Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Five Takeaways

Following back-to-back road matches, Orlando City got back to winning ways in entertaining fashion on Saturday night, as the Lions cruised to a 4-1 win over D.C. United at Inter&Co Stadium. It was a match that had plenty of things to dissect, and what follows are my five main thoughts from an exciting contest.

Lions Start Well

While D.C. created the game’s first shot (which was saved and held well by Javier Otero), Orlando carried the greater threat during the opening minutes of the game. The Lions repeatedly tested D.C.’s high line, and while they couldn’t quite beat the offside trap, there were plenty of warning bells if you knew where to look. Luis Muriel couldn’t put away a chance from a cross, Ivan Angulo curled a shot just wide, and OCSC was knocking firmly on the door. Coming out of the gate hot doesn’t always lead to grabbing the opening goal, but it’s just so helpful to dictate the game at home, and Orlando did that very well in this game.

Designated Player Delight

The big story of this match was Orlando’s Designated Players. For the first time in club history, all three DPs got on the scoresheet in the same game, and they each posed plenty of problems for D.C. in different ways. Muriel displayed his knack for hold-up play and his range of dribbling and passing, Marco Pasalic repeatedly sought to take players on, and Martin Ojeda pulled the strings in the middle of the field while drifting around and finding dangerous pockets of space. Then you have Muriel’s well-taken header, a goal and twp assists for Ojeda, and Pasalic’s absolute howitzer at the end of a counterattack that saw all three men combine to create the goal. It’s exactly the kind of production the Lions need from their big money men, and it was wonderful to see.

Freeman Keeps Rolling

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also take the time to wax lyrical about Alex Freeman. The right back position seems to be firmly his to lose, and with good reason. He got forward to great effect during this game and was constantly a dangerous outlet on the right side of Orlando’s formation. His cross for the opening goal was beautiful, and he used his height to great effect to score his second goal of the young season. There will likely still be some growing pains this season as he adjusts to playing in the top flight for the first time, but week after week he just keeps showing that he belongs, while giving Oscar Pareja no choice but to start him.

Untaken Chances Don’t Matter

As strange as it seems to gripe about missed opportunities when the team you support scores four goals, I’m going to spend a little time doing just that. OCSC easily could, and probably should have scored six or seven goals on the night, and if the Lions’ finishing had been a little crisper they probably would have. It didn’t end up mattering of course, but Muriel, Ojeda, and Angulo all spurned at least one very good chance. Muriel looked excellent while continuing a strong start to the year, but he easily could have had the first hat trick in club history. I’m not complaining, as the team still turned in a great performance overall, but you know what’s even more fun than scoring four goals? Scoring seven goals. Maybe another time.

An Improved Defensive Outing

One of the best things on display tonight, was an improved defensive performance. It wasn’t perfect, as the team failed to keep a clean sheet and benefitted from a few fortunate bounces that took the sting out of what would have been some tricky shots, but it was the first game this year that the Lions have given up fewer than two goals. A clean sheet obviously would have been phenomenal, but if nothing else, it was nice to not see D.C. creating the kind of clear-cut chances that past opponents had been torturing OCSC with. There’s definitely still work to do, but the back line largely did a good job of marshalling the D.C. attack and snuffing things out before they got too dangerous. It was definitely a performance that can be built on, and hopefully that’s exactly what happens. Additionally, let’s give a shoutout to Otero for picking up the win in his first MLS start.

That’s what stood out to me from a wildly entertaining win over D.C. United. Can we play them at home every week? Be sure to let us know what you thought about this match down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!