of the Match
Orlando City was dominated north of the border as the Lions dropped a 4-1 result to CF Montreal. Three of the four goals came off of bad giveaways in the back during a poor showing in Canada. Even though the Lions scored a second-half goal, they were never a threat to claim any points in this one.
Here’s how I saw the individual performances in this tough loss.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 5.5 — Conceding four goals might seem like a poor showing from a goalkeeper, but Gallese kept the Lions in this game into the second half. The Peruvian made multiple big saves to keep the game scoreless and then within a goal during the first 45 minutes. Additionally, most of the goals weren’t his fault as bad giveaways put players in one-on-one with the goalkeeper. In the end, Gallese made six saves despite conceding four times.
D, Joao Moutinho, 5.5 (MotM) — Moutinho was very involved in this game, recording a team-high 79 touches. The left back completed 75% of his 56 passes and attempted two crosses, though neither was successful. However, he beat the Montreal defenders to get his head to a Mauricio Pereyra cross, making the game 2-1 in the 72nd minute. Defensively, Moutinho wasn’t as effective, recording one tackle and two interceptions in the game.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5 — It was a tough task for the center backs in this game with Antonio Carlos out due to injury and Robin Jansson suspended. Schlegel was the veteran alongside his 17-year-old partner. The Argentine recorded three tackles, one interception, one clearance, and two blocked shots. On the attacking side, he completed 95.4% of his 43 passes and successfully completed four of his six long passes.
D, Thomas Williams, 4.5 — It was a tough game for the 17-year-old Homegrown product in his first senior team start. Williams ended the game with two tackles, one interception, and two clearances. However, he was mainly at fault for Montreal’s third goal in the 81st minute. First, Williams did well to shield Kei Kamara out of play, but gave up, thinking the ball was out. That allowed the hosts to recycle the play. Then he left Joaquin Torres with too much space, allowing the attacker to turn and put it past Gallese. Despite that poor sequence, Williams did complete 90.9% of his 44 passes and two of his four long balls.
D, Ruan, 4 — Ruan is either heavily involved in play or disappears. The right back was barely in this game, only recording 33 touches. In addition to one tackle and interception, he did have four clearances. Unfortunately, the Brazilian wasn’t very careful with the ball. He only completed 84.2% of his 19 passes, which included some poor giveaways in the back. This included an early giveaway that nearly resulted in the opening goal for Montreal.
MF, Sebas Mendez, 5 — While Mendez didn’t have a great game, he was far from the worst performer for the Lions. The defensive midfielder recorded 52 touches — tied for fourth on the team. He didn’t do anything offensively, but Mendez had two tackles to go with one interception, a clearance, and a blocked shot.
MF, Cesar Araujo, 5 — Araujo has been one of the best players for Orlando City this season, providing needed support to the center backs. However, he wasn’t very involved in this game. He had three more touches (55) than Mendez, but wasn’t that involved in the defense. He also only completed 84.1% of his 44 passes and had one incomplete long ball.
MF, Benji Michel, 3.5 — The only contribution Michel had in this game was giving up the first goal. The midfielder only touched the ball 15 times and none of them were threatening. He attempted six passes, but only completed three (50%). His main play came in the 21st minute, when he chested a Montreal corner kick facing his own goal. The ball went directly to Joel Waterman, who put it past Gallese for the opener. He was replaced by Jake Mulraney in the 57th minute, but it’s surprising Oscar Pareja let him go that long.
MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 5.5 — It wasn’t a great game by the Orlando City captain, but he did have a positive contribution. The Uruguayan had 46 touches and completed 83.8% of his 37 passes. However, he gave the Lions their lone key pass in the 72nd minute when his lovely cross met the head of Joao Moutinho for the team’s only goal. He contributed two tackles and a blocked shot, defensively.
MF, Facundo Torres, 4.5 — This was probably Torres’ worst game since joining Orlando City prior to this season. The Uruguayan international had 50 touches but only completed 69.7% of his 33 passes — the second-lowest pass completion percentage, behind Michel. The midfielder only attempted one unsuccessful cross and took one off-target shot. Torres is often depended upon to create chances for the Lions but he didn’t do that in this game.
F, Alexandre Pato, 4.5 — Similar to Torres and Michel, Pato was barely visible in this game. The forward only touched the ball 17 times and only attempted 10 passes. However, he did complete nine of those (90%). He was also dispossessed a team-high three times in this game.
Substitutes
MF, Jake Mulraney (57’), 5 — Mulraney came on for Michel in the 57th minute to provide some attacking punch but didn’t do much. He touched the ball 14 times but didn’t do much with it. The Irishman did complete eight of his 10 passses (80%) but none put the Lions into a dangerous position, though he did win the corner that led to Orlando’s only goal.
F, Ercan Kara (57’), 5 — In his 33 minutes on the field, Kara didn’t have the impact Pareja wanted. The Austrian striker came on for the ineffective Pato and wasn’t much better. He touched the ball 12 times and completed 80% of just five passes, but didn’t get off any shots. However, he did get involved on the defensive end with two clearances.
MF, Junior Urso (57’), 5 — Junior Urso came on for Mendez for the final 33 minutes. He had 12 touches in that time and completed 88.9% of his nine passes. Despite usually being a little more attacking, Urso helped out on the defensive end with one tackle and one interception.
MF, Andres Perea (76’), 3.5 — Perea came on for Pereyra in the 76th minute and only took eight minutes to make an impact — but it wasn’t the one that Orlando City was looking for. Just three minutes after Montreal made it 3-1, Perea mishandled an easy Williams pass, immediately giving it up to Zachary Brault-Guillard. A quick one-two with Torres set up a nice goal from a tough angle for Bault-Guillard, but Montreal wouldn’t have had the chance without the bad touch by Perea. The midfielder ended up with 12 touches and completed 87.5% of his eight passes, but that bad play was his primary contribution.
D, Kyle Smith (87’), N/A — Smith came on for Moutinho in the final minutes. He only had nine touches and completed 83.3% of his six passes. He also had a clearance but, already down 4-1, he wasn’t on the field enough to make a difference.
That’s how I saw the players’ performances in Orlando City’s 4-1 loss in Montreal. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments section and vote on your Man of the Match.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Pedro Gallese | 8 |
| Joao Moutinho | 15 |
| Mauricio Pereyra | 0 |
| Sebas Mendez | 0 |
| Other (let us know in the comments) | 4 |
Lion Links
Lion Links: 8/11/26
Leagues Cup preview, Americans in midweek action, open letter addressing Gianni Infantino, and more.
Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but fortunately, opportunities to change the vibes are right around the corner. Orlando City B plays NYCFC II in a few hours, Orlando City plays San Luis tomorrow and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, and the Orlando Pride are in action against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night as well. We’ve got lots to talk over this morning, so let’s get into it.
Leagues Cup Preview
Leagues Cup will begin its final round of group stage games later today, and there are several storylines to keep an eye on. Most prominent among them is the match between Austin FC and Club America, as each team currently sits first in its respective table. Myrto Uzuni’s hat trick helped Austin bury Puebla in its second match, and the Verde and Black are now in great position to advance. Before we get to that match on Thursday though, FC Cincinnati plays Atlas this evening to kick off the last round of games. Cincy sits fourth in the MLS table and therefore has plenty to play for, while Atlas has no points and has already been eliminated from contention. With Cincy visiting the City Beautiful on Saturday, Orlando fans should be hoping for FCC’s key players to rack up a lot of minutes tonight.
Americans in Midweek Action
Plenty of Americans will be taking part in matches during the working week, so make sure you’ve got everything noted down on your calendar. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon kick things off later today as they try to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit against Sparta Prague in UEFA Champions Leauge qualifying. Things continue with Brenden Aaronson and Leeds playing Manchester United in a friendly on Wednesday, while Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen have a friendly of their own against Nottingham Forest. Things wrap up with some American-on-American violence on Friday, as Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Marseille in a friendly, while Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Haji Wright and Coventry in a tune-up game.
Confederations Write Letter Criticizing Gianni Infantino
Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC have written a joint open letter soccer as a whole, in which they accuse FIFA president Gianni Infantino of betraying the trust of the confederations and engaging in deceptive practices. They condemned the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and called both FIFA’s integrity and Infantino’s running of the organization into question. U.S. Soccer put out its own statement on Sunday in support of Concacaf’s stance. The letter also urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, while calling for accountability and openness among Infantino and the rest of FIFA’s leadership.
Transfer Rumor Roundup
There are plenty of transfer rumors to catch up on this morning, so let’s get straight into it. We start in England, where Crystal Palace is reportedly finalizing the signing of Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. In Spain, Atletico Madrid has reportedly submitted an offer in the area of €35 million to Lille for winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Meanwhile, Endrick will supposedly be staying at Real Madrid this season following discussions between himself, the club, and Head Coach Jose Mourinho. Barcelona ha reportedly rejected a €50 million offer for Ferran Torres from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Catalonian club wants the fee to be structured differently than PSG’s initial proposal. Finally, in a rather unexpected bit of news, Tom Bogert reports that CF Montreal is signing Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player.
Free Kicks
- The Orlando Pride slid three spots to no.15 in ESPN.com’s NWSL power rankings.
- Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and league games have been postponed in Colombia after the country was struck by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday.
- The would-be World Cup referee that was barred from entering the United States has spoken about the experience ahead of preparing to officiate the UEFA Super Cup.
- A group including Jeff Bezos is reportedly in talks to buy a 30% stake in Liverpool.
That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 8/10/26
Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.
Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and getting ready to cover high school sports again soon. Let’s wish a belated happy birthday to former Lion Alex Freeman, who turned 22 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to former Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja, who turns 58 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Lions Fall to Club Leon in Leagues Cup
Orlando City fell 2-1 to Club Leon at home in the second matchday of the 2026 Leagues Cup on Saturday. Marco Pasalic scored for the Lions in the first half as Orlando took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Club Leon overturned the one-goal deficit, responding with goals from Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila to take a 2-1 lead as the Liga MX side edged the Lions for the win. Orlando City will be back at home on Wednesday to face Atletico de San Luis to close out the first phase of Leagues Cup.
Pride Winless Skid Continues with Loss to Racing Louisville
The Orlando Pride fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC at home on Friday as the club continues to slide down the NWSL table and has lost back-to-back league matches. Louisville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Emma Sears scored twice to give Louisville a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Kerry Abello scored for the Pride to avoid the shutout, but Louisville secured its third win in its last four games. Meanwhile, Orlando has lost four out of its last five matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, taking on the Portland Thorns.
Americans Abroad
Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske started and played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team against Mexico in the Concacaf U-20 Championships. The U.S. fell 2-0 to Mexico in the final on Sunday. Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made their debuts for Middlesbrough in Round 1 of the Carabao Cup against Wrexham on Friday. Berhalter notched an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 to advance to the second round. Ricardo Pepi started and played 80 minutes for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Austin Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were both in action for Celtic in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Latest MLS Transfer Roundup
The LA Galaxy have been busy making moves of late, signing former FC Barcelona and Como midfielder Sergi Roberto to a contract through June 2028 with an option for the 2028-2029 season. The Galaxy added winger Chucky Lozano from San Diego FC on loan through the end of the season and reached an agreement to transfer midfielder Edwin Cerrillo to Liga MX side Club America. Atlanta United has acquired midfielder Mauricio Amaro from Uruguayan top flight club Defensor Sporting. Amaro will be under contract through the 2028-2029 season with an option for 2029-2030. San Diego FC announced on Saturday that the club has transferred defender Andres Reyes to Atletico Nacional in Colombia.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, scored his first goal in the USL Championship over the weekend.
- Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored for Malawi, which defeated Ghana 2-1 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
- Nigeria fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, resulting in Cameroon qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria will face South Africa on Thursday in a play-in match to qualify for the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
- Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed in a documentary that he had signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, but later backed out of the deal and decided to return to Chelsea after his first stint at Real Madrid.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Club Leon, Leagues Cup: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Blow Halftime Lead in Loss
Marco Pasalic gave the Lions a halftime lead, but the defense got leaky in the second half.
Marco Pasalic put Orlando City ahead in the first half, but two second-half mistakes and what appeared to be a clear foul in the penalty area late on Club Leon led to the Lions falling 2-1 at home tonight on the second matchday of Leagues Cup. Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila pulled Leon back from a goal down in the second half, and an Orlando City (1-1) side that didn’t rotate much from Wednesday’s game looked a bit leggy in the second half against Leon (2-0).
“I think, of course, very very sad for the result for us, for our people, for everyone,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t. Congrats to them; they did a really good job. We were there, trying to to compete. At the end, we were short.”
Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Luis Otavio and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfielders with Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer in the attack and Marco Pasalic and Antoine Griezmann up top.
The start of the game was bereft of action as the teams tried to figure one another out. The Lions nearly created something magical five minutes after kickoff when Pasalic sent in a great ball over the top for Griezmann, who brought it down, but it bounced a bit wide, and when he went to ground to try to shoot, the defender caught up and blocked the effort.
Neither team could do much with a corner kick opportunity over the next 15 minutes and much of the action was played between the boxes. Pasalic earned a free kick in a dangerous spot when he blew past Juan Guevara, who brought him down and picked up a yellow card. Griezmann took the free kick from just outside the area but his delivery hit the wall and came back to him. He got under his second effort and put it out of play.
The first real danger from Club Leon came on a ball over the top in the 28th minute. Crepeau came off his line but couldn’t get there before Arcila, who tried to chip the goalkeeper but he sent it wide left. Sebastian Santos got to it before it went over the end line and tried to shoot from a tight angle with Iago defending but he got under his shot and put it over the bar.
Just moments after the ensuing hydration break, Leon nearly scored on another ball over the top that was just out of Iago’s reach. Arcila got to it first and fired a shot that Crepeau saved. Fernando Beltran picked up the rebound and tried to chip the Canadian, but Crepeau was able to go up and catch the shot to keep the game scoreless.
Orlando tried a ball over the top for itself in the 36th minute. Spicer was first to it but as he swung his foot to shoot the bouncing ball, the defense arrived and bodied him, causing him to whiff on his effort. But the Lions scored anyway two minutes later.
Pasalic and Griezmann worked a nice give-and-go in the attacking half and the Frenchman sent Spicer down the left. Spicer fed Pasalic at the top of the area and the Croatian’s shot took a slight deflection and beat Oscar Garcia to make it 1-0.
“Happy to help in the first half with the goal,” Pasalic said.
After the goal, Leon showed more determination in keeping the ball and building up play. The guests couldn’t do much with a couple of corners over the next several minutes.
Leon created another chance in first-half stoppage time, when Iago was beaten and Jansson couldn’t quite get over in time to intervene. Arcila got there first and fired toward the near post but Crepeau knocked it out for a corner.
Griezmann headed away the ensuing set piece to end the first period.
The late spell of possession after Pasalic’s goal helped Leon lead in that category at the break (54.1%-45.9%). The Liga MX side also led in shots (8-6), shots on target (5-2), and corners (4-2). Orlando City passed slightly more accurately in the opening half (92.7%-91.8%)
Griffin Dorsey entered the game at halftime for Taifi, but it was Club Leon who brought the energy to the start of the second half. In the opening minutes, Crepeau was forced into two great saves. Rhein turned it over in his defensive third, and Arcila’s cheeky backheel of a cross in from the right forced the Canadian international to make a a diving stop. Leon sent the ball back in from the left to a wide-open Jordi Cortizo in front but sent it right at Crepeau for another save.
Orlando’s first chance of the second half came on a Griezmann corner kick. Dorsey headed it across the box and Iago made a flying attempt at a bicycle kick, but he missed the ball and committed a foul in the process.
Leon got back on the front foot after that, with Jansson doing well to block an Arcila shot at the top of the area in the 51st minute. Arcila then got to a cross and stabbed it wide a minute later, but the initial play was offside.
The visitors tied the game in the 54th minute off a long-range set piece near the left sideline. The cross appeared to go in off of Dorsey, who was trying to mark Juan Guevara. Crepeau got to it just after it crossed the line. Dorsey said something to Crepeau after the play, but Guevara was ultimately credited with the goal.
Orlando’s struggles throughout the game came in the attacking third, and it was magnified in the second half. One such play was a nice buildup in the 69th minute that ended up with Rhein on the left, but the youngster made a mess of his cross, sending it out of play. Two minutes later, substitute Justin Ellis headed a pass to Dorsey that he perhaps should have shot. Ellis got it to Dorsey, who didn’t make good contact and sent a weak shot for Garcia to collect.
It was a costly missed opportunity, as Leon scored the winning goal a minute later. Rhein got caught too far upfield after heading the ball forward, and Leon broke in transition down the right side in behind him. Ivan Moreno found Arcila at the top of the area and the striker found space in front of Iago and sent an inch-perfect shot inside the left post to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute.
Perelman sent Daryl Dike into the game as Orlando chased the match, and the Lions should have gone to the spot in the 84th minute. Ellis sent a fantastic ball to send Harvey Sarajian into the area on the right. Guevara caught up from behind, threw an arm across the rookie forward’s face, and bundled him over from behind, but referee Jose Camacho Espinoza incredibly saw nothing wrong with what the Leon defender did. There did not even seem to be a stoppage for video review, although media were informed that the play was checked.
“Ellis played the ball through. I’m through. I felt contact to the back, and in my opinion, I thought it was a foul,” Sarajian said. “But the referee didn’t agree. So it is what it is. I felt the contact (to the head and neck area).”
“I saw it,” Perelman said of the play. “I think the same thing as (the media).”
Leon was content to put numbers behind the ball and use the dark arts as much as possible to slow things down. The Lions won a lot of set pieces but could not pay them off. Crepeau came up to join the last few, but in the end, the Lions couldn’t find a way through the mass of Leon defenders down the stretch.
With Leon ceding possession and staying compact late, Orlando City finished with more possession (51.7%-48.3%), while also having the advantage in corners (7-5) and passing accuracy (90%-88.2%). Leon attempted far more shots (18-10) and put more on target (10-3). It was the inability to threaten goal that ultimately prevented Orlando from building on its lead or clawing back into the match.
Pasalic spoke to the referee after the game. He had been taken out in the middle of the pitch in first-half stoppage time that not only didn’t earn Leon a yellow card, but it wasn’t even deemed a foul. He came out to try to play through it in the second half, but the earlier contact forced him off before the hour mark and appeared to be one of the more egregious fouls in the match, despite the no-call.
“Suddenly, I get the hit in my knee, so my knee was getting a lump,” Pasalic said. “And I spoke with them in the halftime. I tried it to go out in the second half, but I felt that my knee is not going to help the team. It’s nothing serious, but I just want to be sure that the team has 10 players on the pitch who can play fully. I mean, I don’t want to get fined. No, just I want to speak in a respectful way about (the referee). For me, it’s unacceptable that he don’t give even the foul when I get fouled, and because of this, I was not able to play again in the second half, fully. This was not even a yellow card.”
The Lions will close out the first phase of Leagues Cup Wednesday at home against Atletico de San Luis.
PawedCast Episode 546: Leagues Cup Rewind, San Luis and Cincinnati Preview, and More
Lion Links: 8/11/26
Orlando City vs. Club León, Leagues Cup: Photo Gallery
Orlando City vs. Club León, Leagues Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Orlando City vs. Club Leon, Leagues Cup: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Blow Halftime Lead in Loss
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