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

Orlando City took it to D.C. United at Inter&Co Stadium, decimating the visitors 4-1 on Saturday night. It was the Lions’ best defensive effort of the season, and the offense matched its best total to boot. All three of Orlando City’s Designated Players scored in one match for the first time in club history. I’m saying it was a good night.

Let’s look at the Lions’ individual performances to see who made the grade and who needs to step it up.

Starters

GK, Javier Otero, 6.5 — Otero may have been a bit nervous in his first MLS start, but he grew more comfortable as the match progressed. In the end he made six saves, including a very difficult diving effort in the 77th minute. There wasn’t anything Otero could do about the consolation goal Lukas MacNaughton scored in second half stoppage time. His distribution was good, and he had a 76.5% passing rate. You really can’t ask much more from a keeper in his first start.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — Santos had a rough start to the match. Initially, he went too fast giving the ball away when he tried to move into the offensive half. Then he was too slow on the ball, nearly giving it away in the defensive half. He eventually settled in a little better, providing one key pass, two crosses, and a passing rate of 72.9%. Defensively, he provided three tackles and one interception. It may not have been a great night for the defender, but it was certainly better than other matches this season.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Schlegel had a productive evening for the Lions. Defensively, he contributed three tackles, one interception, one blocked shot, and a team-high 11 clearances. He passed at a 92.6% rate, completed five long balls, and drew two fouls. He didn’t play much of a role offensively, but it’s probably better that way, given how the Lions had shipped goals prior to this match. Schlegel was a “right place, right time” type of defender on the night.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — The captain was dealt a difficult hand on the night by having to deal with D.C. United’s Christian Benteke all evening. Jansson probably should have received more foul calls but referee Tori Penso wasn’t interested in calling them for the Beefy Swede. Like Schlegel, he didn’t contribute much offensively, but he passed at an 82.4% rate. Defensively, he contributed one tackle, one interception, one blocked shot, and eight clearances.

D, Alex Freeman, 7.5 — Freeman had his best night of his young career, scoring a goal and providing an assist. It was his cross to Luis Muriel in the 21st minute that gave Orlando City the first goal of the match. He did well to create some space in the box, allowing him to get his head on Martin Ojeda’s free kick to score his second goal of the season in the 50th minute. It was his only shot of the night, and his assist was his one successful cross. He recorded five clearances, drew three fouls, and completed 84.4% of his passes.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Araujo returned to the lineup after missing Orlando City’s last match. He looked as though he hadn’t sat out a week, contributing on both sides of the pitch. Offensively, he provided one key pass, drew three fouls, and passed at a team-high 95.9% rate. Defensively, he finished with one tackle, one interception, and two clearances, and he committed three fouls. It was good to have his experience back on the pitch.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6.5 — Atuesta quietly had another good match. He was active in both halves of the field. Offensively, he attempted one shot, made three key passes, and suffered one foul. Defensively, he contributed three tackles, one interception, and two clearances. The midfielder passed at a 90.9% rate and put in one cross. It was the type of workman effort that is becoming a regular shift from Atuesta for the Lions.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5 — If not for his assist on Ojeda’s goal (and to a lesser extent, his secondary assist on Muriel’s opener), Angulo’s grade would be lower because of how his time on the pitch ended. When he was subbed off, the referee told him to head to the closest sideline, and he did not. Because he did not leave the pitch in the required time under new MLS substitution rules, he earned a yellow card, and it meant Dagur Dan Thorhallsson had to wait over two minutes to enter the pitch, leaving the Lions shorthanded. It was a selfish move by Angulo. He did his usual good job getting back on defense, providing three tackles and one blocked shot. On offense, he took three shots, none on target, and provided two key passes including the aforementioned assists.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 8 (MotM) — Ojeda had an excellent night, scoring a goal and providing two assists. That type of offensive production earns him our Man of the Match. His goal may have deflected off a defender’s rear end, but it still counted. His first assist came from a free kick he delivered onto the head of Alex Freeman at the back post to give Orlando City a three-goal lead. He added the second assist when he moved the ball through the middle of the field and passed to Marco Pasalic, who scored the team’s fourth goal. Offensively, Ojeda took six shots, put three on target, and stuck one in the back of the net. He drew one foul, passed at a 93.8% rate, and provided three crosses. Defensively, he contributed on tackle and one interception. He subbed off in the 83rd minute for Joran Gerbet.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Pasalic showed his speed and willingness to take on players during this match. Sometimes that was a good thing, like when he sped past defenders with the ball at his feet. Sometimes it was a bad thing, like when he dribbled into traffic and gave the ball away. Fortunately, he made me forget some of it with his absolute golazo in the 56th minute to give Orlando the fourth goal of the match. He completed four key passes, three crosses, and an 80.8% passing rate. Defensively, he recorded one interception and two clearances. If he made more passes like the one to Muriel in the 22nd minute, rather than dribbling into the opposition, he’d have a higher grade. He came off in the 88th minute for Duncan McGuire.

F, Luis Muriel, 7 — Muriel did well on the night, taking six shots, with three on target and one in the back of the net. He provided two key passes, one cross, and a 68.8% passing rate. Had he dialed in his shots, he may have scored a hat trick. As it was, we’ll have to be happy with his excellent header to get Orlando City started on the night. His flicked pass to Ojeda was a vital touch on the play that turned into Pasalic’s goal, giving the Colombian a secondary assist. Muriel is gaining in confidence in this league, which is a good thing for Orlando City. He came off in the 83rd minute for Ramiro Enrique.

Substitutes

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (72’), 6 — Thorhallson was subbed into the match in the 72nd minute, but Angulo took too long to come off, meaning Thorhallsson had to wait before he could actually enter the field in the 74th minute. Once on, he managed 11 touches, three tackles, one interception, one blocked shot, one clearance, and a 100% passing rate, completing all four of his passes.

F, Ramiro Enrique (83’), N/A — Enrique came on late for Muriel to see the match out. He only managed five total touches, including one pass. He contributed two clearances on defense. He might have been able to set up a McGuire goal but he opted to try to go through two defenders and had a late effort blocked.

MF, Joran Gerbet (83′), N/A — Gerbet came on at the same time as Enrique, though for Ojeda. His contributions nearly matched Enrique’s effort. He also had five total touches and one pass, but made two tackles rather than clearances.

F, Duncan McGuire (88′), N/A — McGuire only managed two touches in his limited time on the pitch. One of those touches was his one pass, which he completed.

D, Gustavo Caraballo (88′), N/A — Orlando City’s youngest player came on in the waning minutes for Santos but managed to have a bigger impact as a defender than many of the other substitutes. He had 11 touches, managed an 85.7% passing rate on seven passes, and made one tackle.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s decisive win over D.C. United. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.