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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 0-0 as Lions Waste Points vs. 10-Man Fire

Despite getting a road draw, the trip to Chicago produced an awful night of soccer for the Lions, who spilled two huge points despite being up a man for more than half the match.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City extended its unbeaten run to eight matches (3-0-5) at Soldier Field in Chicago but there’s no good way to spin a 0-0 road draw against a Fire team that went a man down in the first half. The Lions (4-2-5, 17 points) were unfathomably wasteful in the final third in a draw that felt like a loss, with numerous great chances sent off target, off the woodwork, or straight into the bellies of defenders on free kicks. The Fire (3-4-4, 13 points) actually created more dangerous opportunities throughout the match, even when down a man, than did the Lions.

Pedro Gallese had a stellar night in goal to help the Lions avoid what might otherwise have been an embarrassing loss, making eight saves in Orlando’s fourth scoreless draw in five outings. Chicago, which entered the match having conceded the most goals in MLS and allowed seven a week ago, held firm but remain winless at home in 2025.

“Our feelings today in a game that we probably, under the circumstances, we should have won it,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But when you see the whole development of the game, it was a tough rival. After the red card they put a lot of density and we couldn’t break it up the way we wanted. And they were dangerous on a couple plays going on the counter. As the game was playing, we didn’t have that clarity to define and score our goal, despite having some actions, and even two times when we hit the post. But I think we lacked clarity, and that cost us the two points that I thought we should have won it.”

Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. The midfield four consisted of Kyle Smith and Cesar Araujo in central midfield with Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic on the wings. Luis Muriel served as a false 9/No. 10 in the attack behind striker Duncan McGuire.

The match goes down as a point, but the Lions could have — and should have — gotten more out of it. Chicago defended well in a low block after losing goalkeeper Chris Brady to a red card in the first half, but Orlando City squandered the chances it created and frankly didn’t create enough with the ball or do enough to pull apart the Fire’s defensive lines.

The hosts created a half chance in the game’s first minute, carrying forward and crossing into the area. Schlegel’s clearance was muffed, falling to Andrew Gutman. The fullback tried a shot from outside the area but it was well off target.

Orlando’s first chance came from the left in the third minute, when Angulo got down the wing and fired. His shot was deflected wide for a corner. The Fire cleared the cross, ending the threat. Three minutes later, Muriel took a pass from Angulo at the end line, kept it in play, and tried a blast from a tight angle that Brady saved, knocking it out for another corner. Orlando had to hustle back to break up a Chicago transition on the set piece.

The Fire nearly scored multiple times in the 10th minute, with Gallese coming up with two big back-to-back saves. Philip Zinckernagel cut inside and blasted a shot from 15 yards out that Gallese fought off. It fell for Hugo Cuypers, who turned it back on goal but again the Peruvian came up big, with Brekalo then knocking it out for a corner.

“I think it was one of the most crucial and most difficult moments of the game, ” Gallese said of the double save. “Especially in key minutes, because if they’re able to score there, they’re able to control the game more and put us on the back foot, so yeah, really critical there.”

On the ensuing set piece, the ball was flicked to the back post by Sergio Oregel for MLS goal-scoring leader Cuypers, but the Golden Boot leader got under the ball and fired over the bar from about three or four yards out in front of goal.

Smith gave Orlando a good set piece opportunity in the 13th minute when he was fouled directly out in front of goal. Araujo took the set piece but fired straight into the wall, wasting the opportunity.

Gallese made another huges top three minutes later. Chicago fired a ball over the top to Jonathan Bamba, who stayed onside with a well-timed run. Bamba brought it down and fired, but Gallese made another big save in the 16th minute.

Orlando then found McGuire over the top in a similar manner in the 17th minute. McGuire wasn’t cleanly through on goal, but he was sent down the right, where he turned and fired wide of the left post.

Bamba took a pass from Gutman in front in the 19th minute and fired, but once again Gallese bailed out his defense. Cuypers headed a Jonathan Dean cross on target in the 27th minute, but the shot was soft and Gallese was able to get over and make the easy catch, racking up another save.

Muriel nearly sent McGuire in behind in the 33rd minute with a slick through ball. McGuire picked it up and could have shot, but instead he tried to finesse around Jack Elliott and lost the ball.

Three minutes later, another good ball over the top found McGuire, who chested it down just outside the box. Brady came charging out of his box and made contact with McGuire, who had gotten in behind both Fire center backs. Brady was booked and match referee Victor Rivas awarded a penalty. After reviewing the play, the red card stood, but the foul was judged to be just outside the box. Brady departed and Bamba was withdrawn by Gregg Berhalter in order to send backup goalkeeper Jeff Gal into the game for his MLS debut.

Muriel went for goal with the ensuing free kick, beating the wall but failing to get his shot to dip under the bar in the 42nd minute.

Orlando had two half chances in stoppage time. Muriel sent a great ball through the area but Freeman couldn’t get onto it. Moments later, Angulo sent a shot on target but left it too close to Gal, who made the save. Muriel fizzed a long-range shot over the bar a minute later, and then at the cusp of halftime sent in a great back-post ball for Araujo, who couldn’t quite get to it.

The Lions and Fire went to the break scoreless, but Chicago’s early domination helped Chicago end the first half with the advantage in possession (58.4%-41.6%), shots on goal (5-2), and passing accuracy (87.4%-77.7%). Each team attempted nine total shots, and Orlando won more corners (3-2).

The opening minutes of the second period saw Muriel dance around defender Christopher Cupps. Muriel went down after contact in the 47th minute, but there wasn’t enough in it for a penalty.

The Lions sent in two more almost balls in the 48th and 49th minutes, with Muriel again unable to find a teammate on the end of his cross on the first and Brekalo coming close to picking out Freeman at the back post on the second.

Orlando nearly gave up an embarrassing goal in the 52nd minute. Araujo sent a poor ball toward a teammate that was easily taken away by the Fire, jumpstarting the break in City’s defensive third. Mauricio Pineda smashed a shot from the top of the box that hit Jansson and nearly found its way inside the right post. Instead, it hit the outside of the upright and went out for a corner. The Lions didn’t deal with the corner well, allowing Brian Gutierrez to fire over the bar on the recycle.

Muriel again couldn’t find a fellow Lion with an entry ball in the 54th minute, and two minutes later, Angulo got down the left and squared the ball back into the box straight into a Fire player.

Unable to generate more danger against 10-man Chicago, Pareja sent Martin Ojeda in for Smith in the 57th minute. The Lions couldn’t do much with a couple of corners over the next few minutes, before a decent deflected ball into the box found Freeman in the 61st minute. The young fullback got a foot on it but couldn’t steer it on frame.

The lack of sharpness continued. Ojeda fired over the bar from long range in the 62nd minute. Brekalo telegraphed a shot and had it blocked at the top of the box a minute later.

Despite being down a man, Chicago nearly scored in the 67th minute. Orlando was dispossessed when Muriel was pushed down from behind but Rivas made no call. The play ended with Chicago winning a corner. The Lions made a mess of the clearance on the set piece, and it fell for Cuypers, who fired on goal, only to see Gallese deny him yet again with a vital save. A minute later, Gallese made critical back-to-back saves on Zenckernagel and Cuypers again off an Orlando City turnover.

“Pedro’s solidness has been increasing along the tournament. Now, in the game like today, when we needed the most, he was there,” Pareja said. “When you see the whole thing and the first part of the first half, and we had those actions, Pedro had to save us too. So it’s true, he played a great game and when we needed him most, he showed up.”

The two cruelest chances of the night fell for Orlando in the 75th and 77th minute. Angulo slipped the ball between defenders to put Ojeda in on goal for the first chance, but the Designated Player’s shot crashed off the left post. Two minutes later, Pasalic finally got an open look at goal and smashed a shot by Gal but off the crossbar. The spin of the ball took the rebound out of play before an onrushing Muriel could tap in the loose ball.

Elliott got a piece of McGuire in the 78th minute to set up a dangerous free kick for Orlando. However, Ojeda’s shot hit the midsections of one of Chicago’s wall players, wasting the opportunity. Muriel won a foul from Cupps in the 87th minute and waved off his teammates on the set piece. The Colombian then fired over the bar again.

Rivas added just three minutes of stoppage time and the Lions did not take advantage of any of the three. Muriel sent another shot over the bar from outside the box in the first added minute. Substitute Dagur Dan Thorhallsson blasted nowhere close to goal a minute later.

That was that, and the game ended without a goal.

Orlando finished with the advantage in possession (53.3%-46.7%), shots (23-17), and passing accuracy (85.1%-83.1%). Chicago won more corners (7-6) and put more shots on target (8-2).

“Chicago’s a good team. They’ve got good players, and they play a style that’s difficult and creates a lot of opportunities,” Gallese said. “I think we stood well in those first 30 minutes, and then after the card, you know, they weren’t really able to control too much of the game. But, you know, we’re still able to take the point against a good team tonight.”

The Lions visit the Tampa Bay Rowdies Wednesday night as they kick off their 2025 U.S. Open Cup campaign. Orlando City’s next MLS match will follow on Saturday at home against the New England Revolution.

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Published

9 hours ago

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August 16, 2026

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Image of Luis Otavio playing the ball against FC Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium Saturday night in the new red third kits. This was supposed to be a high-scoring affair between two teams that like to score and also like to give up goals. Naturally, that meant it ended in a low-scoring 1-1 draw. Still, it’s hard to be too upset given Orlando City came from behind and managed to earn a point against a team higher in the standings. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

A Head Injury Goal

FC Cincinnati scored the first goal of the match, but it wasn’t without controversy. Cincinnati passed the ball to the top of the box for Evander. His shot went directly into the face of Joran Gerbet, who dropped like a sack of potatoes. That is the moment that Tori Penso should have blown the whistle to stop the play. You know, for a potential head injury. Instead, Penso allowed the play to continue as the ball rebounded off Gerbet’s head to Pavel Bucha who scored the goal. Fortunately, Gerbet was okay not that Penso was overly concerned in the moment. After the match, she stated the play was not stopped because of an immediate shot by a teammate after the deflection. It took about four seconds from hitting Gerbet in the head from point-blank range until the time Bucha shot, and perhaps four seconds is considered immediate.

Relentless Spicer

Tyrese Spicer continued his run of good form for Orlando City with a good run against the Cincinnati defense. As two defenders closed on him, Justin Ellis made a nifty flicked pass from a ball from Ivan Angulo to a streaking Spicer. The speedy winger held off Bucha shoulder to shoulder to win the ball. Bucha fell down and Spicer rounded the keeper before putting it under the crossbar for the equalizer. It was a hard-earned goal and just what Orlando City needed to get back into the match.

Justice for Brekalo

Kevin Denkey got around Maxime Crepeau and looked certain to score, but he hit the right post. The ball bounced out to Evander. David Brekalo battled to win the ball and Evander went down in the box. Penso immediately called a penalty, but the contact was very light. Then the video assistant referee suggested a call against Orlando City needed to be checked. Penso looked at the replay and rightly said no penalty. On top of that, Evander received a yellow for simulation. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Crepeau Continues to Crush It

Crepeau has been playing well since returning from the World Cup. He continued his good form against one of the best attacking teams in MLS. Despite only being credited with three saves, he once again made several saves on shots from offside players that would not have counted, but were still impressive. Additionally, he got better as the match went on. He had good command of the his area, coming out to get the ball, closing down the angles, and being a big contributor to the point at home.

Good Enough

Orlando City’s defense was not great despite holding Cincinnati to one goal, but it was good enough. For a team that gave up nearly three goals per match prior to the World Cup break, allowing an average of one goal per match, including in this game, is much better. On a sadder note, Bernardo Rhein went off injured in the first half. The youngster had supplanted Adrian Marin on the depth chart and now might be out for a bit depending on how bad the injury is. To his credit, Marin played better than he usually does once he came on. Again, the defense wasn’t spectacular, but it did enough to earn a point.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s result with FC Cincinnati. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Battle Back on Spicer’s Goal

The Lions fell behind before halftime but had the final say in a hard-fought home draw vs. FC Cincinnati.

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21 hours ago

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August 15, 2026

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Image of Tyrese Spicer battling against FC Cincinnati.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Tyrese Spicer’s early goal in the second half pulled Orlando City level in a 1-1 draw against normally high-scoring FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium tonight. Pavel Bucha put Cincinnati (7-6-6, 27 points) in front with a goal in the first half, but Orlando City (6-10-3, 21 points) did well to fight back for a point at home.

It was surprisingly low scoring, considering the game featured two of the most porous MLS defenses and an open flow to it, but it’s a big improvement over the 6-2 loss the Lions suffered on the road at Cincinnati just before the World Cup break. While the point is good, Orlando is 0-1-2 in its last three matches in all competitions and will need to start finding the win column again to climb into the playoff places.

“It was a very tough team, tough game, as we expected against Cincinnati. It’s always like this,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “They have a really strong offense. Their team is one of the best teams in the league attacking. I think we created chances by moments. The game was very open. They had chances as well.”

Perelman’s starting XI featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Luis Otavio and Joran Gerbet started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer with Justin Ellis and Antoine Griezmann leading the attack.

Much of the first 15 minutes was spent between the two penalty areas. Orlando looked to build play patiently, while Cincinnati looked for opportunities to jump passing routes and counter. The first look of the game came three minutes in off a set piece from long range that fell to Kevin Denkey in the box. The Cincy forward fired but the shot was blocked and the visitors were offside on the recycle.

Orlando City’s first look at goal was a shot that Spicer mishit badly, firing well wide of the near post on the left. Ellis put the first shot of the game on target in the 10th minute, sending in a good effort from the top of the box, but Roman Celentano made a good save to tip it over. Cincinnati cleared the initial ball on the set piece but Rhein found Spicer in the box, but again the Trinidad & Tobago international fired wide in the 11th minute. Four minutes later, Griezmann got into the box but his shot was blocked behind for another corner and the Lions could do nothing with the set piece.

Orlando was fortunate not to fall behind in the 20th minute as Evander got past Dorsey on the Lions’ defensive right side. The Cincy star man fizzed a low cross to the back post but it was just out of Tom Barlow’s reach. However, the visitors scored anyway a few minutes later.

A shot near the top of the area caught Gerbet flush in the face and he went down immediately. Despite it being an obvious head injury, referee Tori Penso allowed play to continue and Cincinnati regained possession outside the box, where Bucha slotted into the right side of the net to make it 1-0 in the 23rd minute.

“Regarding that play, since I am here in the United States, I learned that in the MLS, we take care about those situations with the players,” Perelman said. “This is why we were expecting that after that kick in his head, the game should be stopped, as it always was. But I haven’t reviewed the sequence. I don’t know if the ball effectively got in the face. I didn’t see the sequence again. Maybe I’m ignoring some rule or maybe it’s OK what the ref did. I don’t know.”

Penso’s response to the pool reporter’s question was that the ball fell to an attacking player who immediately shot and scored, and the player was checked immediately afterward.

Orlando City should have pulled the goal back in the 36th minute. Dorsey got down the right flank and pulled back a nice pass for Ellis around the penalty spot. The Homegrown forward sent a shot on target with his first touch but sent it straight at Celentano for the save. The Lions were offside after the initial shot and the attack broke down.

Rhein went down with a non-contact injury moments later and went directly to the locker room. Adrian Marin subbed on to replace the Homegrown left back.

FC Cincinnati was the more dangerous team down the stretch. Evander fired just inches wide of the right post from the left in the 43rd minute. Ellis then had an opportunity with a free header in the middle of the box in the first minute of added time but sent his effort straight at Celentano again. Ender Echineque then saw his shot blocked just wide by Marin deep in stoppage time, winning Cincinnati a corner, but the Lions cleared and the halftime whistle blew.

The Lions held the advantage at the break in possession (50.6%-49.4%), shots (7-5), shots on target (3-1), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.6%-86%), but a lack of clinical finishing allowed the guests to hold the lead at halftime.

Marco Pasalic came on for Gerbet to start the second half, pushing Angulo into central midfield for a while, with Spicer joining Ellis up top and Griezmann dropping to left wing.

Cincinnati won an early corner after the restart but it was Orlando City that scored off of it. The Lions dealt with the set piece and Angulo ended up with it on the left. He darted past a defender and sent a pass forward that Ellis touched on into the attacking half. Spicer raced for the loose ball with Bucha and won the physical battle, breaking in alone when the Cincy defender fell. The Trinidad & Tobago international rounded Celentano and smashed a shot high into the net to make it 1-1 in the 48th minute.

“I know I’m going to get technical here, but like the spin that (Angulo) put on the pass was perfect for how I wanted to play the ball, you know, so I could redirect it into the path of Tyrese, Ellis said. “It counts as an assist, but the goal was all him, you know. I think he deserves all the credit.”

“(Ellis is) a creative player. He wants to flick. He loves to flick. And you know, I just read that,” Spicer said. “I thought it was going to go more in the air rather than on the ground, but I just had to turn the jets on to get there. You know, once I was one on one with the keeper, you know, I had a good feeling. He’s a good keeper. I think he would have guessed where I was gonna shoot. So I was like, let me try to go around him, and it worked out.”

Orlando tried to take the lead moments after the goal with a series of passes at the top of the area that finally got sent to Griezmann on the right. The Frenchman volleyed a shot on target but it was right at Celentano.

Cincinnati thought it had won a penalty a minute later. Denkey got in behind down the right channel, waited out Crepeau, and sent a shot off the post. Brekalo and Evander both went for the loose ball and Evander went down. Penso pointed to the spot and eventually went to the monitor for a second look. After reviewing the play again, Penso announced that Evander had initiated the contact and she booked the Cincy star for simulation. Orlando City avoided the spot kick.

Echineque rang the post for Cincinnati in the 64th minute. Cutting in from right to left, he fired a shot from near the right corner of the box that hit the left post and stayed out. Following an unsuccessful corner at the other end, Cincinnati came back on the attack and put the ball in the neet in the 71st minute, but the flag came up immediately for an obvious offside.

Former Lion Kyle Smith blocked Spicer’s shot behind for a corner in the 73rd minute. Griezmann’s service found Marin on the far side all alone in space. The Spaniard tried to head it back into the mix of players in front but it floated lazily for an eacy catch by Celentano.

Second-half sub Marco Pasalic fired wide in the 80th minute, as both teams continued looking for a go-ahead goal.

Crepeau may have made his biggest save in the match in the 87th minute, going down to deny Kenji Mboma Dem, who got inside down the right in the 87th minute.

Orlando got a couple of looks down the stretch. Pasalic saw his shot deflect over the bar for a corner early in stoppage time. Substitute Wilder Cartagena blazed a rocket shot just over the crossbar in the fourth added minute.

After the Lions defended a late Cincinnati corner, the final whistle blew, splitting the points between the sides.

At the final whistle, Orlando City held the advantage in shots (17-11), shots on target (5-3), and corners (10-5). FC Cincinnati finished with more possession (53.1%-46.9%) and passed more accurately (90.8%-87.8%).

“We knew which spaces we believe we can hurt (them), and that was the adjustment (at halftime) — try to to hurt them in those spaces and try to to neutralize as much as we can those talented players they have up front, and we we were able to tie.”

“I think it was a different looking game because we’re a different looking team in terms of how we’re playing,” Ellis said, comparing the 6-2 loss at Cincinnati to tonight’s 1-1 draw. “I think we’re a much more steady team, even though I feel today we didn’t have the control that we wanted. It was very transitional. I think we also just limited Evander. He’s, I don’t want to say he’s their whole attack, because they have amazing players, but a lot of the attack runs through him. And I want to give a special mention to Luis Otavio. I thought he was the best player on the field today.”

It’s another short turnaround for the Lions, who host the Chicago Fire on Wednesday.

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions go hunting for revenge for the 6-2 beatdown they suffered in southwest Ohio back in late May.

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1 day ago

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August 15, 2026

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Image of Griffin Dorsey dribbling up the side past two FC Cincinnati defenders.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (6-10-2, 20 points) and FC Cincinnati (7-6-5, 26 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the last of the two scheduled matches between the teams this season.

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

History

The all-time series is tied at 5-5-4 in the MLS regular season, but Orlando City has been worse against FC Cincinnati in home matches, going just 2-3-1 in the City Beautiful against tonight’s opponents. The Lions are 0-2-1 in the last three meetings between the sides.

The teams last met on May 23 in Cincinnati in the final match before the World Cup break. How shall I put this…oh yes…the Lions had their asses handed to them by FC Cincinnati to the tune of a 6-2 brutalization that had folks calling law enforcement to report a murder. Evander scored twice and assisted on three other goals to lead the rout for FC Cincinnati, despite Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda scoring the first goal and later tying the game at 2-2 early in the second half. It was all FC Cincinnati after Ojeda’s second goal. Kenji Mboma Dem added a brace for the hosts and Kevin Denkey and Tom Barlow also scored. Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game that “the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story,” and he was right, because it could have been worse.

A year ago, the teams played on Sept. 28, 2025, in Ohio, with Alex Freeman’s goal late in stoppage time salvaging a 1-1 draw for Orlando City, canceling out Denkey’s second-half strike. Prior to that, the teams also met last year on June 28 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, with FC Cincinnati winning 2-1. An Evander brace, which included a poorly conceded set piece goal from distance, was enough to offset Marco Pasalic’s goal.

These two teams met at TQL Stadium on Oct. 5, 2024, with the Lions leaving southwest Ohio with a 3-1 victory in their final road match of the regular season. Ramiro Enrique scored twice and had a third chalked off for a controversial foul on a corner kick. He also assisted on a goal by Ivan Angulo in an impressive performance. Luciano Acosta scored Cincinnati’s goal.

These two sides also met on May 4 of that year in Orlando with FC Cincinnati claiming a 1-0 road win on a first-minute goal by Acosta. The Lions went down a man early in the game when Rodrigo Schlegel was called for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on Yuya Kubo. Orlando City had a second-half goal waved off for an offside in the buildup. Cincinnati lost Bret Halsey to a second yellow card late but the Lions couldn’t take advantage.

The teams met in Ohio on Sept. 2, 2023, with the Lions claiming a 1-0 win on enemy soil, becoming the first road team to beat FC Cincinnati all season. Facundo Torres scored the game’s only goal. Orlando had to hold on down a man late when Wilder Cartagena was sent off. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on March 4, 2023 in Orlando.

The Lions fell 1-0 at TQL Stadium on June 24, 2022. A second-half goal from Brenner represented all the offense, but it could have been worse for Orlando City as Pedro Gallese made eight saves in the match. The first meeting of 2022 took place in Orlando on March 12, with FC Cincinnati notching its first win in the all-time series, 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were more in control but were wasteful, despite dominating the stat sheet. The visitors got a brace from Brandon Vazquez to offset Junior Urso’s goal.

The final meeting of 2021 was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati, when Orlando City got its first road victory in the series, 1-0 on Urso’s early goal. Tesho Akindele should have scored a second off the crossbar late in the game, but the play was never reviewed, despite video evidence that the ball was completely across the line.

On Aug. 7, 2021, the match in Cincinnati ended up in a 1-1 draw. Nani’s strike rescued a point after Brenner had opened the scoring for the hosts just before halftime, taking advantage of an obviously injured Uri Rosell, who subbed off moments later. The first of the three meetings in 2021 came on May 21 in Orlando, with the Lions posting a 3-0 win. Akindele scored in the first minute and Nani and Urso each added a goal.

In Orlando’s first trip to the banks of the Ohio River, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019. Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescued a point for the Lions after Allan Cruz had given the hosts a lead. The draw officially eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention that year, but realistically the Lions had been out of it for a while.

The first-ever meeting between the two sides took place on May 19, 2019, when the Lions pummeled the expansion side, 5-1. Both Nani and Akindele bagged braces in the match and Dom Dwyer added a goal as well.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a pair of blown halftime leads in Leagues Cup, but with rotation throughout that competition, lots of players played and at least now they can concentrate on MLS and next month’s resumption of the U.S. Open Cup. Orlando drew Atletico de San Luis 2-2 after blowing a two-goal lead from the 79th minute on, claiming the meaningless extra point in penalties (5-3) as both teams were eliminated from the knockout rounds. Daryl Dike and Justin Ellis scored Orlando’s goals. The Lions are 4-3-1 at home in MLS play this season but 3-0-1 in their last four league matches on their own patch. Orlando brings a league-worst 47 goals conceded into tonight and a conference-worst goal differential of -17.

FC Cincinnati is coming off a surprising 2-1 home loss to Atlas on Tuesday, which means it will be the better rested team for both matches against Orlando this season. The loss knocked Cincinnati out of the running for the knockout rounds and was the first time Cincinnati failed to score at least two goals in a match since July 25 on the road against rival Columbus — also in a 2-1 loss. What is surprising about that is FC Cincinnati is a scoring juggernaut, co-leading MLS in goals scored with 45 — tied with Inter Miami. Cincy’s Achilles heel this season has been road play, in which the club is 1-4-4 in MLS play. The only reason Cincinnati is as low as sixth in the Eastern Conference table at the moment is because it also ships a lot of goals — 44 so far this season, which is third worst in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando City’s back line and defensive midfield will be stressed for 90 minutes plus stoppage time tonight, as players like Evander, Denkey, Mboma Dem, Barlow, Pavel Bucha, and others will slice through the gaps between defenders and look to get onto excellent through balls. Transition attacks must be avoided, as Cincinnati can turn a takeaway into a goal in seconds. The Lions must control the ball, avoid turning it over in dangerous areas, and stay switched on for potential runners, otherwise the final score might look a lot like it did on May 23. Evander already has 22 goal contributions (11 goals, 11 assists), leading the league in the latter category while being just two goals off the Golden Boot lead. Denkey has also bagged 11 goals to go along with four assists.

The Lions will be without Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Nolan Miller (knee), Braian Ojeda (foot), and
Martín Ojeda (thigh). Cincinnati will be without Gerardo Valenzuela (suspension).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Joran Gerbet, Tyrese Spicer.

Forward: Antoine Griezmann, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Issah Haruna, Wilder Cartagena, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Daryl Dike.

FC Cincinnati (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Roman Celentano.

Defenders: Samuel Gidi, Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson.

Wingbacks/Midfielders: Bryan Ramirez, Obinna Nwobodo, Evander, Pavel Bucha, Ender Echenique.

Forwards: Kevin Denkey, Tom Barlow.

Bench: Evan Louro, Kyle Smith, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Teenage Hadebe, Brian Anunga, Kristian Fletcher, Kenji Mboma Dem, Ayoub Jabbari.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Matthew Nelson.
4TH: Lorenzo Hernandez.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Fabio Tovar.

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!

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