Lion Links: 5/16/23

Happy Tuesday, everyone. May has been a busy month for Orlando soccer, and that isn’t going to stop anytime soon. Next up is Orlando City’s return to Exploria Stadium to take on New York City FC tomorrow. Before we get to that though, there’s plenty to cover in today’s links.

Duncan McGuire Earns Recognition

Duncan McGuire’s performance in Saturday’s 2-2 comeback draw against the Columbus Crew has earned him a spot on the bench in the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. McGuire entered the fray with a quarter of an hour remaining and scored in the second of six minutes of stoppage time to salvage a point on the road for the Lions. The rookie now has four goals and an assist in just 284 minutes on the field, and has enjoyed a fine start to his maiden MLS season. Keep up the good work!

Orlando Pride Wanted More From Sunday’s Game

From Seb Hines to various members of the Orlando Pride, the consensus is that everyone feels a little disappointed that the team didn’t get more than a point from Sunday’s match against NJ/NY Gotham FC. Seb called it a complete performance from his team and was happy with both the defending and the chances that the Pride created. Emily Madril and Erika Tymrak both agreed that the game feels a little like a loss given that Orlando outshot and created better chances than the hosts. Still, the Pride are now riding a three-game undefeated streak in the league and Saturday’s match presents something to build off of ahead of this week’s match against the top-of-the-table Washington Spirit.

European Transfer Mill

European seasons will be finishing up soon, and that means transfer talk is starting to heat up. Manchester United reportedly has its eyes on nabbing Adrien Rabiot on a free transfer should Juventus not extend the midfielder’s contract.

Barcelona President Joan Laporta seems very keen on bringing Lionel Messi back to the Catalan club, While Barcelona can’t match the financial might of Saudi Arabia’s league, he still believes the team can compete with the reportedly massive offer Messi is said to have received from Al-Hilal.

Manchester City has not abandoned hope of reaching a contract extension with Ilkay Gundogan, whose brace helped power the team to a 3-0 win over Everton on Sunday. However, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, Barcelona is said to be interested in signing him on a free transfer.

Leicester City On the Brink of Relegation

Following Monday’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool, Leicester City’s hopes of staying in the Premier League are looking increasingly fraught. The Foxes are in 19th with two games remaining, playing on the road against third-place Newcastle before playing West Ham at home on the final day of the season. Leeds United is one point above them and has a road match against West Ham next week before finishing the season at home against a Tottenham team that’s only won once in its last six games. Staying up is still possible, but the margin of error is razor thin for the team that won the league just seven years ago.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City dropped one spot to 18th in ESPN.com’s latest MLS Power Rankings.
• Marcelo Bielsa has officially been named as Uruguay’s new head coach.

• This is an interesting article about whether Major League Soccer’s standard kickoff times are a good or a bad thing.
• Paul Mullin’s Wrexham contract has been extended, and the club has also confirmed that it has held talks with goalkeeper Ben Foster about signing a new deal with the club.
• Marcel Sabitzer will miss the rest of Manchester United’s season with a knee injury.

That’s all I have for today. Y’all stay safe out there.