Lion Links: 5/10/24

Happy Friday! I don’t have many plans for the weekend beyond working and looking after my friend’s cat, but I’m hoping it’s a fairly relaxing next few days. Both Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are in action tomorrow night, so make sure to plan your weekend accordingly. For now, let’s get to today’s links!

Orlando City Prepares for the Philadelphia Union

After a tough loss at home to FC Cincinnati, Orlando City hits the road for a tough match against the Philadelphia Union tomorrow night. The Lions showed plenty of fight in that loss, which included a red card to Rodrigo Schlegel and injuries to both Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Rafael Santos. Head Coach Oscar Pareja spoke about the matchup against the Union and stated that Thorhallsson is in concussion protocol and that both he and Santos are day-to-day heading into this match.

The Lions at least won’t have to worry about Philadelphia forward Julian Carranza in this match, as he will miss it due to yellow card accumulation. Both teams have struggled in recent weeks, with the Lions winless in their last three games and the Union winless in their last four. Orlando managed to beat the Union on the road last year and will need to do it again to climb up the Eastern Conference standings.

Angelina Will Be Evaluated Weekly for Return

Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina had a successful arthroscopic procedure on her knee and will be evaluated by the club’s medical team for a return to the field on a week-to-week basis. She suffered the injury late in the Pride’s 4-1 win over the North Carolina Courage, and rookie Ally Lemos filled in for her in the team’s 1-0 win against Racing Louisville. Angelina signed with the Pride this past off-season and has been a major reason why the Pride are undefeated in 2024. The Brazilian has done well on both sides of the ball and has a goal and an assist to her name so far, while bringing stability to the midfield. Hopefully, she returns to the Pride’s midfield sooner rather than later.

Philadelphia Union Sign 14-Year-Old Cavan Sullivan

The Philadelphia Union have a penchant for developing young players and have now signed 14-year-old midfielder Cavan Sullivan to a Homegrown Player contract that will last through 2028. Sullivan, who is the brother of Quinn Sullivan, is now the fifth-youngest signing in MLS history. He excelled in the past two Generation Adidas Cups with the Union and made his debut for Philadelphia Union II earlier this year. When he turns 18, he will reportedly be transferred to Manchester City as well, so it will be interesting to see how he does in MLS until then.

Leverkusen and Atalanta Reach Europa League Final

Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta both got the job done in second legs at home to advance to the Europa League final. The match in Germany between Leverkusen and Roma was a wild one, with Leverkusen managing yet another late comeback to draw 2-2 and advance on aggregate after winning the first leg. The draw extended Leverkusen’s unbeaten streak to 49 games and it can secure a treble by the end of the month. In the other semifinal, Atalanta cruised to a 3-0 win over Marseille. The Italian club will have a chance at silverware in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus on May 15 before the Europa League final on May 22 in Ireland.

Free Kicks

• Enjoy these sights and sounds from the Pride’s gritty win over Racing Louisville.

• Olivier Renard is no longer the vice president and chief sporting officer of CF Montreal, with the two sides agreeing to part ways.
• PSV Eindhoven reportedly won’t be exercising the option to sign American right back Sergino Dest, who joined the Dutch club on loan from Barcelona last year.

• Legal action could be coming FIFA’s way if it continues adding competitions to an already congested schedule for men’s soccer.
• James Benge of CBS Sports believes that this year’s Borussia Dortmund side is the most surprising team to make the Champions League final.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!