Orlando City
Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Player Grades and Man of the Match
How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 2-2 draw against the Red Bulls?

Orlando City completed the second of two back-to-back road contests against teams with the word New York in their names in Saturday afternoon’s matchup at the newly minted Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, NJ. Orlando allowed the Red Bulls to enjoy possession but was the first team to strike and took a 2-1 lead into halftime before allowing a quick equalizer to start the second half. While the match ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw, Orlando City will lament the missed chances that may have otherwise resulted in a road win.
Let’s look at the Lions’ individual performances and see who impressed and who needs to improve.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Gallese was called into action early, and for the most part he made some bright saves on the afternoon to keep Orlando in the game. He made five total saves and parried away multiple strong attempts from the Red Bulls attack. Up a goal in the first half, an unfortunate video review gifted the Red Bulls a chance at an equalizer. While Gallese guessed correctly, the placement and pace put the penalty kick attempt just out of his reach. The second New York goal was a point-blank redirection from a player the back line completely disregarded. The Peruvian finished with five saves, with his biggest coming on a breakaway by Gjengaar in the 72nd minute. Gallese completed 70% of his 20 passes and was successful on seven of his 13 long balls.
D, Kyle Smith, 6.5 — Swiss Army knife Kyle Smith was inserted into the starting lineup for a struggling Rafael Santos and provided the usual defensive effort that we have come to expect from the veteran. Smith touched the ball a team-high 76 times and completed 75.5% of his 49 passes. He was credited with one key pass and was accurate on his lone cross but only three of his eight long balls. The left back was fairly active on defense, recording a team-high five tackles and chipping in seven clearances. Smith was subbed out in the 82nd minute as Orlando looked for a go-ahead goal.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel touched the ball 47 times and completed 68.8% of his 32 passes but only two of his nine long balls. Both Schlegel and Robin Jansson appeared to make concentrated efforts to unlock the offense with balls over the top, but unfortunately, most of Schlegel’s attempts to link up from the back line were just slightly overhit. Schlegel got involved in the offense, logging two shots, which were both off target. He finished with a team-high 12 clearances but did not record a tackle or interception. He was caught ball watching on the tying goal in the 47th minute, failing to pick up Dennis Gjengaar’s run into his side of the box.
D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The captain started his second match since returning from injury. He touched the ball 49 times and completed 88.6% of his 35 passes, while boasting a much healthier ratio on his long ball attempts, completing six of nine. However, the Swede took some unnecessary risks trying to cut off passes to their intendd targets. One such occurrence resulted in Jansson playing catch-up and tangling with Eric Choupo-Moting in the box near the half-hour mark. While the play was not initially called a foul, Armando Villarreal’s review deemed the contact egregious enough that he overturned his no-call and awarded the Red Bulls a penalty kick. On the second goal, Jansson tracked Gjengaar’s diagonal run through the box, but he ultimately wasn’t able to communicate that danger to Schlegel in time to prevent it. Defensively, Jansson had one interception and nine clearances. Jansson was also lucky to not directly gift the Red Bulls another goal, as he gave the ball away cheaply at midfield in the second half, leading to a breakaway shot for New York that Gallese’s touch sent just wide of the net.
D, Alex Freeman, 6.5 — Steady yet timid is the way that I would summarize Freeman’s afternoon effort against the New York-adjacent Red Bulls. He was involved but didn’t seem to hunt his attacking positions as he recorded 61 touches and completed 86.8% of his 38 passes. The young Lion was credited with two key passes. He seemed reluctant to cross and only attempted one during the match, and while it was successful, it seemed like he passed up multiple chances to send a dangerous ball into the box. Offensively, Freeman did not record a shot, but on the defensive side of the pitch, he recorded three tackles, one clearance, and one blocked shot.
MF, Joran Gerbet, 6 — Gerbet started his first professional game in place of Cesar Araujo, who did not make the trip north after picking up a knock late in the week. The first-year pro touched the ball 63 times and was the most accurate Lion out of all players who attempted at least 30 passes, completing a team-best 92.3% of his 52 attempts, including one successful long ball on his only attempt. Offensively, he did not attempt a shot, but he did pick up where Araujo usually shines, drawing a team-high four fouls. Defensively, he logged three interceptions. It was a solid first MLS start for the rookie, and it was reassuring to see some additional depth in the midfield.
MF, Eduard Atuesta, 7 — Atuesta was all over the field throughout the match and touched the ball 71 times, second on the team only to Smith. He completed 75.9% of his 54 passes, including a team high-five key passes. The Colombian was successful on his lone cross and throughball attempt and connected on two of his six long balls. Offensively, Atuesta notched a secondary assist on the first Orlando goal and a primary assist on Orlando’s second goal. On the latter, he unlocked Designated Player Marco Pasalic with a perfectly timed pass over the top. Defensively, he added two tackles and managed to survive the match without picking up a booking.
MF, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — While Angulo’s pace with and without the ball allows for creativity on the pitch, the Colombian is making far too many mistakes with the ball at his feet, which carry the potential to swing the match in favor of the opposition. Angulo had 57 touches and completed 87.5% of his 40 passes. Functioning on the wing, Angulo did not attempt a cross in the match. He also did not attempt a shot against the Red Bulls. His defensive contributions included one tackle, two interceptions, and one clearance.
MF, Martin Ojeda, 7 — Ojeda touched the ball 46 times and completed 80.6% of his 36 passes, including two key passes, one of his two crosses, and one accurate long ball on his one attempt. Offensively, Ojeda got Orlando out on the front foot with a howitzer of a shot which streaked past an outstretched Carlos Coronel. It was the second goal for Orlando’s No. 10 in the last three matches. He logged three total shots, but the goal was his lone shot on target. Defensively, he contributed one tackle and was substituted off in the 69th minute for Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
MF, Marco Pasalic, 7.5 (MotM) — It was truly a three-way coin flip to choose which Designated Player should walk away with Man of the Match honors, and Pasalic ultimately got my nod, thanks to a higher passing percentage and putting more shots on target. He touched the ball 43 times, completing 82.6% of his 23 passes. He had two key passes and was successful on his one long ball attempt. He took three shots and put two on target, including his third goal of the year, which at the time put Orlando ahead 2-1. On the defensive end, he was credited with one clearance. This game left me feeling that Pasalic still has another gear to unlock and I am excited to see that happen as the Croatian grows more comfortable in MLS.
F, Luis Muriel, 7 — Starting his second game in a row, Muriel appears to be growing into the player we all hoped that he could be when he was signed one year ago. He touched the ball 52 times and was involved from the opening kick. He completed 75.8% of his 33 passes, including one key pass — his assist to Ojeda for the first goal of the match. He put one of his two shots on target and could have ended the day with all three DPs scoring, but instead he settled for a single assist. Defensively, he added a tackle and two clearances. It was surprising to see the striker credited with six unstable touches, as I thought his hold-up play was excellent and he was able to spray the ball around in tight places.
Substitutes
MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (69’), 6 — Thorhallson entered the match with Orlando level at two goals apiece as Head Coach Oscar Pareja tried to steal all three points on the road. He touched the ball 16 times and completed 72.7% of his 11 attempts. Thorhallsson was able to record two clearances but did not have much success creating offensive chances over the final half hour.
F, Ramiro Enrique (82’), 6 — Enrique entered in the waning minutes and nearly had a winner for Orlando City but was thwarted by Coronel. He touched the ball 10 times, completing 75% of his four passes. Defensively, he logged one interception.
D, David Brekalo (82′), N/A — Brekalo returned to action after being out last week against New York City FC. He logged 14 touches and completed 81.8% of his 11 passes, including one key pass. Brekalo attempted one shot, which unfortunately was not on target. Defensively, he did not log a stat as Orlando was the aggressor in the final few minutes of the match.
D, Rafael Santos (82′), N/A — Santos entered the match for Angulo and touched the ball 14 times, completing all of his five passes, which included two key passes and one of his three crosses. Santos logged two shots, which were both on target. Like Enrique, Santos had a chance to be the hero, but Coronel came up with a huge save. Defensively, he logged one tackle and one clearance.
F, Duncan McGuire (87′), N/A — It was a surprise to see McGuire not only on the bench but enter the match much sooner in the season than initially projected after having off-season shoulder surgery. In limited minutes, Duncan made an impact, recording two shots which were off target (one was blocked) and two key passes. His layoff to Enrique should have produced a late winner. It will be exciting to follow along with how his playing time progresses.
That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s draw against the Red Bulls. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.
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?

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!
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Five Takeaways
Here’s what we learned from a disastrous 3-2 road loss to Atlanta United.

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!
Orlando City
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?

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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