Lion Links: 4/15/25

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was a solid weekend for the two Orlando teams in action, as Orlando City played to a hard-fought scoreless draw against the New York Red Bulls, while the Orlando Pride knocked off the Seattle Reign 1-0 on the road. We have plenty of things to talk through today, so let’s dive right in.

Orlando Pride Players Up for Weekly Awards

A pair of Orlando Pride players have been nominated for weekly awards due to their efforts in the team’s 1-0 win over the Seattle Reign on Saturday. We start with Anna Moorhouse, who was actually nominated for two awards, as she is up for both the NWSL Save of the Week and Player of the Week! Moorhouse stonewalled Reign winger Maddie Dahlien in the 81st minute during a 1-v-1 situation to preserve the Pride’s slender 1-0 lead on the road.

She also racked up five saves on the night, kept a clean sheet, and was hugely instrumental in the Pride winning a fourth straight game to start off the 2025 season.

Summer Yates, meanwhile, has been nominated for the Assist of the Week for her pinpoint pass to Barbra Banda for the game’s winning goal. In the 41st minute, she hit a stepover, glided past Madison Curry on the left side of the box, and played a great cross to Banda in the six-yard box, who made no mistake with the finish.

Make sure you go vote for our nominees!

Americans in Midweek Action

There are lots of American players taking part in games during the working week, so let’s check in on what we have to look forward to. Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund have the unenviable task of trying to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League today. Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace travel to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Wednesday. Thursday has Tanner Tessman and Lyon on the road against Manchester United in the Europa League, while Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis hit the road to take on Jagiellonia Białystok in the Conference League. Things wrap up with some American vs. American violence on Friday when former Lion Daryl Dike and West Bromwich Albion travel to play Haji Wright and Coventry City in the EFL Championship.

UEFA Champions League Preview

The UEFA Champions League returns this week, with the second leg quarterfinal matches set to take place today and tomorrow. Aston Villa will need to actually come out and attack Paris Saint-Germain in Birmingham today, as the Premier League side comes into the match facing a 3-1 aggregate deficit. Borussia Dortmund has a mountain the size of Everest to climb to overturn a 4-0 deficit against a Barcelona team that looked absolutely lethal on the counterattack last week. Real Madrid also finds itself in a big 3-0 hole against Arsenal, and Los Blancos need to look much more dangerous going forward if they want to have a chance against a Gunners team that will surely look to defend and protect what they earned in the first leg. Bayern Munich is in the best position of the teams that trail after the first leg, as Inter Milan’s aggregate lead is only 2-1. That means Bayern can be fairly flexible approaching the second leg, although the Germans will need to do a much better job at finishing chances than they did last week.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

With the end of most European seasons creeping closer and closer, the transfer rumor mill is starting to spin with increasing intensity, so let’s take a look at some of today’s notable stories. We start with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, who has 19 goals in all competitions this season and could fetch a price in the range of 100 million euros if he is sold this summer. Manchester United is reportedly interested in signing former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who is likely to leave Southampton this summer after the Saints were relegated this year. Speaking of Manchester United, Red Devils striker Rasmus Hojlund is said to be attracting interest from both Juventus and Inter Milan, and he could be on the move this summer.

Free Kicks

• Barbra Banda and Marta received their trophies for making the 2024 FIFPRO World XI.

• Orlando City’s U-18 team enjoyed a successful campaign in group play at the Generation Adidas Cup, earning a spot in the Championship Bracket.

• The Orlando Pride rightly remained the no.1 team in ESPN.com’s NWSL power rankings.
• Despite dominating the New York Red Bulls while playing most of the second half with 10 men, Orlando City somehow dropped a place below those same Red Bulls in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• Chelsea spent the most on agent fees out of all Premier League clubs for a second consecutive year, as they dished out a whopping  £60 million to agents for transfers.

That does it for me this morning. Vamos Orlando!