Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Maul Herons in Fort Lauderdale
The Lions win the first 2023 installment of the Tropic Thunder rivalry convincingly on the road.
Ercan Kara scored another goal and assisted on the winner as Orlando City got back in the win column with a 3-1 victory over Inter Miami at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The Lions (5-4-4, 19 points) conceded a second-half equalizer to Leonardo Campana, but Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos added goals to lead Orlando past its intrastate rival, Miami (5-8-0, 15 points).
The win turned a four-match winless skid (0-2-2) in all competitions into a modest three-game unbeaten run (1-0-2). The Lions improved to 5-3-2 in the all-time, regular-season series, 5-3-3 in all competitions against Miami, and 2-3-0 at DRV PNK Stadium.
“We’re very happy to just have such a performance here on this field against a main rival, so we’re very proud,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Also I want to congratulate the players with the way they played tonight. I think it was until minute 60 until there was a first shot against. So, we had a very solid structure and the character for them, the initiative to play the game and be protagonists in an away game, it was super.”
Pareja’s lineup offered a few surprises. Without Michael Halliday (international duty), the prevailing thought was that the Lions would return to a back line with three center backs, as has been used primarily in road games this year. Instead, Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a four-man back line of Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith — starting just one yellow card short of suspension for accumulation. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena continued to log miles in central midfield during a busy May schedule behind an attacking line of Gaston Gonzalez, Facundo Torres, and Ivan Angulo, with Kara up top.
Orlando City dominated the first half in terms of chances and creating threatening situations. That started just five minutes in when Gonzalez got down the left channel on a nice pass from Torres, but the Argentine’s cross was too close to goalkeeper Drake Callender, who caught it. Two minutes later, it was Torres spoiling a nice buildup with a heavy touch in traffic. He caught back up to the ball but then sent too heavy a through ball forward for Gonzalez, and it went out of play.
At the 10-minute mark, Kara rattled the goal frame when Angulo’s cross found him in transition, and the big Austrian escaped from the marking of former Lion Kamal Miller and headed off the left post. Kara was sent in behind in the 12th minute but the flag came up and Callender made a fantastic reaction save against him anyway.
In the 13th minute, it was Angulo getting to the end line and having his cross deflect high. It may have gone in, but Callender leaped up and tipped it to himself to keep it out.
Orlando finally cashed in at minute 19. The Lions won a throw-in on their right side and Araujo went over to take it. The Uruguayan’s long throw found Kara at the near post. The striker was able to fend off a great deal of grabbing and tugging and nodded the ball behind himself. Callender couldn’t react in time and the ball went in to make it 1-0. It was Kara’s third consecutive game with a goal and his fourth in five league games.
Referee Ramy Touchan then started to give out some weird cards. Antonio Carlos was booked for his first foul, which was a rather mundane-looking one against Campana. Angulo got one later for kicking the ball back to the spot of an innocuous-looking foul on Kara.
But the bigger issue for Orlando was a lack of killing off the half. Torres and Angulo fired wide of goal in the 28th and 30th minutes, respectively, despite having plenty of space at the top of the area. A minute after Angulo’s miss, Gonzalez did well to get around his defender inside the left side of the box, but then he sent his cross into the middle of several Miami players instead of anywhere near a teammate.
Inter Miami made a sub at minute 33, sacrificing Sergii Kryvstov for Nicolas Stefanelli, and changed to a four-man back line look. That helped the hosts win more possession — Orlando had most of the ball to that point — but they didn’t create much with it, although they started keeping the ball for much longer spells and snuffing out Orlando counters more successfully.
Angulo got caught between two minds at the top of the area in the 45th minute and fired a shot about 15 or 20 yards wide right of goal.
The Lions saw out an unexpected six minutes of stoppage time and took their 1-0 lead into the break.
The Herons had more possession in the opening half (58.9%-41.1%), due in large part to holding most of the ball after their shape change, and they passed more accurately (83.7%-75.9%). The Lions fired more shots (5-0) and more shots on target (1-0), and won the lone corner of the opening period. However, a lack of precision continued to plague the team and kept the lead from growing.
Holding the hosts without a shot showed how the first half went, despite the teams only being separated by one goal at the break.
“In the first half, I thought we all had a great game,” Araujo said. “And being able to maintain that zero (shots against) in the first half was very important to set up ourselves in the second half. I think we hit all together in a great moment, and we were able to take home three points.”
“I think we played one of our best 35 minutes in the first half,” Pareja said. “We dominated the game. We had personality to dominate the possession and create chances. And then Miami changed their model. They took one of the center backs off the field and they brought one of their midfielders who started getting in behind our two midfielders. That made us drop 10-15 yards that we didn’t want (to do). The problem was that we lost possession of the ball because we started giving the ball away again.”
Not much changed to start the second half. Miami kept the ball more and worked it around, but after halftime the Herons were able to start finding enough space to attempt shots.
Chances at the other end were few to start the second period, but Kara did get to a corner cross that was a bit behind him and headed it over the bar in the 50th minute. Two minutes later, the Lions stole the ball in the attacking third and broke in transition, but Angulo took too many touches at the top of the box trying to figure out what to do with it and ultimately lost control of it.
The Herons made Orlando pay for not extending the lead — and for a bad turnover — in the 57th minute. A poor — and very much telegraphed — outlet pass from Santos to Torres was easily won by DeAndre Yedlin in the attacking third, and the ball was quickly given to Josef Martinez. Araujo came to close him down and then ran with the former Atlanta striker when he dropped it off for Campana. The Miami Designated Player made a move to cut back against an aggressive close-out by Cartagena, and then had time and space to blast a shot high past Gallese to tie the match. Cartagena nearly recovered to block it but couldn’t make contact and the game was level.
Gallese kept things from getting worse in the 63rd minute when Dixon Arroyo had time outside the area and drove a hard shot on frame. El Pulpo got down to make the save on a difficult ball that bounced right in front of him.
Seconds later, Gonzalez pulled up and went down in apparent pain. He was subbed off along with Smith. Rodrigo Schlegel and Ojeda came on and Orlando went to a three-center-back system. That helped the team regain some control of the match, as the Lions were again able to get into transition opportunities and find outlets that they couldn’t in the middle third of the game.
Pareja said he wanted to see if his team could re-establish itself to start the second half, but that not only didn’t happen but the hosts also equalized.
“The goal came and made me decide to change the model,” he said. “We knew Miami was going to give us spaces in behind and at some point we were going to bring fresh players and we thought of exploiting those spaces. And that happened. That was a very good job from the players who made us look much better.”
It only took a few minutes for the changes to pay off. Schlegel sent a long ball forward in the 68th minute that Kara deftly flicked on, sending Ojeda in behind the defense. The Argentine calmly slotted his shot past Callender to restore Orlando City’s lead.
Five minutes later, the Lions had an opportunity to put the game away as Torres was sent into the left side of the box. Before the Young Designated Player could square himself to shoot or pass, he slipped and the ball trickled out of play for a goal kick.
Pareja sent Duncan McGuire and Mauricio Pereyra on moments later, providing fresh legs for the attack, and again it paid off.
Just seconds after entering, Pereyra got the ball and threaded it between two defenders to McGuire in the box. The rookie tried to turn and shoot but the ball was deflected away. In the 79th minute, Santos ran onto a ball that was knocked out of the Miami area and hit a shot just wide of the right post. That served as a warning shot for later and Inter Miami did not heed the warning.
Orlando got forward more often and Miami’s buildups started to look less threatening as the extra OCSC defenders had the desired effect. On one foray up the field, Araujo had a go from distance. He struck the shot well but put it right in Callender’s breadbasket in the 84th minute.
Two minutes later, the Lions put the game to bed. Araujo and late substitute Dagur Dan Thorhallsson played the ball back and forth in the Orlando end, before Araujo came forward and picked out Pereyra with a pass. The captain’s first touch sent Ojeda down the right flank. Ojeda crossed the ball in for McGuire’s run, and when the defense arrived to shut down the rookie, he laid it off for Santos. This time, the left back didn’t miss, sending a shot through a defender’s legs and inside the right post for the insurance goal in the 86th minute.
It was Santos’ first MLS goal and it provided Orlando a third goal in a match for the first time all season. The Lions hadn’t scored more than two goals in a match since last season, when they beat Toronto FC, 4-0, on Sept. 17.
Miami’s frustrations spilled over a bit after that and there were some ugly fouls and some jawing between the teams, but not much came of it. McGuire bore the brunt of those fouls. Orlando saw out the rest of the game with only one major scare, but Jansson did well to make a vital slide tackle to not only prevent Martinez from getting a scoring chance, but also winning a goal kick in the process.
Inter Miami ended up with a lopsided advantage in possession (61.1%-38.9%), but failed to threaten much with it, although constantly working the ball left to right, backwards and then back the other way also enabled the Herons to finish with a higher passing accuracy (86.4%-77%) and more corners (3-2). The Lions had more shots (11-6) and more shots on target (4-2).
“It was a great game, and thankfully, we were able to take all three points, which is something that we try to do whether we’re playing at home or we’re playing on the road,” Araujo said. “I thought we played well today.”
“Just thrilled for our fans. Obviously it’s a derby. It was very emotional for us to see that corner dressed in purple,” Pareja said. “Many trusting the team, supporting us. They deserve this and I promise that we won’t stop working to see if we can get this better and better.”
The Lions will get an honest-to-goodness normal work week ahead of next Saturday’s match against Atlanta United at Exploria Stadium.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 5/19/25
Lions defeat Inter Miami, Pride fall to Kansas City Current, OCB wins, and more.
Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. Over the weekend, I was catching up with my former coworkers during Chicago House AC’s home opener against Czarni Jaslo in Midwest Premier League action. Let’s wish Orlando Pride goalkeeper Kat Asman, who turns 26 today, a happy birthday. The Pride lost, but OCB and our Lions picked up wins over the weekend. We have plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Orlando City Defeats Inter Miami on the Road
Orlando City defeated Inter Miami 3-0 on the road Sunday at Chase Stadium and extended its unbeaten run to 11 league matches. Luis Muriel scored to put the Lions in front just before halftime. In the second half, Marco Pasalic scored and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson added the final goal for the Lions in stoppage time to seal the 3-0 win against their in-state rivals. Orlando moved ahead of Miami in the Eastern Conference standings into fifth with 24 points, while Miami drops to sixth, albeit with a game in hand. Miami has lost five out of its last seven matches. It will be a quick turnaround for Orlando City with a home match on Wednesday as Nashville SC visits Inter&Co Stadium.
Lions Sign Defender Zakaria Taifi to First Team Contract
Orlando City announced Saturday the club has signed Orlando City B defender Zakaria Taifi to a first-team contract as a Homegrown Player. The deal is through the 2026 season with club options for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 seasons. Taifi has made 44 appearances for OCB in MLS NEXT Pro. He has started 23 matches, scored one goal, and added three assists. Taifi was also part of the Orlando City Academy U-17 team that won the MLS NEXT Cup in 2021. Taifi made his first-team debut with Orlando City last month in a scoreless draw against CF Montreal. He also played in the Lions’ 5-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Round of 32 in the U.S. Open Cup.
Pride Fall to Kansas City Current at Home
The Orlando Pride fell 1-0 to the Kansas City Current Friday at Inter&Co Stadium. Temwa Chawinga scored the lone goal in the second half to seal the win for Kansas City. The Current have won two in a row, while the Pride have lost their second match at home this season. Orlando is on a three-match winless streak. The Current stayed atop the NWSL table with 21 points, while the Pride dropped to third with 16 points. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Friday at the Utah Royals.
OCB Defeats Inter Miami II at Home
Orlando City B defeated Inter Miami II 3-0 Saturday at Osceola County Stadium. Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, and Justin Ellis all got on the scoresheet for the Young Lions. Ellis also added two assists in this match. The win also snapped OCB’s five-match winless streak against Inter Miami II, and now the Young Lions are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with 14 points. OCB will be on the road to take on Atlanta United 2 Friday.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City defender Alex Freeman has been in stellar form so far this season for Orlando, scoring three goals in 15 matches with one assist across all competitions.
- The U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer have reached an agreement on a 10-day transfer window beginning June 1. This window will only be for MLS clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup.
- Crystal Palace defeated Manchester City 1-0 Saturday to win the FA Cup and lift its first-ever major trophy in club history. Defender Chris Richards and goalkeeper Matt Turner became the first Americans to win the FA Cup since goalkeeper Tim Howard won it in 2004.
- Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-0 to win the Women’s FA Cup. USWNT midfielder Catarina Macario scored, and Sandy Baltimore netted two goals and added an assist to seal Chelsea’s domestic treble this season.
- Jamie Vardy scored his 200th goal for Leicester City in his final appearance for the club, helping his side beat Ipswich Town 2-0 in the final home match of the season.
- Angel City FC shared an update on social media, announcing defender Savy King was discharged from the hospital Saturday following her collapse on the pitch over a week ago during an NWSL match against the Utah Royals.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Final Score 3-0 as Lions Romp in South Florida
The Lions finally got the better of Lionel Messi as Luis Muriel, Marco Pasalic, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, and Pedro Gallese led Orlando to an 11th consecutive league result.
The Lions finally got a win over a Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami side with a methodical 3-0 win at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Luis Muriel, Marco Pasalic, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson scored for Orlando (6-2-6, 24 points), and Pedro Gallese came up big in goal the few times he was tested. If anything, the final score could have been more skewed in Orlando’s favor if not for a few big misses, but defensively and offensively, the Lions did enough to get a complete win over Inter Miami (6-3-4).
With the victory, the Lions have won two straight and extended their MLS unbeaten streak to 11 matches (5-0-6) and their overall unbeaten streak to 12 in all competitions (6-0-6).
“First (I want to) congratulate our players for such a performance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The discipline, the discipline with the game plan was enormous and they wanted so bad to give this game to the fans and the club, knowing the importance of it in this moment, and what I saw in the pitch was that commitment in every single moment they played, so they deserve all the highlights, the players today. They played a great game.”
Pareja’s lineup included Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Cesar Araujo and Joran Gerbet started in central midfield with attackers Ivan Angulo and Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Muriel up top.
The hosts held much of the possession, and the Herons looked threatening throughout, but Orlando’s back line and central midfield kept the middle clogged up and forced Miami to either send the ball in from wide areas or look for Messi to work his way through numbers at the top of the box. Whenever Orlando was able to take the ball away, the Lions looked for quick transition outlets to take advantage of Miami’s high line and willingness to throw everyone into the attacking half. It worked to the point Orlando could have won this game by five goals, but in the end, the Lions will take the 3-0 win over their southern rivals.
The Lions generated a chance in the first minute. Alex Freeman split two defenders and sent Pasalic down the right. The Croatian picked out Muriel in the box, but the Colombian couldnt’ make clean contact with the ball, letting Miami off the hook. Moments later, Angulo won a free kick on a foul by Ian Fray. Ojeda took the long-range set piece and his cross found Freeman, but the young fullback wasn’t able to direct his header anywhere close to goal.
Miami’s first look came in the sixth minute from just outside the box. Gerbet was unable to cleanly clear a ball in the box, and Miami shifted it quickly from right to left, where Noah Allen blasted a shot over the bar. Two minutes later, Jordi Alba was able to sneak past Freeman but he was unable to catch up to Messi’s pass, which Gallese covered.
Jansson did well to block a Messi shot in the ninth minute, and then knocked the ball out of play for a Miami corner. The Herons took the set piece short but ended up knocking it out for a goal kick.
In the 11th minute, Messi dribbled through the heart of Orlando’s defense before dropping a pass out wide to Fray on the right. The fullback smashed a shot across the face of goal that went out of play.
The Lions looked for opportunities to counter and nearly got one seconds later. Pasalic was on the break when Allen pulled him down to earn the game’s first yellow card.
Pasalic made a nice move in the 15th minute to cut through traffic and get into the top of the area. Allen was there to block his shot at the last second, and the Lions could not pay off the ensuing corner.
Orlando cleared a corner kick as Miami continued hunting for the opener. Messi sent a right-footed effort toward the back post in the 19th minute that had Gallese scrambling over, but it went out of play just wide of the left post.
The Lions broke the other way in transition in the 21st minute with a nice play to send Muriel into the box on the left. Muriel, however, scuffed his shot and hit it weakly at Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. Seconds later, Luis Suarez was left alone in the box and fired Tadeo Allende’s cross wide with his first touch.
Messi came close in the 22nd minute, but Gallese did well to stretch out and get a hand on it to keep the game scoreless with a vital save. It was the best of his four saves on the night.
The Lions should have scored in the 24th minute as Angulo was unlocked over the top down the left. The Colombian entered the box with a defender on him, and much like Ramiro Enrique on Wednesday, Angulo cut back to his right and fired. Unlike Enrique, Angulo left his shot on the ground and too close to the goalkeeper, who was able to get a foot on it to keep it out.
Ojeda should have been sent in behind three minutes later, but his first touch was ultra heavy, and the ball bounced harmlessly to Ustari.
The Lions survived a couple of half chances for Miami before Orlando City broke the deadlock late in the first half on a transition opportunity. The Lions defended a Miami throw-in, with Angulo knocking the ball away for Brekalo to clear. Brekalo let the ball go through for Gallese, who scooped it up and booted it deep down the field. Muriel’s first touch was exquisite to bring it in, and the Colombian dribbled into the box and fired just inside the left post to open the scoring in the 43rd minute. Muriel set a new single-season personal mark with his sixth goal of the season.
“I just saw a lot of space out there. There was a lot of space, especially on that play,” Muriel said. “I was open, but Pedro hit a fantastic pass to me to be able to get it to me. And thankfully, I had the capacity to control the ball, because it’s not easy in that way. And then, after I controlled it, the only thing left to do was to finish.”
Inter Miami couldn’t produce anything with a late corner kick, and the Lions took their slim advantage into the break.
At the break, Inter Miami had the advantage in possession (59.6%-40.4%), corners (5-2), and passing accuracy (86.2%-81%). The Lions attempted more shots (10-8) and put more shots on target (4-1).
The Herons started where they left off after the restart, keeping possession and working it inside and out to try to find space. Angulo left Fray a bit too much room in the 47th minute, and the fullback sent a dangerous cross right across the face of goal that Schlegel knocked out for a corner. Not only did Orlando City deal with the corner, the Lions should have scored off of it. The ball was cleared out of the box where Angulo picked it up and sent Ojeda all alone in on goal. With a defender closing from behind, Ojeda got to the top of the box and went for power instead of placement, blasting his shot well over the crossbar on a wasteful opportunity.
In the 52nd minute, the Lions wasted another chance to double the lead, with Freeman getting sent in behind on the right. With Ojeda to his left, the right back opted to shoot, but he hit his effort right at Ustari, who made the save. The rebound went right back to Freeman. This time he squared it across to Ojeda, but the ball was hard to handle and the Lions’ No. 10 needed to take a touch before shooting. That allowed the defense to close and get a piece of his shot, sending it wide for a corner.
Seconds later, Orlando scored anyway. Muriel made a nice move before dropping the ball to Schlegel, who sent Ojeda down the right inside the box on the recycle. Ojeda squared it through traffic to Pasalic, who smashed a shot that hit defender Maximiliano Falcon and still had enough pace on it to squirt through Ustari. Pasalic’s sixth of the season pushed Orlando’s lead to 2-0 in the 53rd minute.
The Lions continued to play solid team defense and threaten in transition. Muriel nearly had Ojeda in behind the back line in the 57th minute, but the pass was inches too far out in front and all the Argentine could do was get a toe on it to send it meekly at Ustari.
Trailing by two, the hosts started subbing off defenders for more attack-minded players, but not much changed about the way the game was going. Messi and his teammates looked to find link-up play through Orlando’s lines and used any space they had to try a shot. Orlando put together three good blocks in the 62nd minute to preserve the two-goal advantage.
The wall in front of Gallese started the block party by getting in front of Messi’s shot on a free kick. The ball then was sent left to right to Messi in the box, and Gallese made a good save from a tight angle on the right. Schlegel then blocked a Sergio Busquets shot at the top of the box. Freeman followed with a block on Allende’s shot moments later.
Pareja sent Thorhallsson and Enrique on for Muriel and Pasalic, the two goal scorers. Miami continued to hunt for a way back into the game, and Messi had an opportunity with a free kick in the 76th minute. He went low, under the wall, this time, but he didn’t get a lot on his shot and it drifted wide of the right post.
Enrique nearly got in behind two minutes later, but his first touch was far too heavy, allowing Ustari to reach it first. Miami came the other way, and Suarez tried to catch Gallese out of his net, but El Pulpo was able to get back into position to make a comfortable stop.
The Lions nearly put the game to bed in the 88th minute, with Freeman and Enrique going on the break together. Freeman found Enrique, but Ustari got a piece of the Argentine’s shot, which appeared to hit the left post.
Fafa Picault got his head to a Messi free kick delivery in the 90th minute after a handball outside the box by Freeman. The header was always going over. Brekalo blocked a Messi shot two minutes later, as the hosts kept the pressure on.
Thorhallsson put the game to rest in the fourth added minute. Orlando broke in transition down the left, with second-half sub Duncan McGuire getting on the ball and squaring it across for the Icelandic midfielder to finish. Thorhallsson’s second goal of the season equaled his full season total from each of his first two years in Orlando.
“It’s important just feeling that we are being more diverse on scoring goals,” Pareja said. “Today Dagur came from the bench and scored. Marco was present and scored today. I’m so happy to see Luis committed with the group this much and scoring also.”
The Lions saw out the final minute without conceding, earning a huge three points on the road. According to Opta, it was the first time Lionel Messi played in a home game for his club and it lost by three goals.
Inter Miami dominated possession (62.3%-37.7%) and finished with the advantage in shots (21-17), corners (9-3), and passing accuracy (88.2%-78.3%). The Lions put more shots on target (8-4). More importantly, Orlando put the only three goals on the board, improving to 6-4-4 in regular-season play against Miami and 6-5-5 in all competitions.
“Very happy tonight for the result,” Muriel said. “A good goal tonight, but more important, the victory for the team. We’re in a really good run of form right now, and a really good mode. So, just very happy tonight to get the win in the derby.”
“We remarked in our preparation the discipline that these games require,” Pareja said of keeping Messi quiet. “Playing against the best player in the world is not an easy task, even if we don’t want to mention that, but we know that he makes big differences in shorter spaces, so we consider the discipline of the team the primary principle of the game. And we knew that after doing that, we’re going to have spaces, that we were going to have opportunities. and we were patient for those opportunities to appear, and then we were, as well, very effective when they came. We could have been probably more (clinical), because really, we had much more in front of the goal. But today, we feel the job is well done.”
The Lions have another quick turnaround, as Orlando City will host Nashville SC Wednesday in U.S. Open Cup action.
Orlando City
Orlando City SC vs. Inter Miami: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions and Herons are set to begin the 2025 Tropic Thunder series in Fort Lauderdale.
Welcome to your match thread for a Sunday night Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City (5-2-6, 21 points) and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF (6-2-4, 22 points) at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (7 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the first of the two scheduled meetings between the sides this season with the Herons scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Aug. 10.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
Orlando City is 5-5-5 in the series in all competitions, 5-4-4 in MLS play, and 2-4-0 on the road in league games.
The most recent meeting came just a couple of days more than one year ago on May 15, 2024, when the teams played to a scoreless draw at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando. It was the last 0-0 draw in the regular season for the Lions prior to the four the team has already played to this season.
This fixture a year ago resulted in a forgettable 5-0 loss for the Lions at Chase Stadium on March 2. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored braces and Robert Taylor added a goal in a match Orlando City was never in, as it was already 2-0 just 11 minutes after kickoff.
The previous meeting in Orlando, the final result was a 1-1 draw on Sept. 24, 2023. Duncan McGuire brought Orlando back from a 1-0 deficit after David Ruiz had given the Herons a 1-0 lead early in the second half.
On Aug. 2 of last year, the teams met in Leagues Cup action. The Herons were fortunate to not see Messi sent off with a second yellow late in the first half and even more fortunate to get a soft penalty call on Antonio Carlos as they won, 3-1. Messi opened the scoring after being ignored in the box early. Cesar Araujo made up for his uncharacteristic defensive lapse on the first goal by scoring 10 minutes later. Josef Martinez put Miami back on top with the Downy-soft penalty just after halftime and Messi sunk in the dagger in the final 20 minutes.
The teams also met in Fort Lauderdale in MLS play on May 20, 2023, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions to victory.
Inter Miami won at home, 4-1, on Oct. 5, 2022. Campana scored in the game’s first minute and Orlando City never settled in. Gonzalo Higuain added two goals — one from the spot — and Ariel Lassiter also scored before Kara pulled one back to spoil the shutout.
The first regular-season meeting of 2022 resulted in a 1-0 Orlando City win at Exploria Stadium on July 9, as a stoppage-time own goal by Damion Lowe was the difference between the Lions earning just one point or all three. The ball was sent into the box by Jake Mulraney.
The teams also met at Exploria Stadium on May 25, 2022 in U.S. Open Cup action, with the two sides needing extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes. In extra time, Miami got a goal from Jean Mota against the run of play, but Facundo Torres quickly equalized for Orlando. The match ended 1-1 and Orlando won the ensuing penalty shootout, 4-2. Bryce Duke was denied by Mason Stajduhar and DeAndre Yedlin missed the net during the spot kicks, while all four Orlando shooters scored.
The intrastate rivals played to a scoreless draw in Orlando on Aug. 27, 2021. Tesho Akindele missed a penalty in the match, but the Lions had several other good opportunities to score (but didn’t) in a wasteful performance. Orlando and Miami battled to a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 4, 2021. Carlos scored in first-half stoppage time but was knocked into concussion protocol on the play by Kelvin Leerdam. Kieran Gibbs equalized in the 66th minute on a header in front of a less-than-attentive Ruan. Akindele had a goal called back after video review for being offside and the teams split the points. Earlier in the season, the Lions came from behind in Fort Lauderdale to win 2-1 on a pair of brilliant goals by Chris Mueller and Nani on June 25, 2021.
In the final meeting of 2020, the Lions saw their 12-match unbeaten streak end on Oct. 24 in a 2-1 road loss in Fort Lauderdale. Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a Daryl Dike goal and an own goal off Robin Jansson saw the game tied up at halftime. The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 12, 2020 with Orlando battling to a 2-1 win on Mauricio Pereyra’s goal. The Lions had taken the lead on an own goal by Andres Reyes. Former Lion Brek Shea tied things up in the 65th, before Pereyra answered with a nice goal off the left post in the 69th minute.
The first meeting in Fort Lauderdale opened Phase 1 of Major League Soccer’s return to regular-season play after the MLS is Back Tournament. That one was an uncharacteristically sloppy match for the Lions, who fell 3-2 in Inter Miami’s first-ever home match. It was Miami’s first franchise win after an 0-5-0 start. Orlando trailed by more than one goal for the first time all season in that game. Dike and Nani provided the offense for Orlando, but Julian Carranza’s brace and Rodolfo Pizarro’s insurance goal were enough to lift the Herons.
The first Tropic Thunder match went Orlando City’s way, with Nani scoring late to lift the Lions to a 2-1 win over the upstarts from South Florida in the opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament. Despite it being a tournament match, it was also a league game. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Herons, but Mueller equalized, setting the stage for Nani’s 97th-minute winner.
Overview
The Lions are coming off a comfortable 3-0 home win over Charlotte FC on Wednesday, extending the club’s unbeaten run to 10 games in MLS (4-0-6) and 11 in all competitions (5-0-6). that streak includes a mark of 1-0-4 on the road in league play and 2-0-4 away in all competitions. The Lions are 1-1-4 in road games in the regular season and 2-1-4 in all competitive matches away from home in 2025.
Ojeda has been red hot for Orlando City, scoring four goals in the last two matches, including a hat trick against the New England Revolution. Beyond those goals, he’s also generating scoring chances and getting more shots of late.
Inter Miami is coming off a 3-3 road draw against the Earthquakes in San Jose in the midweek. The Herons have just one win in their last six games in all competitions (1-4-1), but they are unbeaten (1-0-2) in the last three league meetings and four games in all competitions (2-0-2) in this in-state rivalry series.
The Lions must do what they can to limit Messi’s involvement as much as possible, while keeping a defender glued to Suarez (if he plays — he’s missed the last few games but returned to full training earlier this week) whenever he arrives near the penalty area. Miami’s attack is formidable enough that it helps the team’s defense, as it is often difficult to dispossess the Herons and maintain extended spells of possession long enough to get at Inter Miami’s back line. Orlando should look to get forward quickly in transition tonight to take advantage of the Herons pushing up in support of the attack.
It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen.
“I’m expecting a game with character. The rivalry is growing very genuinely,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “I’m expecting an intense game with the protagonists of both teams that know what it means to play in this derby. For us, we are coming from a positive result and some very good performances lately. We have confidence to go in there and try to win that game. It would be very important, so that’s the game mode that we are in now.”
The Lions will be without Eduard Atuesta (neck), Nico Rodriguez (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). Inter Miami will be without Drake Callender (sports hernia), Baltasar Rodríguez (hamstring), and David Ruiz (hamstring).
Match Content
- Our David Rohe provides his three keys to an Orlando City victory in tonight’s match.
- The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and predictions for tonight’s match.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Joran Gerbet, Marco Pasalic.
Forwards: Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda.
Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Rafael Santos, Kyle Smith, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Favian Loyola, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.
Inter Miami (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Oscar Ustari.
Defenders: Noah Allen, Maximiliano Falcon, Gonzalo Lujan, Ian Fray.
Defensive Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright.
Attacking Midfielders: Jordi Alba, Lionel Messi, Tadeo Allende.
Forward: Luis Suarez.
Bench: Rocco Rios Novo, Marcelo Weigandt, Tomas Aviles, Federico Redondo, Benjamin Cremaschi, Telasco Segovia, Fafa Picault, David Martinez, Allen Obando.
Referees:
Ref: Guido Gonzales Jr.
AR1: Jeremy Kieso.
AR2: Chris Elliott.
4th: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: Tom Supple.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale.
TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).
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 game. Go City!
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