Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Final Score 4-0 as Lions Fall Apart in Utah
After conceding a pair of goals on first-half set pieces, the Lions never mounted any kind of challenge.
Horrific set piece defending was costly as Orlando City fell 4-0 to Real Salt Lake at America First Field. The Lions (9-6-7, 34 points) gave up first-half set piece goals to Cristian Arango — on his RSL debut — and Justen Glad. Jefferson Savarino and Anderson Julio added insurance late for the hosts, providing a comfortable win for Real Salt Lake (9-7-6, 33 points), a club that had been previously struggling at home.
The loss snapped a four-match unbeaten run by Orlando City and ruined an opportunity to climb higher in the Eastern Conference Standings.
“Obviously a difficult experience today to solve at this moment where we are getting our confidence higher and coming from a good stretch of games,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But today we found a team that was very effective going forward when they had their chances. I think we had ours too, but we didn’t have that capacity to finalize our opportunities.”
Despite playing a third game in eight days and crossing the country to play at altitude, Pareja’s lineup had no rotation whatsoever from the side that began Tuesday’s 4-0 win vs. Toronto FC. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Maurcio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.
Orlando City started brightly and had a chance right off the opening kickoff. The ball was sent forward to McGuire, who lost it momentarily but quickly won it back and smashed a shot just 12 seconds in that fizzed inches wide of the left post.
Moments later, Torres cut across the top of the box and smashed a left-footed shot that Zac MacMath did well to save. The rebound came out to the right and a Smith shot was on target but MacMatch kicked it away.
Despite the quick start by Orlando, RSL quickly settled into the match. Damir Kreilach got his head to a cross in the 11th and sent it just wide of the right post.
The breakthrough came 12 minutes later. McGuire did a great job tracking back and won the ball from Braian Ojeda but then he showed too much of the ball and lost it back. The rookie then compounded the problem by committing an unnecessary foul near the right sideline. RSL took advantage on the set piece as Cartagena left Arango alone in the middle and the new Designated Player easily headed it inside the right post to open the scoring in the 23rd minute.
Whether the goal rattled Orlando City or inspired the home side, the rest of the first half was almost all one-way traffic for the hosts. The Lions repeatedly turned the ball over in their own end and failed to connect or break lines as the half wore on.
An attempt by Santos from outside the box was easily blocked and nearly ignited a breakaway for Arango in the 32nd minute if not for some vital emergency defending by a sliding Jansson.
Savarino shot just wide in the 37th minute as the hosts kept coming. A telegraphed pass in the attacking half was easily cut out by Glad and Cartagena was forced to take a yellow card for a tactical foul.
The Orlando deficit doubled in the 41st minute. The Lions gave up a corner and again failed to mark properly. Glad rose above the crowd and scored a goal that looked nearly identical to the first.
“We felt bad just conceding two goals at points in our control and we work a lot on it,” Pareja said of the set pieces that allowed RSL to take command of the match. “It hurt us a lot.”
The Lions had two late chances to get on the board before halftime. Angulo set up McGuire in the 44th minute with a nice run up the field and a through ball, but the rookie’s shot was deflected, making it an easy save for MacMath. Seconds later, Angulo was alone on the right and the ball came to him, but the Colombian badly mishit his first-time shot attempt and it went nowhere near the goal.
Real Salt Lake held only a slight edge in possession (50.4%-49.6%), although it seemed like much more. Each team fired eight shots and got three on target. RSL had more corners (2-1) and Orlando City passed slightly more accurately (80.7%-80.1%) in the opening 45 minutes.
Pareja made no changes at the break despite the situation and the first 15 minutes of the second half were fairly uneventful. A promising Orlando attack in the 56th minute ended with Smith sending either a poor cross too close to the goalkeeper or a weak shot from distance right at him.
Moments later, Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson came on to spell Angulo, Cartagena, and Smith.
Not much changed after the subs, with Enrique missing the net badly from distance and Ojeda sending an easy shot right at MacMath from distance.
Ercan Kara came on shortly after that for McGuire.
Orlando had a golden opportunity in the 71st minute when a Santos cross deflected in front to Torres but his shot was blocked in front. A few minutes later, he was subbed off for Luca Petrasso.
Having two left backs on the pitch didn’t help at all in the 78th minute. A simple cross from left to right found Savarino on the right and no one closed him down. Savarino chested it down and blasted the third goal past Gallese to seal the game.
Julio tacked another one on late and completely undid Tuesday night’s excellent goal-differential game against Toronto. The Lions went from +5, to +9 after Tuesday, and back to +5 after tonight.
RSL had the advantage in possession (51.9%-48.1%), shots (15-11), shots on target (6-4), corners (5-2), and passing accuracy (85.7%-82.4%).
“We are going to absorb it,” Pareja said of the loss. “I think we are intact. Our mentality keeps going. We have no excuses. Salt Lake was much, much effective and obviously the score reflects it.”
“Difficult moment after this loss and this result, but in this moment is when in my case as a captain I belive in the team and I trust in the team more than ever,” Pereyra said. “We have to love each other more than ever because we know how hard they are working. Today it was a difficult night for us as a team. We were not the best after we beat Toronto 4-0 and now we are not the worst, so we have to keep working, knowing that we have a game against Atlanta that is very important for us.”
After all the fixture congestion, Orlando City will get a normal work week before heading north to play Atlanta United next Saturday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 10/29/24
MLS playoff results, USWNT prepares for Argentina, Ballon d’Or winners announced, and more.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was a great weekend, as Orlando City got its playoff campaign off to a strong start. We have a busy week ahead of us with the United States Women’s National Team in action, the Orlando Pride playing their last match of the regular season, and the Lions traveling to North Carolina for Game 2 against Charlotte FC. As usual, there’s plenty to discuss this morning, so let’s jump right in.
Keeping Up With the MLS Playoffs
The playoffs continued on Monday night, which means we have two matches to catch up on. The early fixture saw FC Cincinnati pick up a 1-0 win over New York City FC at TQL Stadium. Cincinnati had the better of things for most of the game with 22 shots (seven on target) to NYCFC’s six (two on target). In the end, Yamil Asad’s goal in the 51st minute was the decider, and NYCFC defender Tayvon Gray’s red card in stoppage time adds an extra layer of intrigue for Game 2 in New York on Saturday. The late match delivered the first scoreless draw of the postseason as the Seattle Sounders battled the Houston Dynamo to a 0-0 result in regulation, with the Sounders advancing 5-4 on penalties. To make matters worse for the Dynamo, Adalberto Carrasquilla was sent off in the 66th minute so they’ll need to find a way to keep their season alive without him as the series now shifts to Houston.
Previewing the USWNT Friendly Against Argentina
The United States Women’s National Team is having a good international window so far, starting things off with a pair of 3-1 victories over Iceland. The final game of the window will take place tomorrow when the U.S. faces Argentina in Louisville. It will be just the sixth meeting between the two teams, with the USWNT winning all five previous games, including the most recent one during the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. Argentina is managed by German Portanova, who lines the team up in either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. Accordingly, the idea is to stay compact and be difficult to play through, although things have a tendency to devolve after giving up a goal, which was the case during the USWNT’s 4-0 triumph in the last match between the two sides. It’s a game the Yanks should win, and win comfortably.
Ballon d’Or Winners Announced
The Ballon d’Or ceremony took place on Monday evening in Paris, and there weren’t too many surprises in how the awards were doled out. Manchester City midfielder Rodri took home the award on the men’s side, following a year in which his club team won the Premier League and his Spanish side won the 2024 European Championship. Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati won the women’s award for the second straight year after helping her side win its second consecutive Champions League title. Orlando Pride forward Barbra finished 12th in the voting for the award.
Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under the age of 21, while Emiliano Martinez was named the best goalkeeper in the world for the second year running.
Manchester United Sacks Erik ten Hag
Manchester United announced on Monday morning that the club has fired Erik ten Hag, with Ruud van Nistelrooy named interim manager. The Red Devils were in the midst of a poor run of results to start the season, with just four wins from 13 matches played. A 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday seems to have been the final straw, with the result leaving United 14th in the Premier League on 11 points after nine matches. While van Nistelrooy has taken over on an interim basis, reports have emerged that Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim is the leading candidate to get the permanent gig, with United having also reportedly asked about the availability of Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
Free Kicks
- Emma Hayes was named 2024 Women’s Coach of the Year.
- Italian forward Mario Balotelli has joined Genoa on a free transfer.
- The NWSL Disciplinary Committee has issued additional suspensions to Chicago Red Stars forward Ludmila and Washington Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi.
That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match
How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 2-0 win over Charlotte FC?
Orlando City got its 2024 playoff campaign off to a good start with a 2-0 win over Charlotte FC. The Lions can advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second consecutive year with one more win in the series. It was a solid overall team performance, though some stood out more than others.
Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this critical victory for the boys in purple.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Gallese didn’t have much to do in this game because Charlotte only managed to put two of its shots on target and the Lions’ number one stopped both. He touched the ball 30 times in 90 minutes while completing 78.3% of his 23 passes, including five of his 10 long balls. There’s not much bad to say about his performance and he recorded another clean sheet.
D, Rafael Santos, 6.5 — Santos was excellent in this game, recording a team-high 83 touches. The left back completed 86.7% of his 60 passes, including two key passes, two of his five long balls, and four of his nine crosses. His cross in the 32rd minute was headed out, but only to Torres, who put it in to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. He also took one shot that was off target. Defensively, Santos recorded two tackles, an interception, and four clearances.
D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson had a solid performance, recording 61 touches on the night. He had an interception, a blocked shot, and four clearances but was fortunate in the 70th minute when he was out-muscled by Patrick Agyemang, allowing the substitute to get a free header that forced Gallese into a good save. Going forward, the center back completed 98% of his 51 passes, including both long balls. While he played well, I lowered his grade a little for nearly conceding a goal, although some (including Jansson) might say he was fouled on the play.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel has had an up-and-down season, but the center back was excellent in this game. He recorded 67 touches, a block, and a team-high eight clearances. Offensively, the center back completed 94.3% of his 53 passes, including a key pass and seven of his eight long balls. He hit a volley well in the 64th minute that forced Kristijan Kahlina into a save and had a second shot that went off target.
D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6 — Thorhallsson caused headaches for Charlotte on the right side in this game, recording 44 touches and completing 90.3% of his 31 passes, including two key passes and his lone cross. He also took a shot, but it was off target. Defensively, he added a tackle, an interception, and a clearance before coming off for Kyle Smith in the 78th minute in a defensive change.
MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — Cartagena recorded 81 touches in this game while completing 89.2% of his team-high 65 passes, including a key pass and three of his seven long balls. He also took one off-target shot. Defensively, the defensive midfielder recorded three tackles, one interception, and two clearances.
MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Similar to Cartagena, you can’t say much negative about Araujo’s performance. He touched the ball 70 times and completed 91.4% of his 58 passes, including five of his seven long balls. Both of his shots were off target, but his excellent long ball in the 76th minute helped Ivan Angulo set up the second goal. He nearly had an assist with a beautiful ball for Ramiro Enrique in the 20th minute, but the striker missed wide and was ruled offside.
MF, Ivan Angulo, 6.5 — Angulo made the most of his 49 touches in this game, completing 94.4% of his 36 passes, including a key pass and his lone long ball. However, both of his cross attempts were incomplete. His biggest impact on the game came in the 76th minute when he used his speed to win a ball down the wing and played Martin Ojeda into the box for the second goal. Defensively, Angulo recorded a tackle, an interception, and a clearance before being replaced by Nico Lodeiro in the 88th minute.
MF, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — Ojeda only touched the ball 36 times this game, the fewest of the attacking midfielders. He completed 82.6% of his 23 passes, including a key pass, two of his five crosses, and two of his three long balls. His biggest moment came in the 76th minute when he received a pass from Angulo in the box and drilled his second touch past Kahlina to put the game away. His key pass set up a golden opportunity for Facundo Torres in the 54th minute. The attacker was taken out right after the goal, making way for Luis Muriel in the 78th minute.
MF, Facundo Torres, 7 (MotM) — It was a record-tying and breaking night for Torres, who finished the game with 69 touches. He completed 91.5% of his 47 passes, including three key passes, two of his six crosses, and all five of his long balls. Three of his four shots were on target, and he did well to bring down a cleared cross before volleying it in to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The goal tied Dom Dwyer for the most goals in club history (46) when considering both USL and MLS eras, and he set a new MLS-era record for most goals in a single season (19) across all competitions. Torres came off to a standing ovation in the 88th minute for David Brekalo.
F, Ramiro Enrqiue, 5.5 — It was a tough night for Enrique, who should have had at least one goal. He touched the ball 21 times and completed five of his 10 passes, including a key pass. He only put one of his four shots on target, missing a golden chance in the 20th minute — even though he was ruled offside — and missed the target when free on goal in the 50th minute. It was a forgettable night for the striker, who was replaced by Duncan McGuire in the 61st minute.
Substitutes
F, Duncan McGuire (61’), 5.5 — Similar to Enrique, McGuire couldn’t really find his feet in his 29 minutes of action. He touched the ball 17 times and completed eight of his 10 passes, including a key pass. He had a great chance to get behind the back line in stoppage time but couldn’t control the ball.
F, Luis Muriel (78’), 5 — Muriel came on for Ojeda right after the midfielder made it 2-0 and never really got involved in the game. He only touched the ball nine times in 12 minutes, completing 62.5% of his eight passes. He didn’t help to create any shots, nor did he take any of his own.
D, Kyle Smith (78’), 5.5 — Smith came on in the 78th minute for Thorhallsson for defensive help. The right back touched the ball nine times and completed 66.7% of his six passes. He also didn’t record any defensive statistics in the 12 minutes on the field, but he did help see out the final minutes of the match with some strong play to maintain possession.
MF, Nico Lodeiro (88’), N/A — Lodeiro was one of the more effective substitutes, though he was only on for the final minutes and didn’t play long enough to warrant a grade. Replacing Angulo, the midfielder touched the ball seven times and completed 85.7% of his seven passes.
D, David Brekalo (88’), N/A — Brekalo came on in the 88th minute for Torres as the Lions went to three center backs to see out the game. He only touched the ball five times and completed two of his three passes while recording a clearance, which was his purpose for entering.
That’s how I saw the individual performances in tonight’s win for the Lions. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways
Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-0 home playoff victory over Charlotte FC.
Orlando City kicked off its run in the 2024 Major League Soccer playoffs with a first-round opening victory at home in front of a fiery crowd by a score of 2-0 over Charlotte FC. Much had been made about the contrasting styles of play between the two sides heading into the match, with Orlando sporting one of the best attacks in all of MLS since league play resumed after the Leagues Cup break and Charlotte boasting the second-best defense by goals allowed throughout the regular season.
The Lions ultimately imposed their will on the match and what follows are our five takeaways from a game that Orlando essentially controlled from the opening kick.
Wasteful Opportunities Early
For the first 15 to 20 minutes of the game, Orlando missed multiple golden chances that could have come back to bite the Lions in the behind. Multiple Lions had decent looks on goal and shot wide, high, or directly at Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. Ramiro Enrique’s final touch seemed just a tad off in the early portion of the match, and Orlando failed to find the end of a few strong crosses across the box from Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos. Luckily, none of the early miscues mattered much at the end of the game, but if the Lions are lucky enough to advance to the next round and a single-elimination game, lacking sharpness could lead to an unfortunate exit from the playoffs.
Torres Breaks Through
It was always going to be Designated Player Facundo Torres who found the net first for Orlando City, because of course, it had to be. Torres grew into the game over the first 30 minutes of the match, and for a few moments I thought he might find the first assist of the game from a series of short corner set pieces. Instead, Torres found paydirt in the 32nd minute as he was the first player to arrive at poor attempt at a clearance from the Charlotte back line following a dangerous cross sent in by Santos. El Cuervo quickly pulled the trigger, blasting the ball off the bottom of the crossbar and in for the first goal of the game.
Torres has been chasing records all year long, and with that goal, he became the all-time single-season goal scorer in Orlando City history with 19 across all competitions. It was also his third goal against Charlotte in 2024, as he scored in each of the three meetings between the teams this season. Continuing that trend was an important step toward getting the series started on the right foot.
Ojeda Extends the Lead
The strong play of Designated Player Martin Ojeda has been one of the main reasons that the OCSC attack has been so potent over the last two months. In the first playoff match against Charlotte, Ojeda continued his strong run of form and would/should have recorded at least one assist in the first half if the team could have been a tad more clinical. Nonetheless, Ojeda left his mark on the match in the 76th minute. Running on fumes, Ojeda had a ball played past him by Cesar Araujo on the sideline and wisely made no attempt on the ball as he was in an offside position. His non-action allowed Ivan Angulo to streak down the sideline at breakneck speed to reach the ball, and once he did, Ojeda had recycled into an onside position. He then took a crafty pass from Angulo and ripped a shot inside the near post past Kahlina.
The goal gave Orlando a bit of breathing room as the game entered its final moments and also marked the first time in club history that the team had scored more than one goal in a playoff match.
Defensive Cohesiveness
Much will be made over the coming week about the Orlando City attack, and rightly so, but an understated piece of what made the Lions so successful in their first game of the 2024 playoffs was the cohesiveness demonstrated across the back line and defensive midfield. Having Wilder Cartagena back in the lineup surely did not hurt things from a defensive standpoint, but I felt that the entire back line communicated effectively and covered one another quite well throughout the match. Orlando did well in the possession department during the first half, and not many questions were asked of the defense, but in the first 20 minutes of the second half, the defense stepped up multiple times to snuff out any remote possibilities that could have generated hope for the visitors. They say that defense wins championships, and Orlando showed just how steadfast its defense could be.
Playoff Clean Sheet
Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese has now recorded three clean sheets across three first-round playoff matches going back to the implementation of the new best-of-three format that started last year. Charlotte was only able to put two of its nine attempts on target, but regardless of the volume, Gallese did well to position himself at the right place and at the right time. I thought Gallese did a particularly good job of being decisive on the night and chose his moments wisely to come off his line to collect the ball, or at a minimum, get a glove on it to disrupt Charlotte’s attacking pieces. A playoff clean sheet should always be celebrated, and for me, it was the cherry on top of a very satisfying sundae.
That is what stood out to me most from a complete performance by Orlando City in the first matchup against Charlotte FC in this best-of-three series. Was there anything else in particular that caught your eye throughout the match? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!
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