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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-2 win over D.C. United?

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10 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City came back from two deficits against D.C. United to claim a huge 3-2 win this weekend — the team’s second victory of the season. It looked like it would be a long night for the Lions in the first 20 minutes, but they turned it around. Down a goal late, David Brekalo and Duncan McGuire converted to earn Orlando City three points.

Here’s how I saw the individual performances by the Lions.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Gallese took his usual position in goal and had a strong night. He allowed himself to get pushed out of the play on the opening goal by Christian Benteke, though it arguably should’ve been a foul on D.C. He ended the game with four saves from six on-target shots, including two huge saves in second-half stoppage time. In addition to his shot stopping, Gallese completed 51.9% of his 27 passes, including seven of his 20 long balls. He was also credited with three clearances on the night.

D, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — Smith got the start at left back in this game over Rafael Santos, recording 53 touches. He had three tackles, three clearances, and a blocked shot. Going forward, he only completed 76.5% of his 34 passes, but connected with his lone cross and five of his nine long balls. He also won two aerial balls and was booked just before coming off for handling a ball that he should’ve cleared, giving D.C. a free kick in a dangerous position. The defender was replaced by Santos in the 73rd minute.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson was a strong point for Orlando City once again in this game. He recorded one tackle, two interceptions, a blocked shot, and three clearances. Going forward, the center back completed 80.4% of his 46 passes, including four of his seven long balls. Arguably his biggest play of the game was drawing a foul late at the top of the box when D.C. was pushing for an equalizer.

D, David Brekalo, 6 — Brekalo had 60 touches and completed 76.6% of his 47 passes, including three of his 13 long balls. Defensively, he recorded one tackle, one interception, and two clearances. He made his first significant offensive impact as a Lion by getting his head to a Nico Lodeiro corner kick in the 82nd minute to even the game at 2-2.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6 — Thorhallsson only had 58 touches in the game, but the right back made the most of them. He completed 76.7% of his 30 passes and three of his six long balls, but failed to connect on his lone cross. Defensively, he recorded two tackles and three clearances. However, his biggest impact came in the 28th minute, when he got his head onto Ivan Angulo’s cross to even the game at 1-1.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 5 — Araujo’s 70 touches were the most on the team for this game. He only completed 78.2% of his 55 passes, but connected on two of his four long balls. Defensively, he won two tackles and blocked one shot while committing a team-high four fouls. He was also late getting over to cover Gabriel Pirani on the second goal for D.C. Overall, it wasn’t one of Araujo’s best games.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 5.5 — Cartagena started in the defensive midfield alongside Araujo. He recorded 41 touches and completed 81.3% of his 32 passes, including a key pass, his one cross, and one of his three long balls. Defensively, he recorded two clearances. As is common with the midfielder, he was booked in the first half for standing over Jared Stroud after a foul by Angulo. He was taken off during a triple substitution in the 72nd minute, replaced by Lodeiro.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo was the least involved of the midfielders, only recording 35 touches. However, he completed 76.2% of his 21 passes, including a wonderful cross to Thorhallsson on the Lions’ first goal of the night. His lone shot was off target, but he helped defensively with a tackle and team-high three interceptions.

MF, Facundo Torres, 5.5 — Torres recorded 50 touches in this game and completed 90.9% of his 33 passes with no key passes. He was accurate on only one of his three crosses, which was an issue. His lone shot was off target but not by much, as he sent his effort just wide of the right post from outside the area. He came off in stoppage time after the Lions took the lead for center back Rodrigo Schlegel.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 5.5 — Ojeda started in the attacking midfield for this game, recording 46 touches. He completed 71.4% of his 21 passes, including two key passes, one accurate cross on his four attempts, and two of his four long balls. He also had four unstable touches and an off-target shot. Defensively, the attacking midfielder had a team-high four tackles, helping his team retain possession before being replaced by Duncan McGuire in the 72nd minute.

F, Luis Muriel, 5 — Muriel got the start alone up top, but had a difficult night. He got involved in the game with 36 touches and completed 64.7% of his 17 passes, including two key passes. He took two shots, with one on target, and completed two dribbles, but had five unstable touches. He could’ve had a much better performance, but attempted to dribble through the opposition in the box rather than finding a teammate, losing possession. The forward’s night ended in the 87th minute when he was replaced by Felipe.

Substitutes

D, Rafael Santos (73’), 5.5 — Santos came on in the 73rd minute for Smith at left back. He had 14 touches and completed seven of his 10 touches (70%), but failed to connect on his one long ball and three crosses. He also didn’t record any defensive stats in his 17 minutes of action.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (72’), 6.5 (MotM) — Lodeiro came on in the 72nd minute for Cartagena, looking to make a difference. The midfielder touched the ball 18 times and completed 75% of his 12 passes, including two key passes, two of his three crosses, and one of his three long balls. Both of his shots were on target and his through ball for McGuire in second-half stoppage time gave him the assist on the game-winning goal. Although the stats sheet credited Torres with the assist on Brekalo’s goal, it was the veteran who took the set piece, which should result in a two-assist night once the league has had a chance to review the tape (see below…even Evan Weston calls him ‘Torres’ on his call). Lodeiro was a game-changer when he came on so, despite his lack of minutes, he earns my Man of the Match.

F, Duncan McGuire (72’), 6 — McGuire came on with Lodeiro as the Lions were chasing the game. He had 14 touches and completed 44.4% of his nine passes. However, the striker was brought on to score and did so in stoppage time, timing his run perfectly and finishing well on the breakaway. He also recorded a tackle and clearance but gets a high grade from me for doing exactly what he was brought on to do in scoring the winning goal.

MF, Felipe (87’), N/A — Felipe came on for Muriel as the Lions looked to see out a point, but he only touched the ball three times. He completed both of his passes, but didn’t record any other stats in his minimal time on the field.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel (90+2’), N/A — Schlegel came on right after the game-winning goal for Torres as the Lions looked to see out the win. He had two touches and an incomplete pass, but no other statistics.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s win over D.C. United. Let us know how you saw the game and vote for your Man of the Match below.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Signs Croation Winger Marco Pasalić as a Designated Player

The Marco Pašalić transfer is official, as the Croatian international joins Orlando City from HNK Rijeka through at least 2027.

Published

3 hours ago

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February 5, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City has a new Designated Player on the right wing. Croatian international Marco Pašalić signed a contract with the Lions through 2027 and will be the club’s newest Designated Player. The contract includes a club option year for 2028. The club needed to act after selling Facundo Torres to Palmeiras just weeks ago on Dec. 20. Pašalić will wear jersey No. 87 this season for the Lions.

“This is an exciting signing for us and we’re happy to have Marco join us here in Orlando,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “His desire to take on defenders and ability to be a constant threat on goal is exactly what we’ve been looking to add during this transfer window. He has a great personality and competitive drive that we feel truly fits the culture we’ve built here at Orlando City, and moreover, he has a constant desire to win that is infectious. We’re excited to have him wear purple and look forward to all he’ll achieve while representing our club.”

Pašalić, 24, arrives from HNK Rijeka in the Supersport HNL — Croatia’s top flight. The left-footed winger has scored four goals and added either three or four assists (depending on which stat site you use) in 19 games (18 starts) this season for HNK Rijeka, playing 1,372 minutes (or 1,374, again depending on where you look).

“I think it was an easy option for me to decide I want to come make the next step here in Orlando,” Pašalić said about his decision to join the Lions. “I play with heart. I am a fighter on the field, but mostly on offense. My expectation is that we win everything. I like to win.”

A dual citizen of Croatia and Germany, Pašalić was born in Karlsruhe in the latter country. He split his youth career between several clubs —Karlsruher SC, SG Siemens Karlsruhe, SV Sandhausen, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, and VfB Stuttgart. He played 35 games with VfB Stuttgart II, scoring eight goals in 2020-2021 before a move in May 2021 to Borussia Dortmund. He played mainly for Borussia Dortmund II from 2021 to 2023, appearing 35 times and scoring six goals, and making one appearance for the first team in Bundesliga play in a loss against VfL Wolfsburg. He also came off the bench once for Borussia Dortmund’s first team in a 2021 loss to Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup.

In June of 2023, Pašalić moved to Rijeka, where he has scored 10 goals in 49 appearances since joining the club.

On the international level, Pašalić has represented Croatia at the U-17 and U-21 youth levels. He has also been capped five times with the Croatian National Team, scoring one goal, which came in a pre-tournament friendly against North Macedonia prior to UEFA Euro 2024 competition.

In addition to a Designated Player slot, Pašalić will require an international roster slot.

What It Means for Orlando City

While the intention and the appearance of this move may be a like-for-like replacement for Torres, this is not something fans should expect — at least not immediately. Torres posted better numbers in MLS last year than Pašalić has put up in Croatia, and while comparing leagues is problematic, there is plenty of evidence to suggest Torres’ statistics came against much better competition, although conversely, he also was surrounded by higher caliber teammates overall. Opta Analyst ranked MLS as the world’s ninth-best league in its October rankings. Meanwhile, the Supersport HNL was rated the world’s 19th-best league in Europe by globalfootballrankings.com recently and 25th in the world. That is below several second-tier leagues.

Pašalić’s age is a plus, however. Having just turned 24 in September, he’s still got some development potential that could see him climb to Torres’ level. Muzzi is clearly banking on that development. A return to European top-flight football is a strong incentive for Pašalić to try to maximize his time in Orlando.

However, at least in the short term, this seems to be a step backward for an Orlando side that came within one win of the MLS Cup final in December. Replacing 20 goal contributions isn’t easy, especially when Duncan McGuire is going to be sidelined for a while at the start of the season. There will be more pressure on Luis Muriel, Ramiro Enrique, and the team’s attacking midfielders to produce the difference in the shortfall between Torres’ dependable offensive contributions and whatever Pašalić will be able to provide while he acclimates to a new culture, MLS, and his teammates — a process likely lengthened by his late arrival and missing much of the preseason.

If Nicolas Rodriguez pans out, however, the combination of Orlando’s latest MLS U22 Initiative signing and most recent DP could combine to approximate Torres’ production at right wing.

With a reported deal nearing finalization for central midfielder Eduard Atuesta, which would mitigate the loss of Wilder Cartagena to the injury he sustained in the preseason opener, the Lions’ focus should be on providing coverage at striker for McGuire’s absence. Orlando is vulnerable if Enrique picks up a knock. Muriel arrived as a forward, but has not shown a willingness to do the dirty work in the penalty area or a lethality in front of goal the Lions will need to play alone up top in Oscar Pareja’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, and there’s no good second option to play two up top.

While highlight videos are hardly scouting reports, fans who were frustrated by Torres’ unwillingness to use his right foot will likely not be thrilled to see every shot Pašalić took in the eight-minute video below was with his left, however, he showed a willingness to center the ball for others with his right, which is something Torres didn’t show much in his time in Orlando.

“My left foot is my weapon and my dribbling,” Pašalić said in an interview released to media by the club.

Pašalić looks to have a good burst in the video, but it’s impossible to gauge his speed in the video relative to MLS competition. Nevertheless, the video shows what he will bring to the Lions.

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Lion Links: 2/5/25

Marta to be featured on Prime Video, USWNT prepares for the SheBelieves Cup, MLS transfers, and more.

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8 hours ago

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February 5, 2025

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Michael Citro, The Mane Land

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! Less than two weeks ago, I had a snow day from work up here in Tallahassee. Two days ago, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter. Today, I’ll probably wear shorts since Florida is evidently exempt from rodent-based weather predictions. I don’t really have a point to all of this other than I’d like to be able to wear sweaters and jackets for a little while longer, but that’s obviously not meant to be.

We also want to wish a happy birthday to both Duncan McGuire and Rafael Santos. Let’s get to the links.

Marta to be Featured on Prime

Prime Video is producing a four-part series entitled “For the Win: NWSL” that will provide an immersive look at the NWSL. The series will feature four of the league’s biggest stars, including the Orlando Pride’s Marta. The other players featured are Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman, and Croix Bethune. No word on when it will be released, but we know it will likely end by showing Marta lift the trophy, and that is something I’ll watch over and over again.

Hayes Prepares the USWNT for SheBelieves Cup

Emma Hayes knows that defending the SheBelieves Cup title will be a challenge. With many of her players just starting the NWSL preseason, she will need to use all 26 players available if the USWNT is to win yet again. Of course, while the SheBelieves Cup is important, ultimately it is a stop along the way to the the Women’s World Cup. Unlike the her last major tournament, Hayes has plenty of time to prepare for the World Cup.

MLS Transfer Updates

I’m not sure why we keep telling you about all the stuff other clubs are doing to improve their teams for 2025, but here we go again. Atlanta United has signed Middlesbrough FC forward Emmanuel Latte Lath for a reported MLS record fee of $22 million. Bringing in quality strikers is a good thing, or so I hear. Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Union signed Homegrown defender Neil Pierre to a four-year deal. The Portland Thorns brought in Jimer Fory from Colombian side Independiente Medellín through 2028. Carlos Gruezo is headed to Ecuadorian club LDU Quito after he and the San Diego Earthquakes mutually terminated his contract. Of course, clubs can now also employ the cash-for-player system for selling players to other clubs within MLS.

MLS Clubs are Selling

Orlando City supporters are familiar with the idea that MLS is a selling league. Young players — particularly South American players — are brought into the league by clubs to develop and sell on for a profit. We saw that with Facundo Torres recently. There are some who bemoan the loss of talent, but there’s always more behind it. Overall, for where MLS is at this point, it is a good thing for the league. It’s also a good thing for individual clubs, assuming they continue to bring in additional talent — preferably sooner than later, Orlando City front office.

Free Kicks

  • The growth of the game is a good thing. Congratulations to the NWSL Denver expansion side for setting a league record for the fastest team to reach 5,000 ticket deposits. 
  • Finally, Jon Stewart Concacaf’ed Concacaf. You love to see it.

That will do it for today. Perhaps the club will surprise us with a massive signing or two. What? I can hope, can’t I?

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 2/4/25

MLS transfer roundup, Americans in midweek action, court sides with USSF and MLS, and more.

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1 day ago

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February 4, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Tuesday, everyone. I hope you’ve had a better start to the week than me, as I’ve been fighting an illness and have been in the trenches big time. Before we get into the news of the day, let’s all wish Orlando Pride forward Simone Charley a happy birthday. We have lots of things to discuss this morning, so let’s jump right into today’s links.

MLS Transfer Roundup

As is usual for this time of year, there are a number of MLS transfer items that we need to catch up on. We start with a huge move, as the Columbus Crew have sold striker Cucho Hernandez to Real Betis for a fee that Tom Bogert says was for $16 million plus add-ons.

Sporting Kansas City had a busy Monday, as the club completed a pair of deals to start the week, signing midfielder Manu Garcia from Aris Thessaloniki, who will occupy a Designated Player slot. SKC also signed winger Shapi Suleymanov from Aris Thessaloniki, with the Russian under contract through 2026 with additional option years for 2027 and 2028. Finally, the Houston Dynamo sent $2.1 million in cash to the Philadelphia Union in exchange for midfielder Jack McGlynn.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of American players who will be taking part in games during the working week, so make sure you have everything marked down on your calendar. Paxten Aaronson and Utrecht will travel to face Heracles in the quarterfinals of the KNVB Cup later today. Wednesday continues the theme of cup action, as Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan host Roma in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia. Thursday brings yet more cup action as Cade Cowell and Chivas will travel to the Dominican Republic to face Cibao in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Things then wrap up on Friday with Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus traveling to play Como in Serie A.

MLS & USSF Win Lawsuit

A federal jury has sided with MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation in the antitrust lawsuit brought against them by the North American Soccer League. The NASL brought the suit against the two parties back in 2017 when the USSF denied the NASL’s application to be recognized as a Division 2 league. The USSF’s division structure provides a set of requirements that a league must meet in order to be classified as part of a certain division, and the NASL alleged that the USSF constantly modified those requirements in order to avoid awarding the NASL a Division 1 and, later, a Division 2 classification. Despite the ruling, the NASL is likely to lodge an appeal, which means that we probably haven’t heard the last of this.

European Deadline Day Roundup

The winter transfer window is now closed in the vast majority of Europe’s leagues, so let’s catch up on the moves that happened on the final day of business. Manchester City made a big splash by signing Nicolas Gonzalez from FC Porto for a fee believed to be around $62 million. Tottenham Hotspur signed Mathys Tel on loan from Bayern Munich, with the deal including an option to make the loan permanent at the end of the season. Aston Villa signed Marco Asensio on loan from Paris Saint Germain until the end of the season. Ben Chilwell has joined Crystal Palace on loan for the rest of the season. Finally, USMNT defender Caleb Wiley has joined Watford on loan until the end of the season.

Free Kicks

That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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