Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/21/23

Orlando City gets ready for D.C. United, Orlando Pride hit the road to face the Kansas City Current, Europa League quarterfinals wrap up, and more.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

It’s Friday! This week has felt like a long one for me and I’m ready to get a breather and watch some soccer this weekend. While I normally plan on checking out new restaurants at least once a week, I’m hitting up some of my favorites instead for some good brunch and barbecue. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy 31st birthday to Orlando City goalkeeper Adam Grinwis!

Orlando City Gets Ready for Home Match Against D.C. United

The Lions won their first game at Allianz Field last weekend in a comeback 2-1 win over Minnesota United. They will aim to keep that momentum rolling when they take on D.C. United tomorrow at Exploria Stadium. Orlando has struggled at home so far this season and this will be the first of back-to-back home games for the Lions. D.C. United has given Orlando difficulty in the past, including earlier this year at Audi Field in a 1-1 draw. Rookie forward Duncan McGuire scored for the Lions in that match and their recent match against the Loons, so hopefully he can continue his decent form this season tomorrow night. Defender Robin Jansson will pass Chris Mueller for the most appearances in the club’s MLS era should he take part in tomorrow’s match.

Orlando Pride Prepare for the Kansas City Current

After three straight home games, the Orlando Pride hit the road this weekend for a match against the Kansas City Current on Sunday. The Current and Pride are the only NWSL teams who have lost all three of their games this season. The Pride have scored the fewest goals in the league, while the Current have conceded the most, setting up for an interesting match-up. The Current fired Matt Potter as their head coach earlier this week, and then won their NWSL Challenge Cup match against the Houston Dash. The Pride’s defense, which has given up late goals in its past three matches, will have to contend with a Kansas City offense led by Debinha, Cece Kizer, and Mimmi Larsson.

Europa League Semifinals Are Set

After a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in the first leg, Sevilla beat Manchester United 3-0 to reach the Europa League semifinals. Manchester defenders Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were both unavailable due to injuries sustained in the first leg, and Sevilla took full advantage of their absence. Youssef En-Nesyri capitalized on a mistake by Harry Maguire to score early in the match and then scored another in the 81st minute to put the game on ice. In the semifinals, Sevilla will face Juventus, which advanced after a 1-1 draw with Sporting CP. AS Roma sent its match with Feyenoord Rotterdam into extra time thanks to a late equalizer from Paulo Dybala. Italians Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini both scored for Roma in extra time to book the club a spot in the semifinals. Jose Mourinho’s club will take on a Bayer Leverkusen side that won 4-1 against Union Saint-Gilloise.

Juventus’ Point Penalty Suspended

Juventus moved up to third place in the Serie A standings after its 15-point penalty was suspended. The penalty was given to Juventus back in January for false accounting, with many members of its previous board handed bans as well. The case has been referred back to the federation’s appeals court. With the points awarded back, Juventus is currently in position to qualify for the Champions League. The club is still considerably behind league-leading Napoli, which will visit Juventus for a match on Sunday.

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  • In a Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship qualifier, Orlando Pride forward Amanda Allen started in Canada’s 4-0 win over Cuba.
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