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Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Final Score 2-2 as Lions Keep Conceding Goals

A controversial penalty decision helped the Red Bulls come from behind twice to split the points with the Lions.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continued to suffer the critical defensive lapses that have cost the team goals during the first month of the 2025 season in a controversial 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Despite leading twice, Orlando City (1-2-1, 4 points) dropped points again.

Stunning strikes by Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic were canceled out by equalizers from Eric Choupa-Moting — controversially, from the penalty spot — and Dennis Gjengaar, and Carlos Coronel stopped every good look in the second half that the Lions put on target, allowing New York (1-1-2, 5 points) to take a point from a trailing position.

“A competitive game, and I thought our boys today implemented another gear on the challenges that we had — not just defensively but offensively,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I thought the amount of opportunities that we created to score kept us optimistic.”

Pareja had some wrinkles to his starting lineup this week, with Cesar Araujo unavailable after experiencing muscle tightness late in the week. Joran Gerbet made his first professional start alongside Eduard Atuesta in central midfield. Additionally, Kyle Smith replaced Rafael Santos at left back. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Smith, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Gerbet and Atuesta were in central midfield behind the usual attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Ojeda, and Pasalic. Luis Muriel started for the second straight game. Pareja got some bodies back on his bench, however, with Duncan McGuire available for the first time, along with David Brekalo. Zakaria Taifi was on the bench after signing a short-term contract, and Gustavo Caraballo — after signing a Homegrown Player deal Friday through 2027 — was also on the bench.

Orlando’s game plan coming out was to drop Angulo to left wingback when the hosts had possession, which the Lions were happy to concede. The Red Bulls found some width early to create some issues, but other than that, Pareja’s plan worked beautifully in the first half. The Lions were able to create on the break.

The first half chance of the match fell for Muriel from a severe angle on the right. Looking to catch Coronel by surprise, he smashed a shot in the third minute but couldn’t keep it on frame.

New York’s first opportunity came three minutes later, as Peter Stroud found space outside the area with Orlando’s lines dropping too deeply. Stroud fired a shot that Schlegel came out to block. Two minutes later, Gallese was forced to make a huge early save when Gjengaar was slipped down the right. The Peruvian came off his line and made himself big to deny a point-blank chance.

Orlando broke the scoreless tie in the 18th minute when Muriel flicked a ball on the left for Ojeda to pick up. The Argentine broke to the top of the area, looking for a teammate, but the defense had his options well covered. Ojeda fired a shot instead, blasting it into the upper right corner to make it 1-0.

“The guys who need to put the team on their shoulders seem like are doing the job,” Pareja said. “Now, we need to maintain it and even get better.”

Choupa-Moting fired well over the bar from outside the area in the 21st minute, but moments later he initiated contact with Jansson in the box that was not called a foul during play. Video assistant referee Daniel Radford sent match referee Armando Villarreal to the monitor for a look. Although Choupa-Moting stuck his foot out in front of Jansson as he was striding forward, Villarreal gave a penalty that’s seldom called, handing the hosts an easy scoring opportunity from the penalty spot.

Gallese guessed correctly, but Choupa-Moting’s shot was low and just inside the post, making it 1-1 in the 29th minute. It was an unfortunate decision for Orlando, and it would have been an unnecessary one had the Lions’ captain not cheated forward when he didn’t need to, allowing Choupa-Moting to get into the box.

“The boys were very annoyed by the decision,” Pareja said. “I have to see it better. The common word in the locker room was that it was a very unfair call, but nothing that we can do now.”

The Lions went back in front 10 minutes later, but it was a goal that saw almost no celebration. Atuesta sent a long ball over the top to Pasalic, who looked a mile offside, but the flag stayed down. Pasalic smashed a left-footed shot past Coronel to make it 2-1. Replays showed Raheem Edwards kept the Croatian onside, so the goal counted and Orlando led again in the 39th minute.

“Offensively, I see much bravery and a much functional team,” Pareja said. “I like the way we’re attacking. I like the way we are proposing the game.”

Pasalic was nearly in again in the 45th minute, but this time the flag came up and it didn’t matter anyway, as he lost his footing at the top of the area.

Because Villarreal gave seven minutes of stoppage time, the final chances of the half fell for the Red Bulls. A header by Choupa-Moting forced a good save from Gallese on a shot that bounced in front. The Red Bulls had a couple opportunities to do something with the ensuing corner but couldn’t pay it off before the halftime whistle.

New York had the halftime advantage in possession (55%-45%), shots (7-4), shots on target (3-2), and passing accuracy (85.7%-83.5%). Each team won one corner in the opening period.

Orlando coughed up the lead moments after the break, and it was from yet another defensive breakdown in this early 2025 season. New York attacked down the wide left and a ball into the box was turned home by Gjengaar, who was left alone in front of the net. Schlegel looked for an attacker and didn’t see one, but then was caught ball watching as Gjengaar cut diagonally away from Jansson to occupy the space behind Schlegel, where he was left alone. Stroud got outside of Freeman on the switch and sent in a cross. Smith dropped deep enough on the left to keep Gjengaar onside, allowing him to tie the game in the 47th minute with a redirection off his thigh.

“We know about our errors defensively, and this is not just defenders, but this is the whole group just conceding goals that we have to erase from our performances,” Pareja said.

“We need to figure it out, because we need to do a better job right after halftime, because we have been conceding goals like right after, and we need to raise up the energy,” said Gerbet, who played a strong match in his first start against. We need to do a better job to come back with the same energy as we had in the first half to avoid those types of goals.”

That early second-half goal set off a nervy spell for the Lions, who again were giving too much width to the Red Bulls. In addition to width, Orlando City was conceding extra chances. Angulo’s poor clearance set up Edwards right in front in the 52nd minute, but the shot went wide of the left post.

Angulo again gave the ball away in his own end in the 53rd minute, and that allowed Dylan Nealis a chance to fire a shot at the top of the area. Gallese did well to get down and make the save, that bounced to Edwards. The New York player couldn’t dig it out of his feet and his chance for an easy put-back evaporated.

The Lions settled down a bit after that, creating a couple of chances. Pasalic shook free on the left and fired just wide of the right post in the 61st minute. Two minutes later, Muriel tried a long-range effort that forced a diving save from Coronel. Pasalic created another chance in the 65th minute by forcing a great diving stop by Coronel to keep the match tied.

The best chance in that Orlando flurry came in the 67th minute. Smith got to the end line and sent a good pass into the area. Ojeda dug it out of traffic and fired from close range but hit his curling shot wide of the right post.

New York should have taken the lead in the 72nd minute. With Orlando enjoying a spell of possession, Jansson was dispossessed at the halfway line, allowing Gjengaar to break in alone on goal. Rather than risk a pass to Choupa-Moting with Schlegel tracking back, Gjengaar fired a shot, trying to beat the onrushing Gallese. The Peruvian did well to get a slight touch to the shot, forcing it to skip just wide of the left post.

“I felt it more like individual moments every time,” Gerbet said about the club’s defensive struggles. “So, I felt like we just need to train more, be more focused, even like at halftime or before, be willing as a team to talk, to communicate, to be able to be all together, to raise up the energy — if we see someone is a little bit down, to push him a little bit. And I felt like those little tips can help us moving forward.”

Orlando went back on the front foot after that with some late chances to win the match. Pasalic held the ball too long on a promising transition break, rather than shifting the ball right to Freeman. Felipe Carballo was able to make him pay by tackling it away from him, although the Croatian felt he was fouled on the play. He came off limping when substituted off moments later, but Pareja indicated in his postgame comments that he wasn’t concerned with an injury to Pasalic.

The Lions gave up the ball too easily a few more times after that opportunity on the break, with Gjengaar hitting the left post with a curling effort from the right side, nearly making Orlando pay in the 85th minute.

McGuire subbed on for his first appearance of the season moments later and his impact was noticeable, despite no changes to the scoreline. He quickly won a corner in the 90th minute and fellow substitute David Brekalo got under his header on the ensuing set piece, sending it over the goal.

Ramiro Enrique had a golden opportunity for a winner in the third minute of injury time when McGuire laid off a pass for the Argentine. His shot was a decent one, but placed a bit too close to Coronel, who made an excellent diving save. A minute later, Coronel blocked a shot by Rafael Santos pinching in from the left, and McGuire’s follow-up effort was blocked by the defense in front.

“I was so happy seeing (McGuire), because he has been training normal, but I know the competition in the games is different,” Pareja said about the striker’s return. “I was urgent to see him giving us those glimpses of the Duncan that we all know. And when I saw him today competing, jumping with no fear, winning those duels, and getting in behind, that made us so happy. I’m very convinced that Duncan will be back in his best level soon and all what he brings is just good news for our offensive side.”

The final chance of the game fell to Orlando in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Santos won a corner kick. The service found its way to a wide-open Schlegel high in the box on the right. The defender took a shot but sent it wide with just about the last kick of the game.

New York finished with the advantage in possession (55.7%-44.3%) and passing accuracy (83.1%-80.7%), but aside from the first 15 minutes of the second half and a few random giveaways, Orlando controlled the match, finishing level on shots (15-15) and finishing with the advantage in shots on target (7-6) and corners (6-2).

Ultimately, the continued momentary lapses in defending cost the team points again. The Lions have now conceded 10 goals in just four games to start this season, using four different starting back line combinations.

“We’re disappointed of course because we wanted more,” Gerbet said. “I think we had the chances to get more (than one point), but we know how it’s tough to come here to New York to get a point, so I won’t say we’re happy, but we need to go with that because that’s what we got. Disappointed of course with the result, because as a team we want to win every single game.”

“At the end, we take a point and we take proudly, because we made a great effort today,” Pareja said.


The Lions finish their road trip without a win (0-1-1) and now return to the friendly confines of Inter&Co Stadium a week from today when they host D.C. United.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure a victory against Chicago at home?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City ends May the way it began, with a match against the Chicago Fire. The Lions are coming off a wild and disappointing match against rival Atlanta United. I always worry about a team after such an emotional outing, and on short rest to boot, especially since the Fire were off during the midweek. How the team reacts will determine the result. What does Orlando City need to do to take all three points from Chicago at home?

Defend this House

Much like the last time, Orlando City will need to deal with Hugo Cuypers and the rest of Chicago’s attack. The Lions likely won’t get the benefit of having Chris Brady sent off in the 36th minute again, meaning they will need to defend more attacks for a longer time. In the last match, Chicago took 16 shots, putting eight of those on target. Limiting those chances will be critical.

I expect to see Alex Freeman, Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo starting on the back line despite having done so Wednesday night. No cheap giveaways, no errant arms away from the body in the box, just solid defending for 90 plus minutes. The Lions will have to do it without Cesar Araujo, thanks to his sending off against Atlanta. I think they can, but it will be more difficult without him.

Atuesta Ahoy

Eduard Atuesta played the full 90 minutes against the Portland Timbers, and then played limited minutes against Atlanta United. I completely agreed with that strategy, because he did not need to be playing too many minutes so soon after returning. He is also working back to full fitness. He will be rested for this home match, and the pitch conditions will be much better.

We were reminded of how good he is in the attacking midfield in that match against Portland. I need him to provide those slicing passes through tiny windows against the Chicago defense. Joran Gerbet has proven to be a steal in the draft, but he doesn’t yet have that extra bit of quality you see from Atuesta. Look for him to break Chicago’s lines.

Early and Often

Orlando City will come in on three days rest, whereas Chicago will be on six days rest. This match will also be the Lions’ ninth match in May — their seventh in the league and two more in the U.S. Open Cup. To say that tired legs will be a concern is an understatement. As such, Orlando City needs to jump out to an early lead as it did against Atlanta.

Fortunately, there was more rotation in the attack on Wednesday for Orlando City with Ramiro Enrique getting the start. That means Luis Muriel will be fresh for a start on the much nicer grass at Inter&Co Stadium. I’ll take a goal from Muriel, or frankly any Orlando player. Heck, Jansson is due for one, right? Multiple goals will likely be needed to secure a victory.


That is what I will be looking for Sunday night. Let me know your in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from a disastrous 3-2 road loss to Atlanta United.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The final Wednesday night match of May is officially in the books, and it provided a decent amount of fireworks and what turned out to be a nightmare finish for Orlando City. OCSC held a 2-1 lead with a little less than 13 minutes to play, but the Lions saw that lead evaporate into thin air after a silly red card was issued to Cesar Araujo. The advantage allowed the Five Stripes to earn back-to-back home wins with a 3-2 victory. Here are my five takeaways from the Wednesday night match that I truly cannot wait to forget.

On the Board Early

Despite being the road team, Orlando started the match on the front foot, controlling the pace and possession over the first five minutes with relative ease. Their efforts paid off in the fourth minute of the match when Martin Ojeda played a ball toward the middle of the field. The pass found two Orlando City players occupying essentially the same space, with Marco Pasalic and Araujo standing shoulder to shoulder outside the box. Pasalic laid it off for Araujo, who struck it well, beating Brad Guzan on the bounce to put Orlando City up 1-0 early in the match. The play was reviewed as Ramiro Enrique was in an offside position, but ultimately it was deemed that he did not affect or obstruct Guzan’s sight line.

A Quick Equalizer

It didn’t take a long time for the home side to find an equalizer as the teams were level once again before 20 minutes of game time had been played. Alexey Miranchuk found the back of the net as he cleaned up a sloppy bouncing ball right in front of Pedro Gallese. Atlanta likely was going to see the equalizer one way or another, as the ball took an awkward bounce up into the arm of Rodrigo Schlegel before Miranchuk’s shot. It wasn’t a particularly fancy setup to score, but there should be something to be said for being in the right place at the right time, and Miranchuk’s effort to do so was rewarded.

Enrique’s Motor Pays Off

Atlanta and Orlando looked destined to reach halftime tied 1-1 as both sides were unable to do much with possession after the Miranchuk goal, but a poor touch from defender Derrick Williams allowed speedy Argentinian striker Enrique to get in on Guzan unscathed. Enrique did well with the placement, firing a well-struck ball past the outstretched body of Guzan to put Orlando City up 2-1. It is reassuring to know that regardless of who gets the nod to start up top there is quality at the foot of all three forwards. Enrique had been a passenger for much of the first 30-plus minutes of the match, but he demonstrated how lethal he can be if given a small opening.

Missed Opportunities

If you stopped reading the takeaways right now, not a single Orlando City supporter could blame you. Orlando had the chance to put the game to bed multiple times but failed to find the final touch, which could have secured all three points. The first blown opportunity started at the feet of Ivan Angulo, who laid off a brilliant pass to a streaking Ojeda. Orlando’s No. 10 had gotten in behind the back line, picked his head up, and saw Alex Freeman making a back-post run. The chip on the ball was perfectly placed across the front of goal, but unfortunately for Freeman, the ball took a late bounce on the artificial turf and caused him to miss what would otherwise have been a sitter.

The second great opportunity came at the foot of Marco Pasalic in the second half, who finally got the ball on his favored left foot before sending a curling shot towards goal. It beat Guzan but clanked off the post. The ball ricocheted out to Ojeda, who lined up a blast from the left-hand side, only to have Guzan collect himself in enough time to deflect the ball out of bounds. These missed opportunities ultimately proved monumentally costly as the final 10 minutes of the match finished in a heartbreaking style.

Senseless Decision Making Proves Costly

Now is the time to discuss the large elephant in the room. I will go to my grave believing that Atlanta did not win the game, but rather a few individual decisions from Orlando City players instead lost the game. In the 77th minute, after a dead-ball foul, Araujo was shoved in the back by Mateusz Klich. The overly aggressive shove warranted a yellow card for Klich, who should likely already have been on one for a professional foul moments earlier, but the resulting action by Araujo went a long way toward sealing Orlando’s fate before the final whistle was even blown. Arujo, after the shove, got up and quickly put his hand around the throat of Klich directly in front of the ref and was immediately shown a straight red card.

After being reduced to 10 men, the equalizing goal for Atlanta seemed like an inevitability, and that came in the 83rd minute. Orlando enjoyed some additional nervy moments but managed to get the game into stoppage time still at 2-2 before another careless decision all but gifted the home squad the victory. Second-half substitute Eduard Atuesta took control of the ball in the 94th minute and could have made the simple decision to clear the ball down the field. Instead, his feet got caught up on the ball trying to do too much, resulting in a turnover. The back line was caught disorganized when Atlanta quickly regained possession, and a simple chip over the top resulted in a tap-in for Jamal Thiare in the 95th minute.


There is no better way to summarize the match than to say the ending thoroughly sucked. Without a result, Orlando’s 12-game undefeated streak in MLS play finally came to a halt, and the Lions find themselves alone in fifth place in the table now as Nashville, Columbus, and Cincinnati all walked away from their midweek matches with draws. There is one final quick turnaround to be had before the calendar finally flips to June. Orlando City will end the month back at home against the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

Let us know your thoughts about the Atlanta match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-2 loss against Atlanta United?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Well, that was a pretty disappointing way to watch a 12-game unbeaten streak end. Orlando City was not cruising but definitely seemed to be in control. However, for the third time this season, the Lions had a player receive a red card that changed the complexion of the game, turning their 2-1 lead into a 3-2 loss on the road at Atlanta. We could debate for hours the merits of the red card, but it was an unnecessary escalation of what was a minor foul and those dropped points could turn out to be costly at the end of the season. Hopefully, the Lions use their frustration from this match as fuel, because they will have a short turnaround before hosting Chicago on Saturday night.

I have my purple pen out, and I am ready to issue some grades, so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in their Eastern Conference matchup.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — There was little Gallese could have done on any of the goals, as the first one was from point blank range, the second caromed in off the post after curving away from him, and the third was also from close range, though perhaps El Pulpo could have been one step quicker off his line on that one. I think that would have been asking a lot though, and I do not fault him for holding his line considering that he had to position himself for a shot from his right from Saba Lobjanidze, who ended up making the extra pass. Gallese recorded two saves and made a valiant effort to try to help the Lions tie the game on a corner kick in the final seconds, but in the end, all he could do was apply a little pressure on a defender and then watch as the ball was booted down the field past him. The best save he made on the night ended up being erased from the stats due to an offside call, as he got down quickly to deny a shot from right in front of the goalmouth. The stats will look bad for Gallese, but they will not be representative of how he played, as I thought he was solid on the night.

D, David Brekalo, 6 —With every game he plays out at left back the Slovenian is creeping consistently further and further up field, and adding more to the Orlando City attack. He likely will not venture as far as his counterpart at right back Alex Freeman, but Brekalo is using his skills to progress the ball more often, as evidenced by his two successful take-ons and his average position on the field being nearly halfway between that of the center backs and Freeman, who is perhaps the most aggressive right back in MLS. Atlanta preferred attacking opposite of Brekalo, with only 33% of their attacks on his side as opposed to 38% down the opposite flank. Their opening goal did come on Brekalo’s side though, as he was a step slow to get out and close down Lobjanidze and was punished for it, as the cross into the middle was converted shortly thereafter. He also had a couple of careless turnovers in his half along the sideline. Orlando City’s left back completed 37 passes at an 84.1% rate and added two tackles and eight clearances for a solid, but not spectacular, game.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — When a team gives up three goals, it is unlikely that any defender will stand out on the positive side, and while Jansson had some good moments, it was mostly a nondescript game for him. He added another highlight film bomb of a pass to his 2025 collection, but unfortunately, while it led to a shot it did not lead to a goal. The Beefy Swede’s biggest contributions were during the final minutes while Orlando City was under attack, as he ended up with a team high 10 clearances, but clearly those clearances were not quite effective enough because Atlanta was able to overturn their deficit and walk away with the three points. He was caught ball-watching instead of Jamal (Thiare)-watching on the game winner. Jansson’s passing was uncharacteristically poor, with only a 76.7% completion rate and only 33 completed passes, and he also added one tackle and one interception.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5 — The Argentinean defender was unlucky to not concede a penalty in the first half — possibly the first time that sentence has ever been written in a player grades column. A ball ricocheted off Schlegel’s outstretched arm and would have been a clear penalty, but the ball bounced right to the feet of Atlanta’s Alexey Miranchuk, who made no mistake from close range, giving Atlanta a goal. A penalty would at least have given Gallese a chance for a save (or a miss by the penalty taker). He could have done much more on the third goal, as he failed to track Lobjanidze and then meekly tried to nick the ball with a toe rather than being more physical and getting shoulder to shoulder to prevent the final ball to Thiare. Other than that, Schlegel played a pretty quiet game in the middle of the defense, mostly playing conservative passes on his way to a team-leading 42 completions. He, like Jansson, had a poor completion rate (79.3%), and with no key passes or offensive contributions. Schlegel tie Jansson with 10 clearances and he also added a team leading three interceptions, though he did not make any tackles.

D, Alex Freeman, 6.5 — Should is probably too strong of a word, but Freeman could have scored his first goal in weeks on Wednesday night, as he was in front of his defender but just could not extend enough to get to a back-post cross from Martín Ojeda that would have put Orlando City up 3-1 in first half stoppage time. He was unlucky that the ball skipped off the turf and likely would have scored on a grass field. Freeman bombed forward as he usually does, but did not have his best touch on this night, as he was only able to complete 78.4% of his passes, including a few cheap giveaways when he was not under a lot of pressure. At the same time, he did put a lot of pressure on Atlanta’s defense with his movement and his runs, but the final product escaped him. On the defensive side, he was active, adding two tackles, two interceptions, and six clearances.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6 — Angulo had one of his prettiest plays of the season in this game, cutting inside from the left wing before playing a perfectly placed through ball for Ojeda, but the subsequent cross went untouched across the goal. The Colombian also added one shot on goal, but it did not really threaten Brad Guzan. Aside from those two plays it was a relatively quiet game for Angulo, who was better in the first half than the second. He completed 87.5% of his passes and added two tackles and one clearance before making way for Kyle Smith in the 73rd minute.

MF, César Araújo, 5 — The game completely changed after the Uruguayan’s red card, and while Atlanta might have come back even had he been on the field, the task was much easier for the hosts with one of Orlando City’s best defensive players gone and one fewer defender on the field. This was noticeable on the tying goal, where Joran Gerbet was trying to deputize for the missing midfielder and was too deep to close down Bartosz Slisz. It is a shame, because up until that point, Araújo had been playing at a Man-of-the-Match level, scoring the game’s opening goal on a beautiful shot in the opening minutes and playing a great ball over the top to Ojeda that could have gotten him an assist had Ojeda done better with his shot. Despite only playing 77 minutes, Araújo was second on the team with 41 completed passes, including two key passes, and he was the only player on the team to complete at least 90% of his passes, finishing at 91.1%. His thoughtless red card was just a killer though, and while Óscar Pareja said the club will address it with MLS, it is unlikely to change, and it will not help the Lions get back the point or points they could have had on the road.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 5.5 — Gerbet’s hustle play at the end of the game to prevent Atlanta from scoring an open net goal was admirable and emblematic of the effort he put in nearly all game long in the center of the field. I said nearly all game long because he was caught ball watching on Atlanta’s first goal, as he let up for one second and allowed Miranchuk to sneak past him, and the Russian scored a moment later. In fairness to Gerbet, the ball did deflect up and onto Schlegel’s outstretched arm, so he may have immediately thought the play was about to be whistled for a penalty and was not expecting the ball to bounced back off Schlegel and into a the area where it did. Gerbet was also the player nearest to the ball on Atlanta’s second goal, but with Orlando City down a player, he had sunk deeper into the 18 to help defend and I do not think it would be fair to call him out for not getting all the way out to a player shooting from around 22-23 yards away. He was simply not where he would have been with a full complement of Lions on the pitch. I don’t want to minimize his effort and play all the way down to a few specific plays though, Gerbet did have a solid game all around, completing 86.5% of his passes and adding one tackle and four clearances on defense.

MF, Marco Pašalić, 6 — After some plays early in the season when he showed off his right foot, the Croatian has become a nearly exclusively left-footed player as the season has progressed, and that was on display in this game when he ran onto a long ball from Ojeda and, despite having a wide-open opportunity to take a touch and attempt a right-footed shot, he cut back into the middle and hit a shot right at Guzan. In fairness, it was impressive dribbling to get that shot off, and a shot from the middle is better than a shot from the right, but the defender was overplaying him to allow him to go right and he still went left, even though he was inside the 18 and has a good right foot. Though he did not force Guzan into any difficult saves, Pašalić was dangerous in this game, earning an assist on his short layoff pass to Araújo and attacking the Atlanta defense throughout. He won two take-ons and completed 87.9% of his passes, including one key pass, and also added a team-leading four tackles, one interception, and one clearance on the defensive end.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 6.5 (MotM)— Enrique is doing a little bit of a Facundo Torres impression, getting hot along with the weather, scoring his fourth goal in the last three weeks in this game. He never gave up on a long ball from Ojeda, and when Atlanta defender Derrick Williams could not control the ball, Enrique blew by him to take possession and smashed a low shot past Guzan to give Orlando City a 2-1 lead. Although he was almost invisible prior to his goal, Enrique delivered his customary effort, leading the team by winning five aerial balls and hustling all over the field. He completed 88.2% his passes and recorded one tackle and one clearance before he was sacrificed in a defense-for-offense substitution after the Araújo red card.

F, Martín Ojeda, 6.5 — The Argentinian Designated Player played a game of close, but no cigar during this game, coming teasingly close to scoring on multiple shots and close to adding an assist on one excellent cross that was inches away from being put away by Freeman. Ojeda collected a secondary assist on the game’s opening goal, playing the initial ball into Pašalić, who laid it off for Araújo that led to the Uruguayan’s wonderful shot. He also played the ball over the top that turned into Enrique’s goal, though he did not get credit for the assist as the ball went off an Atlanta defender before Enrique picked it up and took it to goal. Ojeda will probably rue the chances he had but did not finish, and so while he registered an assist, he could have had another goal contribution and possibly two. He completed 78.6% of his passes and added two clearances on defense. 

Substitutes

F, Luis Muriel, (73′), 5.5 — This game is in contention for the game in which the Colombian contributed the least to the Lions, but as the solitary attacking player when playing down a player, there was little that Muriel could do as he saw almost none of the ball during his time on the field. I think he was partially culpable for Atlanta’s second goal, as with Gerbet dropping deeper into the defense Muriel could have dropper deeper as well and might have disrupted that play, but at the same time, if he dropped deeper, then Orlando would have had nobody on the field to keep Atlanta’s defenders from playing all the way up into Orlando’s defensive third. Muriel completed three of his four pass attempts and drew a yellow card on Ajani Fortune with a slick move to get behind him, but he had little opportunity to contribute in any meaningful way.

MF, Kyle Smith, (74’), 5 — Smith came on in what has become his new role, a late sub for Angulo out on the left wing. He did not see much of the ball, getting only eight touches, and he completed one of his four pass attempts. He added three clearances on defense as well. His most memorable moment was committing the foul that produced the stoppage in play in which Araújo’s scuffle with Mateusz Klich occurred, changing the end of the game for the Orlando defense and, likely, the result of the match, although it was ultimately through no fault of Smith’s.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, (74’), 4.5 — Atuesta came on at the same time as Smith, and in what will become a theme with all of the substitutes, he too did not have a lot of the ball, only receiving nine touches and completing three of his five pass attempts. One of those incomplete passes was costly, as he tried to make a difficult pass with the outside of his foot to Dagur Dan Thórhallsson instead of continuing on with the ball, passing it across the field to a wide-open Smith, or simply smashing it down the field to relieve the pressure. That turnover became the backbreaking third goal for Atlanta. He also picked up a yellow card for a nasty late challenge on Edwin Mosquera. The ref played advantage and Atlanta nearly scored, although it would not have counted because Thiare was offside on the final ball in front. It was a disappointing substitute appearance following his Man-of-the-Match performance on Saturday.

MF, Dagur Dan Thórhallsson (80′), N/A — The Icelandic midfielder entered just after the red card, replacing Enrique to bring on fresh legs to try to see the game out while playing with 10 players. He barely had any of the ball, getting only three touches and completing one of two pass attempts and mostly just desperately defended during his shift.

F, Duncan McGuire (90′ +6), N/A McGuire came on in the dying minutes after Atlanta took the lead, but was unable to contribute anything other than hustling after a long ball, forcing Atlanta to dump it out of bounds, and committing one foul while going for a ball in the air.


That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s frustrating 3-2 loss on the road against Atlanta. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

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