Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s scoreless draw at home against Inter Miami.

Published

7 months ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed Tropic Thunder rival Inter Miami to Inter&Co Stadium Wednesday night, and while it would have been nice to get revenge for the 5-0 beatdown in Ft. Lauderdale in March, we’ll have to settle for the scoreless draw. With or without Lionel Messi, Miami has been formidable in 2024, sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings. The Herons entered on a five-game streak of scoring at least three goals, so holding them scoreless is a good result, and the defensive performance is something to build on.

Here’s what I saw in Wednesday’s match.

Pareja’s Plug-and-Play 3-5-2

Oscar Pareja went back to the 3-5-2 formation that was so successful at Philadelphia. With Robin Jansson out with an ankle injury, Papi inserted Rodrigo Schlegel as the left center back next to Wilder Cartagena and David Brekalo. Ivan Angulo and Facundo Torres reprised their roles as wingbacks (more on that below), outside a midfield of Nico Lodeiro, Cesar Araujo, and Martin Ojeda. Luis Muriel and Duncan McGuire were the forwards at the top of the formation. Lodeiro’s role was that of a deep-lying playmaker, while Araujo had a defense-first role and Ojeda was higher in the attack. While it didn’t create as much against Miami as it did against the Union, the formation was largely effective and will likely be used again in the future. The team adapted well, turning in one of its best defensive performances of the season. While there were no goals scored, there were chances.

Herons Pick on Angulo

Much of Miami’s attack focused on the left side of the Herons’ formation — Orlando’s defensive right — where Angulo was playing wingback. Miami’s players on that side were winger Robert Taylor and fullback Franco Negri, who both have good pace. While Angulo can blaze past most opponents when making recovery runs, the Miami duo had enough speed to get in behind on the left flank and stay ahead of Angulo multiple times. The most dangerous chances on the night came from that side, while the players on the right — Matias Rojas, Julian Gressel, and Marcelo Weigandt — didn’t make much noise against Torres. Neither Angulo nor Torres are natural defenders, so it was interesting to see Miami focus more on the left instead of using both sides equally.

Cartagena Adds Center Back Option for Orlando City

While Cartagena has excelled as a defensive midfielder since arriving in Orlando, and his game at Phiadelphia was a mixed bag, the Peruvian has seemingly presented himself as another option for the Lions’ back line. Cartagena was arguably the team’s best center back against Miami, often being isolated against Luis Suarez. Cartagena held his own all night, and made several big plays. The team has opted to keep just three “regular” center backs, augmenting them by putting Abdi Salim or Thomas Williams on the bench when there’s an injury or suspension. However, it’s clear from watching OCB matches that neither Salim nor Williams are ready for MLS just yet, although there is plenty of upside for both. The emergence of Cartagena as an option is vital, and by protecting him in a three-man back line (and having success with it), Pareja has found some unexpected formation flexibility. We’d all like to see Robin Jansson healthy and in the lineup quickly, but it’s always good to have depth options — even unconventional ones.

Muriel Rounding into Form

Although there were no goal contributions from striker Muriel, the Colombian striker showed that his performance against Philadelphia was not a one-off. Muriel was outstanding both in the attack and in winning the ball back for his team. He should have had an assist on a Martin Ojeda goal in the 32nd minute, splitting the defense with his pass through a narrow opening. Unfortunately, Ojeda left his shot too close to Drake Callender, who still had to make a world-class save to keep it out. He dribbled defenders at will, made three key passes, and his second-half steal resulted in a yellow card on Taylor. He did the same thing to Sergio Busquets, only to see a soft foul given the other way. Muriel passed at a 74% success rate, put the ball in good areas, and forced a second big save from Callender with one of his three shots. While you’d like to see him finish his chance in the 77th minute on the counterattack, he lost the handle while setting himself up for a final move and shot, which is understandable with all the running he did Saturday and Wednesday. If this form continues, the goals and assists will as well.

Three Big Defensive Plays Led to Lions’ Clean Sheet

There were three key moments from Orlando City’s defense that preserved the clean sheet Wednesday night. The first happened two minutes after kickoff, when Luis Suarez managed to get outside and behind Brekalo. One of the most dangerous strikers in all of MLS was alone on goal with only Pedro Gallese to beat. Despite being at an angle, Suarez normally finishes such chances, but Gallese did well to get down and get a tentacle to the shot, keeping it out of his net. The defense arrived in time to clear the rebound and the Lions had dodged a bullet. The second big chance came in the seventh minute. It looked like an offside play when fullback Negri got in behind down the left flank. He cut the ball back for the trailing run of Taylor, who fired on target with his first shot. Brekalo was there to block the effort, keeping the game scoreless. The third of Miami’s golden opportunities came late. In the 74th minute, Jordi Alba — who had subbed on for Negri — got to the end line and sent a cross just in front of goal that got past Gallese at the near post. With striker Leonardo Campana breaking toward the back post, it appeared the shutout was over. However, midfielder-turned-center-back Cartagena arrived just in time to block the cross and Orlando survived.

That’s what I took away from a hard-fought, scoreless battle at Inter&Co Stadium. What stuck out to you? Let us know in the comments.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/25/24

Orlando Pride make everyone’s ‘nice’ list, the USMNT’s new attitude, Boxing Day matches, and more.

Published

17 hours ago

on

December 25, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah, Mane Landers! One of the great things about soccer is that unlike other sports, there are matches being played somewhere nearly every day of the year. It truly is something for which I’m grateful. That also means there’s soccer news even on a big holiday, making my job here a bit easier. As such, let’s get to the links.

Orlando Pride Still Tops

It doesn’t matter what list you mention when it comes to women’s soccer, the Orlando Pride will be on it. If you follow women’s soccer — and I don’t know why you wouldn’t — 2024 brought plenty of gifts. Obviously, Marta lifting a pair of trophies was big news in the world of women’s soccer. The arrival of Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga to the NWSL was also pretty significant. Enjoy all of this as long as you can. I know I will.

USMNT Savageness

Weston McKennie is loving the attitude that Mauricio Pochettino is bringing to the USMNT. Some have felt that the U.S. has played too timidly before his arrival. Now, McKennie feels he’s bringing a savageness and a bit of South American attitude to the team. Previously, the USMNT was known for being physical if not technical. Perhaps McKennie and his generation can bring both to the table.

Premier League Holiday Cheer

Thursday is a big matchday in the English Premier League. If you’re lucky enough to not have to go to work, there will be plenty of Boxing Day matches to enjoy. Liverpool is top of the table this Christmas, in large part to the efforts of Mo Salah, who became the first player in Premier League history to reach double figures for goals and assists before Christmas.

Given it’s the holiday season, I’m certain that all the EPL clubs want something in their stockings. Of course, if you’re not adding pieces you might fall behind. There are players that each club could add to help in the pursuit of glory.

Rioters Sentenced

Five of the 60 people detained after riots outside the UEFA Europa League match between the Dutch side Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel-Aviv in November have been sentenced by an Amsterdam District Court. The perpetrators’ punishment ran from community service to six months in prison. The altercation took place between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli football fans. Five people were sent to the hospital and 20 others sustained minor injuries. I truly wish this type of thing would stop at soccer matches — or anywhere for that matter.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful time giving and receiving gifts this morning. If Hanukkah is your thing, enjoy all eight days and nights. Kwanzaa? Enjoy every day from Thursday through Jan. 1. Festivus celebrators, you should already have done your feats of strength and airing of grievances. If you don’t celebrate any particular holidays, I hope you had a peaceful, relaxing morning. Just know that we here at The Mane Land are grateful for the gift of your readership.

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Top 10 Moments of 2024: Facundo Torres Breaks Lions’ All-Time Goal Record

In our No. 8 moment of the year, Facundo Torres sets a new Orlando City career record for goals scored.

Published

1 day ago

on

December 24, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

As we count down to the new year of 2025 — which will be Orlando City’s 11th in MLS, the Orlando Pride’s 10th in the NWSL, and OCB’s third in MLS NEXT Pro — and say goodbye to 2024, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.

The 2024 season will always be a bittersweet one when it comes to remembering the contributions of Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres. He once again started the season slowly before locking in over the summer and dazzling crowds, befuddling opponents, and doing impressive things with a soccer ball on behalf of Orlando City SC.

He helped the team get to the second round of the Concacaf Champions League/Cup and to the Eastern Conference final — the first time the club accomplished either achievement. Then he left, transferring to Palmeiras just days before Christmas. He may be gone, but the transfer funds and open Designated Player slot the sale brought the club may yet make for even more success on the field in the seasons to come.

Torres put together another brilliant season, starting by scoring a brace in the team’s Champions Cup opener against Cavalry FC on Feb. 21. Here’s the first of those goals:

He added a nice header later to put the game away. The brace had many fans dreaming that he wouldn’t take until the summer to get into a groove during his third year in Orlando like he did in his first two seasons. But then he didn’t score again in the run of play until the fourth minute of a May 29 road game against the Chicago Fire. That isn’t to say he didn’t find the net in March or April. He scored from the penalty spot once in each of those months — at Tigres March 12 and at Montreal April 20 — but it wasn’t the hot start fans were hoping for.

Torres did, however, settle in eventually and had himself a season. In fact, he broke Cyle Larin’s club record for most goals in a season across all competitions, by hitting the net 20 times in 2024. He scored 14 times in the regular season, twice in the MLS Cup playoffs, three times in Champions Cup play, and once in Leagues Cup. That doesn’t even count his made penalties in the postgame shootouts against Cruz Azul or Charlotte FC (in Game 3).

As usual, he did most of his damage in the second half of the year, when he helped the club put together a remarkable run of form that lifted the Lions from near the bottom of the conference to fourth place by season’s end. During the team’s final 17 games, Torres scored 11 of his 14 regular-season goals and posted three braces. The light switch seemed to be flipped in the first game of the second half of Orlando City’s 2024 season. After just three goals in the first 17 games — one in the run of play and two from the penalty spot (he also missed a penalty for the first time in his career in Game 17 against LAFC) — Torres scored three goals in the next two matches, helping the Lions to a comeback draw at Charlotte and a 4-2 home win over the Chicago Fire, setting the tone for an 11-4-2 run in the second half.

His torrid run of form had him climbing the club’s scoring list all summer and that culminated in reaching the pinnacle of the team’s MLS era on Oct. 2, when he did this in the 57th minute at home against the Philadelphia Union:

As Torres goals go, it wasn’t one of his prettiest or most impressive, but it was his 45th as a Lion across all competitions, passing Larin’s career mark for Orlando City’s MLS era. It also helped propel the Lions to a 2-1 win over the Union, putting the team on the cusp of clinching home field in the first round of the playoffs. It was also Torres’ last regular-season goal with Orlando City. Bittersweet.

However, the Las Piedras, Uruguay, native wasn’t finished scoring in 2024. He notched the first goal of Orlando’s postseason run in the 32nd minute against Charlotte FC at home on Oct. 27 in a 2-0 win. Torres placed himself in the right spot at the right time, taking advantage of a deflected Rafael Santos cross that fell in front of him in the box. The winger blasted it off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net to open the scoring.

The goal drew him level with Dom Dwyer for the club’s all-time career goals mark when combining Orlando City’s USL and MLS eras.

He should have claimed that record for himself in Game 2 of the Charlotte series when he fired home in stoppage time on the road, but the flag came up for Nico Lodeiro being offside in the buildup — incorrectly, per the offside modeling Twitter account.

While the offside modeling site is hardly official, it illustrates how close the play was. Many teams tend to get the benefit of those types of calls and the flags stay down, but Orlando is generally not one of those teams.

However, he took sole possession of the record one match later, breaking the tie with Dwyer in the 12th minute of stoppage time of Game 3. The Lions trailed 1-0 and the season was on the brink when Duncan McGuire was pulled down in the box on a late set piece, injuring himself to the point he had off-season surgery to repair the labrum and rotator cuff in his shoulder. Torres took the ball and stepped to the spot to face one of the best goalkeepers in MLS, Kristijan Kahlina. The Croatian read Torres well and made the stop, but he couldn’t control the rebound. Torres got to it quickly, kept his composure, and fired it home to level the match.

It was not only an important strike, but it was also his 47th and final goal for Orlando City across all competitions, although he also calmly scored his penalty in the ensuing shootout to help send the Lions through to the conference semifinals against Atlanta United.

It’s fitting that Torres’ final Orlando City goal was such an important one, as he’s been such a big part of the team’s success over the past three seasons. He departed the club officially on Dec. 20 for a club-record transfer fee after scoring a total of 47 goals across all competitions. He added 25 assists in his time in purple, amassing a club-record 72 career goal contributions.

In a three-year Orlando career that was filled with highlight-reel plays, Torres brought a lot of joy to the club’s fans during his stay. His ascendance to the top of the club’s MLS and combined scoring lists is worthy of inclusion as one of our top moments of the season.

Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of the top 10 moments of 2024 for Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB.

Previous Top Moments of 2024

10. Orlando City’s massive second-half surge clinches top-four spot in Eastern Conference.

9. The Orlando Pride sign Zambian international striker Barbra Banda ahead of the 2024 season.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/24/24

MLS transfer roundup, Americans in midweek action, NWSL news galore, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

December 24, 2024

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Happy Tuesday and merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I hope you’re all having a good start to your week and have some fun stuff planned for the upcoming holidays.

Before we get started with today’s links, we here at The Mane Land want to give a special shout out to Joe (a.k.a. fldatadude) for signing up for a Homegrown Player-level membership on our Buy Me a Coffee page. By signing up at one of our three levels of support, our readers and podcast listeners can enjoy added benefits in addition to keeping our bills paid so we can continue doing what we do.

Now we do have plenty of items to get to today, so let’s get into today’s news.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

Several MLS teams have been busy at work in the transfer market, so let’s break down the recent moves. LAFC signed free agent forward Jeremy Ebobisse to a three-year deal with an additional option year, adding more firepower to an already strong squad. The Portland Timbers also got some business done via free agency, as they signed winger Ariel Lassiter. FC Dallas acquired forward Anderson Julio from Real Salt Lake, with defender Sam Junqua and up to $500,000 in General Allocation Money going to RSL in exchange. Finally, Lorenzo Insigne has teased on his Instagram that he will play another season for Toronto FC in 2025.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans playing this week, so get everything marked down and enjoy some festive footy. Thursday’s Boxing Day slate features Americans heavily, with Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace traveling to take on Tyler Adams and Bournemouth in Premier League play. Antonee Robinson and Fulham will play Chelsea that same day, while Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United face an unenviable trip to Stoke City to round things off on Thursday.

Keeping Up With NWSL Happenings

Let’s start our NWSL roundup with the San Diego Wave, which have reportedly hired Jonas Eidevall as their new head coach. The Swede most recently spent time coaching Arsenal and has reportedly been the Wave’s top choice for several weeks. We now move to the realm of fact, where Angel City FC has signed midfielder Macey Hodge to a two-year deal with an option for the 2027 season. Finally, expansion team BOS Nation FC agreed a lease with Boston Public Schools and the City of Boston that will allow the team to use White Stadium as its home ground starting in 2026.

European Transfer Rumor Mill

Europe’s club teams can’t do business quite yet, but rumors are flying thick and fast with January just around the corner. First up, Manchester United is said to be exploring a deal to sign Victor Osimhen in January, particularly with Marcus Rashford indicating that he wants out of the club. Staying in the Premier League, Christopher Nkunku’s agent has reportedly offered the forward’s services to Barcelona, as he hasn’t been starting for the Blues and wants a larger role. Finally, Bayern Munich is said to be closely monitoring Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, which would add him to a long list of Dortmund players snapped up by the Bundesliga giants.

Free Kicks

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas Eve!

Continue Reading

Trending