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Orlando City vs. Austin FC: Final Score 2-2 as Lions Robbed in Texas

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4 years ago

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You can’t really make up what happened to Orlando City in the second half while up 2-0 at Austin FC. But you don’t have to make it up because we’ve all seen this movie before.

The Lions (6-4-3, 21 points) went down two men in the second half, allowing Austin FC (7-3-3, 24 points) to rally back for a 2-2 draw at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Referee Joe Dickerson made sure he was the star of the show by sending off Rodrigo Schlegel for a second yellow card for handball within seconds — with the second one in the box and highly suspect. He sent off Cesar Araujo minutes later for a warranted dangerous play as the Orlando midfielder foolishly kicked out after being stepped on by Alex Ring.

Finally, Dickerson awarded a corner kick that certainly appeared to be a goal kick deep in stoppage time, from which the hosts tied the game. In fact, it was the player — Moussa Djitte — who appeared to touch the ball last before it went out who then scored the tying goal.

All of that aside, it was Orlando City’s own fault for not putting the game away by halftime with the unbelievable chances the Lions wasted.

“Well, first just allow me to recognize the effort of the players today, trying to overcome all those things that happened, especially at the end and in the second half, with many unfair things happened,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But I guess we’ve got to take it. We played a very good game until all those things came in the second half.”

Pareja’s starting lineup offered no surprises. Pedro Gallese took his spot in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan. Cesar Araujo played in the central midfield with Andres Perea — starting his third consecutive game in all competitions. Junior Urso functioned as a winger on an attacking midfield line with Mauricio Pereyra and Facundo Torres, with Ercan Kara up top.

The Lions jumped on top in the second minute. Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver tried playing out of the back but sent his pass right to Urso. The Bear sent the ball to Kara in front and the Austrian redirected it just inside the right post to make it 1-0. It was Kara’s third goal of the MLS season — fourth in all competitions — and the fourth-fastest goal from the start of a match in club history.

“We wanted to press them right from the first minute and we did it very good,” Kara said. “And the goalkeeper (made) a mistake and Urso (saw) me very good, and played me the ball, and the rest was an easy finish.”

The first two opportunities for Austin came off of turnovers by Araujo in the midfield. The first didn’t result in a clear-cut chance but in the ninth minute, the miscue led to a shot by Maxi Urruti that smashed off the left post. The rebound was cleared behind for an Austin corner with Diego Fagundez lurking.

Following a good spell by Austin, the Lions doubled the lead. Moutinho sent the ball down the left for Torres. The Young Designated Player got to the end line and crossed back into the area for Kara. The ball was deflected by defender Kipp Keller and fell to Pereyra, who fired immediately. Stuver made a good save to deny the captain but the ball fell to Ruan lurking near the back post and the right back slotted home to make it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.

The Lions were wasteful for the rest of the first half. That started in the 26th minute after Kara stole the ball in the attacking third. He fed Urso on his right and the Bear fired a shot right at Stuver, who made the comfortable save.

The hosts came into the match after that missed opportunity, holding much more possession for the rest of the half. Center back Julio Cascante fired a long-range shot that deflected well over the net. On the ensuing corner kick, a cross found Cascante at the back post. The defender headed the ball down and it bounced over the bar. The play may have been offside but the flag stayed down, so no review was necessary.

Right back Nick Lima cut inside the wing a few minutes later and fired a tight-angle shot that Gallese did well to save in the 35th minute. Three minutes later, Moutinho turned the ball over in his own half and Urruti fired just wide. Gallese was shaken up on the play but continued after receiving treatment from the training staff.

Orlando had some chances to put the game in a chokehold down the stretch. Kara let a shot fly from outside the area in the 43rd minute but Stuver got over and made the save. In stoppage time, the Lions had three more excellent scoring chances and should have scored. The first came on a transition opportunity with Torres and Ruan going 2-v-1. Torres was located centrally but chose to send a pass to Ruan on his left. Ruan not only failed to hold his run and stay onside, but he also missed the wide open net. Moments later, Torres had a chance to redeem himself at the top of the area but turned down a shot again to lay off for Kara who was closed down from behind and never got a shot away.

In the dying seconds, Moutinho crossed after a throw-in in the attacking third that found Urso. The Bear headed on frame and Stuver made a big save. The rebound fell for Urso who then missed everything from just a couple feet from the goal line.

The Lions went to the locker room up 2-0 but Austin was still in the game because of the missed chances.

“I thought today was a game that we could easily score two or three goals more until all this mess happened,” Pareja said.

Austin had a big advantage in first-half possession (66.2%-33.8%), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (90.4%-75%). But the hosts fired only one more shot (8-7) in the opening period and Orlando got more of its chances on target (6-2).

The Lions again had a chance to put the game away in the 53rd minute. Kara laid off for Perea at the top of the area but the midfielder fired his shot wide of Stuver’s goal. Four minutes later, the Lions created another chance. Pereyra floated in a ball for Kara, who headed down for Urso. The Bear fired his shot immediately but left it too close to the middle. Still, Stuver had to make an outstanding reaction save in the 57th minute to keep the score at 2-0.

Moments later, the entire complexion of the game changed.

Schlegel was booked for a handball just outside the area in the 58th minute. The defender’s arm was out from his body and he was trying to change direction, leaning to block the shot. Although Schlegel was pulling his arm toward his body, and almost got it there, the ball hit it and the Lions couldn’t complain too much about the free kick. However, on the free kick, the delivery by Sebastian Driussi hit Schlegel, who was part of the wall. This time, his arm didn’t appear to be in an unnatural position and he probably knew nothing at all about it. In fact, the shot may have been going wide.

Nevertheless, Dickerson showed Schlegel a second yellow and pointed to the spot. He also booked Orlando’s captain, Pereyra — who suffered four play-breaking fouls in the match, including one in transition, without drawing a yellow card — for dissent. The conversation with Video Assistant Referee Rosendo Mendoza didn’t take very long and Dickerson never went to the monitor himself to take a look.

Driussi took the spot kick right down the middle. Gallese dove to his left but dangled a leg and got a piece of the shot. However, the ball deflected into the roof of the net to pull Austin back to within 2-1 in the 63rd minute.

Up a man and now down only one goal, Austin pressed like crazy for the equalizer, winning a couple of quick corners. On the second of those, Araujo blocked a cross by Ring, who looked to have clipped the young Uruguayan, who lashed out with his boot in retaliation. There wasn’t much contact in it but Ring went down and rolled around. A conversation ensued between Dickerson and Mendoza and this time Dickerson decided to look at the play on the monitor himself. He determined it was a dangerous play by Araujo and sent off the midfielder, putting Orlando City down to nine men with still 21 minutes remaining in normal time.

And, as I said earlier, we’ve seen this movie before. Despite changing players, coaches, and even owners, this keeps happening.

Pareja sent on Tesho Akindele, Kyle Smith, and Jake Mulraney to provide some energy as the shorthanded Lions attempted to see out the match. He withdrew Kara, Pereyra, and Torres.

Mulraney nearly made his presence felt immediately, pressuring the ball high and poking it toward goal, but the shot rolled wide in the 73rd minute.

Two minutes later, Austin Head Coach Josh Wolff sent Djitte for Daniel Pereira, as he no longer had need of a holding midfielder, chasing the game while up two men.

Orlando caught a break when Driussi sent a free header over the bar in the 77th minute, but the Lions’ stayed compact with their nine men and invited crosses rather than giving Austin space to get inside.

Austin tried to get a third Lion sent off when Fagundez tried to hurry Gallese, picking the ball up and walking toward Orlando’s goalkeeper. Jansson stepped between the two players and Fagundez lowered his shoulder and initiated contact. Jansson certainly didn’t get out of his way and lowered his own shoulder at the last second. Fagundez crumpled to the ground to sell a call and did manage to get Dickerson to book Jansson in the 82nd minute.

A minute later, the ball ended up on Fagundez’s foot behind the defense. He beat Gallese with a far-post shot but the ball caromed off of the woodwork and Orlando recovered.

Gallese bought his team some rest with a lengthy delay as the trainers came out to look at him for the second time in the match. But Austin went right back on the attack after that.

A cross in found Djitte unmarked, after the forward had gotten in front of Smith, but his header went over the bar in the 89th minute. A minute after that, Ring had a go from the top of the box and Gallese made a sensational one-armed save to preserve the lead — for the moment anyway.

The fourth official signaled seven minutes of injury time, and Pareja tried to waste some of that with a couple of substitutions, sending Sebas Mendez and Michael Halliday on in separate switches for Urso and Ruan.

Dickerson made his final critical mistake in the fifth minute of stoppage time. A ball into the area was headed off of Djitte’s shoulder and out for an apparent goal kick — but not apparent to Dickerson, who signaled for a corner.

Orlando players were incensed and argued vehemently to no avail. Austin played the corner short and sent a back-post cross in that Djitte got a touch on and knocked into the net to level the game at 2-2 in the 95th minute.

“It’s frustrating, very frustrating, the management of that. Those plays,” Pareja said of the officiating. “When it hurt us the most is when they scored a goal, it was it was a corner that was called that…no way. It was our ball and they called a corner and that’s what frustrates us the most. It’s unbelievable the corner that they gave up. It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unacceptable for me.”

Orlando looked to have something going moments later. Akindele went straight up and headed an aerial ball, then appeared to have a chance to get in alone on goal when the defender fell. Dickerson, however, saw some kind of infraction on Akindele and gave Austin the ball back.

The 97th minute came and went, then the 98th, and the 99th, before Dickerson finally blew the full-time whistle. Orlando City was probably fortunate to get any kind of result, given the circumstances, but the Lions could have, and should have, come home with three points.

Austin finished with way more possession (71.4%-28.6%), shots (22-12), corners (10-2), and passing accuracy (90.4%-73.1%). Orlando had more shots on target (7-5).

“It was a tough game, but I think we played very well,” Kara said. “And we did good in the first half and also in the beginning of the second half, but the red cards put us from our way, and it was hard decisions from the referee, but yet we still keep fighting. It’s a point away and we’re looking forward.”

The Lions will have a quick turnaround with a Wednesday night home U.S. Open Cup match-up against Inter Miami CF. Schlegel and Araujo will miss Saturday’s match against FC Dallas.

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Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake.

Published

7 hours ago

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August 23, 2026

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Image of Justin Ellis slicing between two Real Salt Lake defenders.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Orlando City hosted Real Salt Lake at Inter.co Stadium Saturday, and it was a tale of two halves. The first half was one of the most boring first halves of soccer ever, and the second half was a wild free-for-all with Orlando City coming to life. The Lions were able to earn all three points at home, defeating RSL 2-1. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

An Inevitable Goal

Orlando City put out a mostly first-choice team on short rest, while RSL rotated pretty heavily due to their schedule congestion and a Leagues Cup knockout match coming up on Tuesday.The Lions had the majority of the possession through the first 35 mintues, while RSL was able to send the ball over the top a few times early, but the visitors kept getting the timing wrong against Orlando’s high line, resulting in offside calls. That was until the 36th minute, when Dominik Marczuk managed to stay onside, blazed past Zakaria Taifi, and was all alone on the back post. It wasn’t hard to put it in from there. Orlando City had the better of the play up to that point, but it still felt like Real Salt Lake’s goal was more likely.

Possession Without Purpose

Despite holding 58% possession in the first half, Orlando City managed to get exactly zero shots on goal on zero shots total. Zero shots taken the entire first half! As I mentioned above, that was zero shots against a heavily rotated RSL squad. For a team with Antoine Griezmann, Marco Pasalic, and Griffin Dorsey in the starting lineup, that stat is unacceptable. The lack of any chances resulted in Martin Perelman bringing on Justin Ellis and Daryl Dike as offensive halftime substitutions.

Subs Make a Difference

It took less than 10 minutes for Ellis and Dike, along with fellow substitute Joran Gerbet, to make a difference. While it was ultimately Griezmann who scored the goal, it was Gerbet, Ellis, and Dike that made it happen. Gerbet picked up a loose ball Eduard Atuesta won and sent it to Ellis on the right. Ellis sent the ball into the box to Dike, who took it with his back to goal, pirouetted with the ball, and shot it. Unfortunately for Dike, Mason Stajduhar was there to block it. Unfortunately for Stajduhar, Griezmann was there for the poacher’s goal to level the score for Orlando City. Griezmann positioned himself wisely without the ball, but it was the three halftime subs that really made it happen.

Griezmann Gets Another

After equalizing, Orlando City had all the momentum and pressed for a second goal. It was Griezmann who provided the winning goal with his first brace for the Lions. If his first goal was a “right time, right place” type of goal, his second was luck and skill combined. He took a pass in the box from Tyrese Spicer and tried to back heel it to Dike. The ball bounced off the defender and right back to Griezmann, who wasted no time in putting it in the back of the net. It was a microcosm of Griezmann’s time in Orlando for me. He tried to be unselfish, but ultimately taking the shot himself was what was needed. More of this please.

Possession With Purpose

If Orlando City did almost nothing with the ball in the first half, the Lions did everything needed with the ball in the second half. They actually raised the possession to 60% by the end of the match, scored two goals, and didn’t allow a second from RSL. The defenders were able to clear most of the attacks and Maxime Crepeau cleaned up anything that got through. Orlando City was able to continue to push into the attack even after the second goal. As I said above, it was a tale of two halves, and fortunately, the second half was enough for the win.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Final Score 2-1 as Griezmann’s Brace Lifts Lions to Win

Antoine Griezmann scored twice in the second half to help Orlando City erase a 1-0 deficit and beat RSL at home.

Published

17 hours ago

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August 22, 2026

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Image of Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis celebrating a goal against Real Salt Lake.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Antoine Griezmann scored two second-half goals for his first Orlando City brace, leading the Lions to a 2-1 comeback win over Real Salt Lake at Inter.co Stadium tonight. After a lethargic opening 45 minutes that saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead into the half on Dominik Marczuk’s goal, an energetic trio of halftime subs injected life into the attack for Orlando (7-11-3, 24 points).

Griezmann’s two goals pushed the Lions past Real Salt Lake (8-8-4, 28 points), but it’s fair to say Orlando City wasn’t clean enough in the first half and couldn’t turn possession into attacking threat until the introduction of second-half subs Justin Ellis, Joran Gerbet, Daryl Dike, and Tyrese Spicer.

The Lions snapped an 0-2-2 winless streak in all competitions and a 0-2-1 skid in league play with tonight’s win, moving just over the playoff line into ninth spot in the Eastern Conference.

“It was a tough game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “It wasn’t easy the first half; we tried good and sometimes it happens like that, the game. I think the team in the second half was able to to play in a very difficult moment. It’s not easy and the guys did an amazing job.”

Perelman’s lineup included Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Zakaria Taifi, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Luis Otavio and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield inside of Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Tiago joining Antoine Griezmann up top.

The first half consisted of long spells of Orlando possession that came to nothing against a heavily rotated RSL side, with former Lion Mason Stajduhar having to do nothing in goal, because the Lions couldn’t even manage one first-half shot attempt. The visitors were content to stay in their low block of five at the back and four midfielders, wait for the exhausted-looking hosts to misplace a pass or have a bad touch, and look for chances to hit on the counter or with balls over the top.

Griezmann looked the most in need of a rest, as several of his touches were heavy in the first half, but he was far from the only one.

There was a scary moment early in the game when Jansson collided with Marczuk on an attempted RSL switch of play. The Orlando City captain was fouled and stayed down to get treatment, eventually leaving the field under his own power. He was able to return moments later.

Orlando City won a few set pieces in the opening half but did nothing with them, while the visitors looked dangerous if they could stay onside, which they struggled to do early. When the Lions did manage to find space against RSL’s back line, the crosses were poor, ending up either out of play or in the goalkeeper’s hands.

The visitors broke through the dull affair in the 36th minute. Alexandros Katranis laid off a ball on the left flank for Sam Junqua behind him. Junqua picked up his head and spotted Marczuk’s well-timed run behind Taifi and delivered a nice cross. Marczuk met the ball in the air with his foot and knocked it past Crepeau to make it 1-0.

Crepeau kept things from getting worse just before halftime. Angulo turned the ball over on an attempted recycle of a failed set piece, igniting a Real Salt Lake counter. The ball ended up with Marczuk again on the right and this time Crepeau was able to get a hand on it to palm it out for a corner.

The Lions dealt with the set piece and the half came to an end with Orlando’s starters trailing 1-0 to an RSL B-squad that dien’t allow a single shot attempt.

At the break, Orlando City had the advantage in possession (59.4%-40.6%) and passing accuracy (89.7-84.2%), while Real Salt Lake led in shots (3-0) and shots on target (2-0) and each team won one corner.

“It was a complicated game,” Griezmann said. “It’s never easy starting off with with a negative mark like that, but we made changes at halftime and put more more guys further up the field, and we were able to to get that goal and really kind of give ourselves some time of tranquility to create more opportunities to create those occasions to go out and get the winner.”

Looking to injuct some life into the game, or at least some fresh legs, Perelman sent Gerbet, Dike, and Ellis into the game at halftime for Otavio, Tiago, and Pasalic. It took a few minutes for the subs to settle in, but it made a difference in the Lions’ energy level.

Marczuk had the first look at goal in the second half, however, firing from distance from the right side, but it caused no trouble for Crepeau in the 50th minute.

Gerbet and Atuesta worked well together in the middle, keeping the ball better and allowing Taifi to jump into the play on the left. Taifi had a shot blocked out for a corner in the 51st minute. A minute later, Atuesta played a slick through ball for Griezmann. With Stajduhar coming off his line, the Frenchman chipped a shot over him but it went inches wide of the left post.

Orlando scored seconds after Stajduhar put the ball back into play. Atuesta won the ball to Gerbet at midfield, and he turned and found Ellis on the right. Ellis sent it in front to Dike for the shot, but it was blocked to Griezmann, who cleaned up in front, making it 1-1 in the 53rd minute.

Taifi got down the left in the 55th minute and did well to cut back a cross for Griezmann entering the box. Griezmann hit his shot immediately but it fizzed just over the bar. Three minutes later, Taifi cut inside and fired but hit the outside of the left post.

Real Salt Lake sent on Diego Luna, Saba Lobjanidze, and Morgan Guilavogui to try to counter the energy Orlando’s subs had brought into the game, and things opened up a bit. Dorsey did well to stick out a foot to deny a pass that would have put Luna in on goal in the 64th minute.

Spicer came on for Taifi in the 69th minute and injected even more energy into the match. He quickly won a set piece on the left just moments after coming on near the left corner flag. Atuesta sent his delivery on target toward the near post but it was headed behind for a corner kick. The ensuing corner bounced out to Ellis near the top of the area. The Homegrown forward used some deft footwork to work his way past two defenders before getting his shot blocked out for another corner.

Real Salt Lake broke the other way after the set piece and Luna ended up with it. He fired on target but Crepeau blocked it out of play for a corner. Orlando partially cleared the set piece delivery and Katranis tried a shot from long range that was well off target.

Orlando City took the lead moments later. Jansson sent the ball long out of the back to Spicer on the left. The Trinidad & Tobago international did well to get a cross in for Griezmann in the box. The first touch got away from the Frenchman but he picked up the rebound and slotted it past Stajduhar to make it 2-1 in the 81st minute.

“I think it’s a very good cross from ‘Spice’ and I was thinking to do one touch to score but I did very bad,” Griezmann said. “The defender touched the ball and the ball came to me, and yeah I saw a lot of legs and I tried to just make a pass between the legs of the defender and here is where you need to be patient just for one or two seconds. And today I was very patient in this time and this is why I scored.”

“It’s mandatory for us to enjoy Griezmann,” Perelman said. “We are lucky to be in the moment that he’s here with us. He’s one of the best players in the history of this sport. We have the privilege to see him. It’s just about enjoying him, watching him and enjoying him.”

Real Salt Lake threw bodies forward into the attack, but aside from some corner kicks, the visitors couldn’t produce much. Any time it looked like RSL might create something in the final third, Orlando was able to block crosses or head them out of danger. Orlando City also kept the ball well for spells down the stretch, taking the pressure off and allowing the Lions to see out the game.

At the final whistle, the Lions held the advantage in possession (59.6%-40.4%), shots (13-9), passing accuracy (88.8%-82%), and corners (5-4). Real Salt Lake put more shots on target (4-3). Ultimately, the Lions were sharp enough in the second half to make up for the slow start, although RSL helped out by being offside seven times to just once for Orlando.

“In the final zone, we were a lot more aggressive,” Griezmann said of the second half. “We were pressing more and more aggressive with our press, and it was a really good way to to get the win tonight.”

“The players were wanting to give us that control of the game against a team who sat back a little bit,” Perelman said. “I think the guys did a huge effort. Fortunately we could come back, win, because we really need it, and now we need to rest and think (about) the next one.”

“Just so happy to have the win at home,” Gerbet said. “It’s been like a gritty one, but a necessary one, an important one towards like the end of the season to get some momentum, because we’re going to start to go away as well, so we need to start to gain momentum, and I think that was a great way to do it.”

The Lions now get an honest-to-goodness normal work week. Their next match will be a week from tonight at Minnesota United.

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Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look to finish their long homestand with a bounce-back performance against RSL.

Published

1 day ago

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August 22, 2026

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Image of the starting Orlando City lineup prior to playing a home game vs. the Chicago Fire.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night showdown between Orlando City (6-11-3, 21 points) and Real Salt Lake (8-7-4, 28 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the first and only scheduled meeting between the two teams from opposing conferences and the first time they’ve met since 2023 in Utah.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 2-2-3 in seven previous MLS meetings with RSL, including a 1-0-2 mark at home. However, Orlando City is 0-2-1 in their last three games against tonight’s visitors.

The last time the teams met, it was a forgettable result for Orlando City fans. But if you do remember, it’s not for good reasons, because it was a 4-0 beatdown that Real Salt Lake laid on the Lions on July 8, 2023. Cristian Arango, Justen Glad, Jefferson Savarino, and Anderson Julio did the damage.

During the most recent matchup in Orlando, most of us had no idea what COVID-19 was yet. The Lions and Real Salt Lake met on opening day of the 2020 MLS season, playing to a 0-0 draw at Exploria Stadium on Feb. 29. Despite it being a Leap Day, no one wanted to leap onto the scoresheet.

Orlando City lost the previous meeting, a 2-1 Real Salt Lake win in Utah on April 13, 2019. Nani scored Orlando’s only goal that day, but it came late in the match after Sam Johnson and Demir Kreilach had staked RSL to a 2-0 lead.

The May 6, 2018 meeting in Orlando was a wild 3-1 win for the Lions in which RSL missed multiple good scoring chances, hitting the woodwork and forcing Joe Bendik into some big saves. Dom Dwyer, Lamine Sané, and Yoshimar Yotún provided Orlando’s offense to offset Corey Baird’s early strike.

When the teams met in 2017 at Rio Tinto, Will Johnson provided all the offense against his old club in a 1-0 Orlando City victory. Johnson’s tally in the 17th minute was all Orlando City needed to take the first win of the series after two draws the previous two seasons.

In 2016, the teams played a memorable opening day match in which the Lions roared back with a frantic rally, as Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter pulled City level in a 2-2 draw at the Citrus Bowl. Joao Plata scored both RSL goals — one from the penalty spot — and RSL led 2-0 despite going down a man for 25 minutes, prior to Chris Penso evening things out by sending off Darwin Ceren.

Orlando drew 1-1 on the road in 2015 while down to 10 men after Kaká was sent off at the end of the first half. The captain opened the scoring. Sebastian Jaime found the equalizer in the 28th.

Match Overview

Orlando City enters on a poor run of form in a congested fixture schedule. The Lions lost 2-1 at home against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, making it four games without a win in all competitions (0-2-2) and they haven’t won in MLS play in their last three (0-2-1). While the defense is leaking just one or two goals per game of late, the offense has been less tidy in finishing chances, which could be attributed to some players, including Antoine Griezmann, not getting much rest during this stretch of seven games in 22 days. Orlando is a pedestrian 4-4-2 at home this season and is winless in its last two home matches (0-1-1).

Real Salt Lake sits eighth in the Western Conference after going 0-3-3 in its last six league matches, including a 4-3 home loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday. But, oddly enough, that stretch of matches sandwiches a 2-0-1 run in Leagues Cup, and RSL advanced to the knockout rounds, where it will play Club Leon on Tuesday, so we may see some rotation, assuming the Utah-based club is going all in on trying to win Leagues Cup or at least one of the three coveted Concacaf Champions Cup spots. Tonight’s match will be RSL’s first on the road since Aug. 1, where the team is 1-5-3 in 2026 in league play.

Sergi Solans leads tonight’s opponents in goals (9) and goal contributions (12), with Diego Luna leading in assists (6) while adding five goals for 11 total goal contributions. The departure of Zavier Gozo and his six goals and five assists is a tough break for RSL, because beyond those three, 10 goals are spread across eight different players.

The Lions must rediscover their scoring boots for this game, as the Orlando defense pitches precious few shutouts, and if RSL plays its starters, either Solans, Luna, or both could do some damage on the other end.

The Lions will be without Braian Ojeda (foot), Martin Ojeda (thigh), and Bernardo Rhein (thigh), while Adrian Marin (thigh) is questionable, so left back may be an adventure, with Zakaria Taifi, Ivan Angulo, and David Brekalo as the leading candidates to play there, and all of them are right-footed. Real Salt Lake will be without Zach Booth (hamstring), Griffin Dillon (foot), Emeka Eneli (knee), Glad (adductor), and Ariath Piol (Achilles).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Zakaria Taifi, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Tiago, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Joran Gerbet, Gustavo Caraballo, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer, Justin Ellis, Daryl Dike.

Real Salt Lake (5-4-1)

Goalkeeper: Mason Stajduhar.

Defenders: Alexandros Katranis, Sam Junqua, Juan Arias, Kobi Henry, Domink Marczuk.

Midfielders: Aiden Hezarkhan, Luca Moisa, Pablo Ruiz, Lineker Rodrigues.

Forward: Victor Olatunji.

Bench: Rafael Cabral, Juan Sanabria, Philip Quinton, Lukas Engel, Noel Caliskan, Colin Guske, Morgan Guilavogui, Saba Lobjanidze, Diego Luna.

Referees

REF: Fotis Bazakos.
AR1: Brian Dunn.
AR2: Jose Da Silva.
4TH: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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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