Orlando City defeated the Columbus Crew 3-2 in a defense-optional match at Inter.co Stadium Saturday night. It was a wild one from the very start with plenty of goals and chippy fouls. There were plenty of yellow cards and goals. Still, a win is a win, and earning three points is all that matters. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

That Was Quick

There were probably people still finding their seats when Harvey Sarajian scored a goal in the first minute to give Orlando City the early lead. Ivan Angulo brought the ball down the right side before passing it back to Antoine Griezmann near the top of the box. Griezmann passed it through several players in the box to Sarajian, who placed his shot well, finding the bottom right corner past Patrick Schulte.

It took Columbus only minutes to equalize. Taha Habroune slid in behind both Robin Jansson and David Brekalo onto a pass from Santiago Rodriguez and slipped his shot past Maxime Crepeau. Marco Pasalic was behind Habroune and tried to alert the center backs, but the team’s defensive issues continued on this play.

Worth Every Penny

Griezmann has been worth every penny he is getting paid since his arrival this summer. The Frenchman provided the assist on Sarajian’s goal, and in the 16th minute, he put a free kick in for Orlando’s second goal. Setting up on the right, Greizmann put the ball high enough that it skimmed over the jumping defenders and just inside the back post. Runs by Brekalo and Sarajian kept Schulte from being able to play the delivery, as he had to be alert for the redirect in front, and Griezmann scored his ninth goal of the season. Griezmann was also involved in the buildup on Angulo’s game-winning goal in the 89th minute. Serving as the connective tissue in the middle of the pitch, the Designated Player sent Angulo slicing through the middle of the Crew’s defense before the Colombian sent the ball left to Martin Ojeda and eventually scoring on the return pass. The way Griezmann has pulled the strings (and finished) for Orlando since his arrival shows he’s a player producing at a level unlike any other the Lions have had.

Mighty Max

Columbus may have scored two goals on Orlando’s patch, but if not for Crepeau, Orlando City would have been on the receiving end of another five-goal beating. The Orlando City goalkeeper ended up with a club single-game record 12 saves on the night, with many of them being very difficult. His performance bested the previous club mark of 11 saves set by Mason Stajduhar on June 22, 2024, against the Chicago Fire. While it is an indictment on Orlando City’s team defense that Crepeau had to make as many outstanding saves as he did, at least he was able to make those saves. I have said many times on The Mane Land PawedCast that since the World Cup break, Crepeau has been exceptional, and that was the case again against Columbus.

A Little Luck

The Columbus Crew took 26 shots, putting 14 on target. I already mentioned above that Crepeau stood on his head, making 12 saves. Of the 12 shots that weren’t on target, two crashed off the woodwork. That’s where the luck comes in, though Marco Pasalic also hit the goal frame at the other end. Habroune added to his goal with an assist on the Crew’s second goal scored by Brais Mendez. From the beginning of the second half, Columbus was the more threatening of the two teams, and Orlando was fortunate that Columbus wasn’t more clinical, especially on first-half set pieces, when the Crew had a couple of wide-open looks.

Angulo Again

I’m not sure when we entered the alternative timeline, but in this reality Ivan Angulo has six goals this season, and has found the net five games in a row. This time, it was a stoppage-time winner to secure all three points for Orlando City. Angulo showed his speed throughout the match, but he saved some for the end. The Lions went on the counter, with Angulo taking a pass from Griezmann and bringing the ball up the middle of the pitch. After the give-and-go with Griezmann, he worked another with Ojeda, who set him up for the goal. I’m not sure what has changed for Angulo, but his shots have started finding the net and I like it.

Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew. The Lions play again Wednesday on the road against Toronto FC in the second of three matches in an eight-day span. Let us know your thoughts about the Columbus match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Ivan Angulo’s 89th-minute goal snapped a 2-2 deadlock and lifted Orlando City to a much-needed 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew tonight at Inter.co Stadium. Harvey Sarajian and Antoine Griezmann each scored to give Orlando (11-13-4, 37 points) the lead in the game, but the Crew (8-15-5, 29 points) responded on strikes from Taha Habroune and Brais Mendez.

It was an important three points for the Lions on a night when the Crew created the bulk of the danger, getting into the spaces between defenders to get behind the defense. Maxime Crepeau took over from there, making a club single-game record with 12 saves on a night when every one was crucial in snapping both the Crew’s three-game winning streak in MLS play and Orlando’s three-game losing streak in all competitions.

“We faced a strong opponent. We performed in the best way we could. Fortunately, we could get the points, which at this stage is the most important, and now we we are looking forward for the next one,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game.

Perelman rotated his lineup a bit for this home match, starting Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Vinicius Nogueira, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Angulo. Wilder Cartagena joined Eduard Atuesta in central midfield in between wingers Sarajian and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Griezmann up top.

The game began with a lot of chippy play, with five yellow cards handed out before halftime. Crepeau made several outstanding saves to paper over a poor defensive half from the Lions, who seemed to be caught off guard by the Crew’s attacking runs off the ball. At the other end, Sarajian could have had a first-half hat trick rather than just a single goal, with three excellent opportunities, plus a spectacular spinning backheel attempt that went just wide.

Orlando City wasted no time getting on the board before a minute had elapsed. Angulo got down the right flank and cut a ball back for Griezmann near the top of the box. The Frenchman sent a good ball across the area and Sarajian hit his shot first time, sending it just inside the right post to make it 1-0 less than 50 seconds into the match (MLS officially recorded it at 50 seconds but that’s not what the clock said). It was Orlando’s third-fastest goal from the start of the game in the club’s MLS history if the time gets corrected, or the fourth-fastest if MLS sticks with 50 seconds.

“Grizi (Griezmann) played it over, and it fell right to me, and I just slotted it,” Sarajian said. “We wanted to start off fast. The whole pregame talk was energy, energy, energy, start fast, because we’ve had some slow starts, and so when it fell to me, it was like I need to put this away.”

“As a coaching staff, we try to detect when a player is capable to play, when he can match up with the plan and everything we want to do,” Perelman said of the decision to give Sarajian his first MLS start. “And for us, today was the moment for him. We are very happy that he scored.”

Nogueira picked up the game’s first booking in just the third minute with a hard foul on Mohamed Farsi near the sideline.

The Lions had a chance to double the lead in the sixth minute when Griezmann found Ojeda on the left in transition. The Argentine smashed a shot toward the near post that fizzed just wide of the post and into the outside netting. It was a costly miss, as the Crew equalized a minute later.

Pasalic was trailing Habroune’s diagonal run into the area and pointing out the danger to his teammates, who were preoccupied with Crew attacking players on their defensive left. Santiago Rodriguez threaded a ball through to Habroune for the finish to make it 1-1 in the seventh minute.

The Crew got multiple good looks in the first half that they were unable to finish, with Anass Zaroury left unattended on the left side in the 11th minute. The Moroccan mishit his shot, making for an easy save for Crepeau.

Griezmann looked to take advantage of a sudden turnover by Columbus in the attacking end with a quick blind chip attempt in the 13th minute that may have beaten Patrick Schulte but it went wide of the target. However, the Frenchman scored just minutes later.

Rodriguez fouled Angulo out on the right side, even with the top of the penalty area. Griezmann sent in a curling free kick delivery. Although two back-post runners couldn’t get a touch on it, the ball curled just inside the left post and in to make it 2-1 in the 16th minute.

Crepeau stuck out a foot to deny Josef Martinez in the 19th minute after Mendez slipped him in behind the defense.

Habroune and Jansson each picked up yellow cards over the next few minutes, with the latter leading to a Crew free kick from distance. Mendez went for goal on the set piece but missed high going for the top left corner in the 25th minute.

After the Lions survived a Crew corner kick set up by a Pasalic defensive third turnover, Orlando had a flurry of chances in the 33rd minute. Griezmann slipped Sarajian down the left channel on the first of those, but the rookie fired his shot from point-blank range right at Schulte, who made the reaction save. On the second, Ojeda sent in a ball for Sarajian tried to put on goal with a spinning backheel attempt, but the ball trickled just wide of the right post.

Two minutes later, Sarajian again shook free for a shot, but he sent his blast just wide of the right post again.

Mendez picked up a yellow card as the chippy play continued, just before Columbus won a series of corners. Sean Zawadski sent a shot just wide of the left post on the first and Martinez headed a ball into the ground that bounced over the crossbar on the second.

A couple more Crew set pieces and a Crepeau save later and the half came to an end with the Lions leading but having been outplayed for most of the opening 45 minutes.

At the break, the Crew held the advantage in most categories, aside from goals, including possession (53.5%-46.5%), shots (11-9), shots on target (6-4), corners (4-0), and passing accuracy (87.3%-86.7%).

The second half was a more open affair and less chippy, although the Crew still created the bulk of the good scoring chances, the Lions kept giving the ball away cheaply, and Crepeau continued to bail out his team with vital saves.

Bernardo Rhein checked into the game, replacing Sarajian, who said afterwards that he had experienced some dizziness after getting undercut on an aerial ball and hitting the ground hard — no foul was called on the play.

Columbus got on the front foot immediately, forcing Cartagena to head clear a shot from Zaroury that looked to be heading inside the right post just seconds after the restart. Crepeau made two more saves in the 50th minute to deny Dylan Chambost and Zaroury.

The first decent look for Orlando in the second half came moments later when Pasalic found space down the middle and blasted a rocket that rang off the left post in the 52nd minute.

Zakaria Taifi subbed on for Nogueira in the aftermath and Columbus quickly equalized. The Crew quickly got the ball forward on quick passes from Rodriguez to Habroune to Mendez, putting the forward in behind the back line. Crepeau came off his line, but Mendez rounded him to the left and slipped his shot past the sliding Jansson and in to make it 2-2 in the 53rd minute.

Pasalic had a chance to pull the goal back moments later when he was sent down the right channel but the ball got a bit too far out in front of him and by the time he caught up, he had a tough angle, firing a right-footed shot right at Schulte.

The Crew kept up the pressure over the next several minutes, with Jansson making a vital clearance behind for a corner off a dangerous cross into the six. Habroune fired off target in the recycle after the Lions cleared the initial set piece. Crepeau then bailed out Atuesta for his turnover when he saved Mendez’s shot.

Mendez put the ball in the net with a chip over Crepeau in the 70th minute but he was a couple of yards offside on the play and the flag came up immediately.

Orlando’s next opportunity came in the 72nd minute. Rhein took the ball up the middle in transition and tried to slip a pass to send second-half sub Daryl Dike in behind. The defense blocked the pass right back to Rhein, who blasted a shot wide of the right post.

The Crew won multiple corners over the next few minutes but couldn’t pay them off. Gonzalo Tapia blasted a tight-angle shot right into Crepeau’s midsection in the 76th minute.

Angulo got down the left after that chance and sent a cross to Taifi at the back post but the fullback got under the ball and popped it up onto the roof of the net.

Tapia smashed a shot from the right rather than pass on a Crew three-on-two break in the 83rd minute. The blast nearly found the net but hit the left post and stayed out.

Orlando then got a couple of good minutes of attacking pressure, winning a corner when an Ojeda shot deflected just wide of the left post in the 86th minute. Columbus cleared the set piece cross but the Lions recycled and Dike’s header was denied by a great diving save from Schulte. Substitute Justin Ellis fizzed a shot over the crossbar a minute later.

Rodriguez fired over the bar at the other end moments later on another Crew attack in the 88th minute and Crepeau again denied Tapia in the 89th minute.

Orlando quickly went the other way and scored the game winner.

Angulo and Griezmann worked the ball up the middle with the speedy Colombian getting forward and dishing the ball to Ojeda on the left. Ojeda sent the ball back across the box for Angulo to finish with just seconds remaining in normal time.

“‘Ivancho’ (Angulo) is is scoring, performing, which is great for him, for the team, for everyone,” Perelman said.

Angulo’s strike gave him a goal in five straight MLS matches, extending his career record, and it was his sixth goal in MLS play, establishing a new career high.

The five minutes of stoppage time went by without much danger, although Crepeau made one more save when Andre Gomes fired a shot from the top of the area into his midsection. Moments later, the game was over, securing three huge points for Orlando.

When the full-time whistle blew, the Crew held the advantage in possession (52.1%-47.9%), shots (26-20), shots on target (14-8), corners (11-2), and passing accuracy (89.5%-87.8%).

“Very happy with three points, Crepeau said. “We know how crucial the the points are now until the end of the year. This group, regardless of the ups and downs of the season, has been working very hard every single week, and the mentality within the locker room has been fantastic. Sometimes people from the outside don’t see this kind of commitment to one another, but it’s there.”

“I thought it was a gritty performance from the boys,” Sarajian said. “We were neck and neck the entire game. We didn’t play our best, but we got through it in the end.”

The Lions have a quick turnaround with a midweek game at Toronto FC on Wednesday.

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (10-13-4, 34 points) and the Columbus Crew (8-14-5, 29 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the third meeting between the two Eastern Conference rivals across all competitions this season, the second in MLS play, and the first matchup in Orlando.

Here’s what you need to know about the match.

History

The Lions are 10-8-6 in the all-time, regular-season series and 7-3-3 at home in MLS play. Orlando City is 11-10-6 overall against the Crew in all competitions, which includes a home loss in the playoffs and a home win and road loss in the U.S. Open Cup.

The last time these teams met just a few weeks back with the Crew knocking Orlando out of the U.S. Open Cup in the semifinal round. Columbus got on the board first through Josef Martinez, only for Martin Ojeda to pull the Lions level before the break. Brais Mendez scored the game winner moments after Antoine Griezmann was injured, though he had not yet subbed off. Orlando looked lost from that point on and the Crew won 2-1 to advance to the final.

The Lions and Crew also met early in the 2026 regular season, a 1-1 draw in Columbus on April 12. It looked like Marco Pasalic’s early goal would stand up until Lion killer Diego Rossi struck with 10 minutes remaining in normal time. Orlando City earned its first road point of the season that night and its first away point under interim head coach Martin Perelman.

In last year’s series, Orlando City hosted Columbus on Oct. 4, 2025, at Inter&Co Stadium. The Crew struck just past the half-hour mark through Andres Herrera, but Pasalic slammed home the rebound of a Luis Muriel shot two minutes later. That was all the scoring in a wasteful 1-1 draw for Orlando. The first meeting of 2025 took place July 25 in Columbus just prior to the Leagues Cup break. The Crew took the lead on Rossi’s spot kick shortly after the hour mark after Pasalic was called for a handball in the box. Ramiro Enrique struck 10 minutes later and again three minutes after that to turn the game around. Ojeda added an insurance goal in stoppage time as the Lions won 3-1.

The two sides faced each other in Columbus on Sept. 21, 2024 in a wild back-and-forth game, with the Crew winning 4-3. Rossi, Christian Ramirez, and Cucho Hernandez staked Columbus to a comfortable 3-0 lead by the 71st minute, and the game seemed over. But Enrique’s goal three minutes after Hernandez scored sparked the Lions, who added a Muriel penalty goal to make it a match again. Miscommunication and a poor back pass from Felipe led to a turnover that allowed Aziel Jackson to score in transition, making it 4-2. Muriel scored late in stoppage time, but the Lions ran out of clock and couldn’t complete the comeback.

The teams opened the 2024 season series against each other on May 25. As has been the case with so many matches between Orlando and Columbus over the years, there was controversy in the Crew’s 2-0 win in Orlando. The opening goal came in the second half on a penalty kick that was awarded upon video review following a penalty call at the other end of the pitch. Referee Jair Marrufo awarded the Lions a penalty for a foul on Steven Moreira against Muriel in the box late in the first half. Before Orlando could take the spot kick, Marrufo went to the monitor and ignored a blatant foul by Rossi in the buildup, ruling it a different attacking phase, despite the Lions never regaining clear control of the ball before the next attack, in which the referee ruled a routine shirt pull by Cesar Araujo — embellished significantly by Aidan Morris falling away from the direction of the tug — was clear-cut enough to wipe out the penalty seconds later at the other end. Rossi converted the penalty in first-half stoppage time, adding a second goal just past the hour mark.

The meeting between the teams with the biggest stakes came in the 2023 MLS Eastern Conference semifinals on Nov. 25, 2023. The teams played scoreless through the 90 minutes plus injury time, with Orlando City defender Rodrigo Schlegel getting sent off late with a second yellow card. The Crew were able to bundle home a goal in extra time and add an insurance marker for a 2-0 win en route to an eventual MLS Cup championship. Ramirez and Hernandez scored for the Crew.

The teams played a memorable game at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 16, 2023, with Orlando coming from behind to snatch a stunning 4-3 victory at the death. Julian Gressel gave Columbus an early lead that held up through the first half. Ojeda equalized just after the restart, but Rossi and Hernandez staked the Crew to a two-goal lead. Facundo Torres pulled one back and Enrique bagged his first MLS brace, with a goal just a few minutes from the end of normal time and another late in stoppage.

The teams met in Columbus on May 13, 2023, playing to a 2-2 draw. Orlando City fell behind 2-0 by halftime on goals by Darlington Nagbe and Jacen Russell-Rowe, but Ercan Kara pulled one back just a few minutes after the restart, and Duncan McGuire leveled the game in stoppage time.

The sides faced each other in Orlando on Decision Day 2022, with City erasing a 1-0 deficit from a Derrick Etienne Jr. goal to win 2-1 and clinch a playoff spot. Junior Urso leveled the game in the second half and Torres struck from the penalty spot late. The meeting in Columbus that year took place on April 16, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-0 on goals by Schlegel and Kara.

The 2021 season series concluded on Oct. 27 in Columbus with the Crew winning 3-2. Columbus had lost five straight to Orlando prior to Lucas Zelarayan’s one-goal, two-assist performance. Miguel Berry and Etienne also scored for the Crew. Daryl Dike pulled a goal back from the spot and Robin Jansson struck late, but it wasn’t enough.

The teams met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 4, 2021, with the Lions winning 3-2. Orlando built a 2-0 lead on goals by Dike and Silvester van der Water, but a bizarre own goal by Antonio Carlos threw the Crew a lifeline, and a Berry equalizer turned the game around. Urso provided a nice game winner in the 69th minute.

City won the only meeting of the 2020 pandemic season when the 10-man Lions got a late Benji Michel goal to defeat the Crew 2-1 on Nov. 4. Chris Mueller gave Orlando the lead, but Harrison Afful was able to equalize just moments after referee Ramy Touchan sent off Nani on a ludicrous call that was overturned by the MLS independent panel a few days later. Thanks to Michel’s goal, the officiating error didn’t end up costing the Lions, who clinched their first-ever MLS playoff spot with the win.

The Lions swept the season series in 2019, defeating the Crew 1-0 on July 13, 2019, and two weeks previously getting their first road win in the series, 2-0.

Orlando won 2-1 on Oct. 21, 2018 to start a five-game winning streak against the Crew on a pair of penalty kick goals. Yoshimar Yotún and Sacha Kljestan provided the spot kicks to offset Federico Higuain’s opening goal.

The last Crew win in the series prior to the Orlando winning streak was assisted by a horror call by Silviu Petrescu in the 88th minute on July 21, 2018, giving Columbus an equalizer from the penalty spot. Wil Trapp then scored the kind of goal in stoppage time that he’ll probably never score again to lift the Crew to a 3-2 victory in a game the Lions had stolen away from them on a call that Petrescu’s own organization said was an error.

Columbus got the better of Orlando in 2017, going 2-0-1. The Lions were 0-1-1 against Columbus in 2016 and 1-1-1 in the series in 2015, with a home U.S. Open Cup win that season against the Crew as well.

Overview

Orlando City enters tonight on a poor run of form, having lost three straight in all competitions and conceding 10 goals across those matches. All of those games, however, were on the road, where the Lions tend to concede goals by the boatload. The Lions have also been falling behind early in games. The opposition has scored the game’s first goal in the ninth, 19th, and 11th minutes in the team’s last three contests. Each of the last two opponents have found the net four times and have built multiple-goal leads, including the last game against the Philadelphia Union. The Union scored four times before Orlando found the net twice late in a 4-2 loss two weeks ago.

If there are bright spots, Ojeda has scored in three consecutive games in all competitions and Ivan Angulo has a goal in four consecutive league matches — a career-high streak for the Colombian. Another positive for the Lions is that they have been much better at home, especially since the league restarted after the World Cup break. Orlando is 7-4-2 at home in 2026, with a mark of 4-1-1 in MLS matches since the restart.

Columbus enters tonight having won three straight matches in all competitions, including the aforementioned U.S. Open Cup semifinal game against Orlando, as well as its most recent outing two weeks ago — a 2-1 home win over Inter Miami. The recent surge has moved the Crew from the Eastern Conference basement to 12th place and just a few points out of the playoff places. Martinez and Mendez each have two goals in the last three Crew games, and the Crew have been boosted by the additions of Martinez, Santiago Rodriguez, and Anass Zaroury in the summer window. Road games have been one of the team’s areas of concern, as the Crew are 2-8-3 away from home in 2026, including a 1-3-1 road record since the league restarted.

For Orlando to get a result and advance to the semifinals, it must get back to playing sound transition defense and eliminate the need to defend counterattacks by being more careful on the ball. Turnovers in dangerous areas have been lethal to the Lions during this recent skid. Orlando will also have to corral longtime Lion killer Martinez, as well as dynamic scorers Mendez and Rodriguez.

Orlando City will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Tyrese Spicer (foot), while Griffin Dorsey (back) is questionable. While we don’t know the status of Justin Ellis, who picked up a knock on international duty with the USMNT, he isn’t listed on the availability report, but the club may not have had any test results back before having to file player availability for the weekend. Columbus is nearly 100% healthy, with just Wessam Abou Ali (knee) listed as out.

Match Content

• The most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s game.
• Our David Rohe provides his three keys to an Orlando City victory in tonight’s match.
• Ben Miller provides his thoughts on Orlando City’s challenges ahead during the season’s stretch run.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Vinicius Nogueira, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Ivan Angulo.

Midfielders: Harvey Sarajian, Wilder Cartagena, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Luis Otavio, Joran Gerbet, Tiago, Justin Ellis, Daryl Dike.

Columbus Crew (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Patrick Schulte.

Defenders: Malte Amundsen, Sean Zawadzki, Steven Moreira, Mohamed Farsi.

Midfielders: Santiago Rodriguez, Taha Habroune, Dylan Chambost, Anass Zaroury.

Forwards: Josef Martinez, Brais Mendez.

Bench: Nicholas Hagen, Eric Bailly, Rudy Camacho, Brooks Lennon, Andres Herrera, Sekou Bangoura, Andre Gomes, Lautaro Giaccone, Gonzalo Tapia.

Referees:

REF: Rosendo Mendoza.
AR1: Jason White.
AR2: Kevin Klinger.
4TH: Alejo Calume.
VAR: Jair Marrufo.
AVAR: John Krill.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.
Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!