Orlando City
Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls, U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 5-1 as Lions Blast Their Way into Championship Match
Orlando City looked to be in trouble midway through the first half of its U.S. Open Cup semifinal match against the New York Red Bulls at Exploria Stadium, allowing numerous dangerous scoring chances to the visitors and falling behind late in the opening period. But the Lions pulled Lewis Morgan’s goal back at the death of the first half through unlikely scorer Cesar Araujo, and then added four in the second half to run away with a 5-1 win and earn the team’s first berth in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.
Araujo led the scoring barrage with a brace, but Orlando also got goals from Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres, and Benji Michel. The win avenged an earlier 3-0 loss at home to the Red Bulls in MLS play.
“I think the confidence that (the players) showed today as a group helped them a lot to put things together,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The team showed that we have talent and cohesiveness among the players. It’s just trying to get that consistency and it’s a long season.”
Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Araujo and Junior Urso started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Alexandre Pato, Pereyra, and Torres, with Michel up top in the striker role.
Orlando City started well, owning the first 15 minutes of the game. Michel had a takeaway in the area just over a minute after kickoff that almost led to an early chance, but his cutback pass for Urso was cut out by the defense at the last second. The Lions had a good opportunity in the 11th minute when Pereyra was fouled just outside the area but the captain hit his free kick into the wall on the set piece.
The Red Bulls fired their first warning shot in transition in the 14th minute when they quickly got the ball up the field, where Luquinhas fired just wide of the left post.
Luquinhas so close 😤 @NewYorkRedBulls
0-0 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/Sup6bI4CAx
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 27, 2022
Two minutes after that, Orlando had a chance that Pato couldn’t finish. Pereyra sent Ruan to the end line with a superb pass and the right back made a great cutback pass to find Pato, but the Brazilian’s shot was just wide of the right post.
Oh-so close from Pato 😈 | @OrlandoCitySC
0-0 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/iAQKignonJ
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 27, 2022
Luquinhas got a second chance in the 19th minute from the top of the area but again sent his shot just inches wide of the left post. The chance came on a quick transition after a Ruan turnover in his own end. The Red Bulls took control for most of the remainder of the half at that point. Patryk Klimala sent a bicycle kick off the crossbar in the 20th minute. The ball found Dylan Nealis near the left post but Gallese made a spectacular save to keep the game scoreless.
What. Just. Happened. 🤯#USOC2022 | #ORLvRBNY pic.twitter.com/RwycsTfjsr
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 27, 2022
New York kept creating chances out of innocuous plays. Klimala was under pressure but still came close when he hit the post in the 27th minute with a curling effort.
Pato again had the ball on his foot in a dangerous spot in the 38th minute. Ruan sent the ball across the front of goal to Pato, who missed high with his shot.
It appeared the teams would head into the break scoreless but then New York struck in transition. Pato had numbers in the attack and held the ball too long, losing it in traffic. The Red Bulls quickly broke down the field to Klimala on the right. The forward sent a ball across the top of the box to Morgan, who fired just under the crossbar to give the visitors a 1-0 lead early in stoppage time.
🚀 at the back post
Lewis Morgan puts @NewYorkRedBulls into the lead in the first Semifinal with a rocket from a tough angle.
0-1 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/b77kZ4V5uH
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022
Orlando struck back just before the whistle. Antonio Carlos made a rare run up the field and threaded a sweet pass through the line to Ruan. The right back again made a good pass, floating one for Pato but the defense arrived just in time to nod it behind for a corner. On the set piece, the cross found Carlos at the near post and the defender sent his header toward the back post. It hit the woodwork and bounced out in front to Araujo, who swept it home with the last kick of the half.
Didn't last long 🤯@OrlandoCitySC strike right back before the half through César Araújo to draw level with the @NewYorkRedBulls.
1-1 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/n3pVJwIlhv
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022
“I’m living in a beautiful moment right now in my personal life and for me in my career,” Araujo said. “But the most important thing right now is the team won tonight. We get to go on and play in the final.”
Orlando City dominated possession (64.7%-35.3%) and passed more accurately (83%-71.2%) but New York had more shots (10-6), shots on target (3-1), and corners (5-1).
The Lions took the lead just two minutes after the break on a team goal that started with a defensive recovery. Orlando worked the ball up the right and the ball ended up in the midfield on Pereyra’s foot. The captain turned and switched play to Torres on the left side near the top of the area. Torres held the ball and waited for Moutinho to make an overlapping run and gave him a good pass to run onto. The left back then sent a diagonal ball back up through the box, where Pereyra ran onto it and struck it into the back of the net.
1 > 2 > 3 —> Gol 🤩@OrlandoCitySC make it look easy right after the half to take the lead over @NewYorkRedBulls through captain Mauricio Pereyra.
2-1 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/8LbfaeFXPp
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022
“For me, I think letting in that first goal early on (in the second half),” New York defender Aaron Long said on what changed after halftime. “I think, as a group, we got a little unsettled, and in a game that is win or go home, I think maybe we pushed the envelope a little too quick, too fast, got a little bit stretched trying to score that second goal.”
New York tried to get it right back. Ruan’s clumsy attempt to knock the ball away went awry when he swung and missed, knocking his opponent down. The Red Bulls had a dangerous free kick and Ruan saw a yellow card. On the set piece, Carlos cleared the delivery but the recycled ball found its way to Nealis at the top of the area, but he sent the shot well over the bar.
Sean Nealis fouled Torres near the top of the penalty area moments later and Pato fired a shot under the wall. The ball was hit right at goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, who nearly spilled it but managed to smother it in the end.
Orlando started to look more and more dangerous getting down the flanks of the Red Bulls’ defense. Torres unleashed a shot in the 62nd minute from the left corner of the box that Coronel got a touch on, sending it out for a corner kick. He only postponed the third Orlando City goal by a few seconds.
On the set piece, a defender got a foot to the ball that Pato served in, but it squirted up in the air. Michel was first to it and headed it to his left, where Araujo fired home his second of the match — and of his professional career — making it 3-1 and giving the Lions their first breathing room seemingly all season.
Another for Araujo ✌️
The Uruguayan strikes again to put @OrlandoCitySC into a commanding lead over @NewYorkRedBulls — and one step closer to the Final.
3-1 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/UlFTxPUp8w
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022
Pato got his third — and best — golden opportunity of the match in the 65th when he was slipped in behind the defense. Unfortunately, the Brazilian tried to wait out Coronel and the New York goalkeeper ended up smothering it before he could get off a shot. Two minutes later, Michel got loose down the right flank and smashed a shot on target toward the near post, but Coronel fought it off.
Luquinhas sent yet another shot just wide in the 74th minute. His three misses combined must have missed the target by less than a yard in total.
A minute later, Torres scored, but it took a few moments for it to count. Torres got the ball from Urso, raced down the left in behind the defense, and beat Coronel to make it 4-1. The assistant referee’s flag had momentarily come up but there was no whistle and regardless, no one on New York was catching Torres at that point whether they switched off or not. Torres’ finish was good, and after a few moments of referee Victor Rivas discussing the play with his assistant, the goal was given. The Lions led 4-1 in the 75th minute. It was a new season high in goals for the club and the team’s first three-goal lead all year.
Make that 4️⃣
Facundo Torres gets his goal and @OrlandoCitySC can dream of a first-ever Open Cup Final with a huge lead over @NewYorkRedBulls.
4-1 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/zzzUN5uNwi
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022
Torres then took an absolutely ridiculous ball from Jansson and set up a great finish by Michel in the 83rd minute to complete the night.
Well, it's a rout now 🤷@OrlandoCitySC add another one through Benji Michel to heap more woe on @NewYorkRedBulls.
5-1 | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/qFoOiS3BrC
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022
Nicholas Gioacchini made his debut late in the match to get his first minutes as a Lion and he picked up a booking on his first foul with the team, which is the most Orlando City thing ever.
The Lions saw out the final minutes of normal time and there was no stoppage time given by Rivas as Orlando City punched its ticket to the U.S. Open Cup final — the second final under Pareja when counting the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament.
New York fired more shot attempts (17-14) and won more corners (5-2), but Orlando City led in possession (59.9%-40.1%), passing accuracy (81%-74.5%), and shots on goal.
“The best thing is that we are aware of the things that we need to work on,” Pareja said. “And today we showed also that we have the tools to do it right, so congratulations to the players and congratulations to the fans for taking our club to another final and showing that we can be much better as well in our performing on the league games, and we will keep working on it.”
Scenes. Absolute scenes in Orlando. 👏@OrlandoCitySC | #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/hJZACFOyvK
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022
The Lions return to league play on Sunday when they visit Audi Field to face D.C. United. Orlando City will host the U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 7.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Five Takeaways
Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake.
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!
Orlando City
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.
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.
Orlando City
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.
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
- The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
- David Rohe gave his three keys to an Orlando City victory in tonight’s match.
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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