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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Final Score 3-2 as Late Araujo Red Card Turns Orlando Lead into a Loss

Orlando led 2-1 late, but Cesar Araujo’s moment of madness gave Atlanta life and the hosts took advantage of it.

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2 days ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City had a 13th straight result in its sights with a late lead, but a late red card turned the game around in a 3-2 loss to Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Lions (7-3-6, 27 points) have no one but themselves to blame for turning a 2-1 lead with minutes to play into a loss, as Cesar Araujo lost his wits and grabbed Mateusz Klich by his throat after being pushed from behind and was given a straight red. That allowed Atlanta (4-7-5, 17 points) to score twice to come from behind and break the Lions’ 12-game unbeaten streak.

Araujo and Ramiro Enrique had given Orlando a 2-1 lead at the break by scoring on either side of an Alexey Miranchuk goal, and the Lions were defending resolutely with 13 minutes left in normal time, when the game got drunk after a routine foul by substitute Kyle Smith. Klich pushed Araujo from behind, and the Uruguayan took exception, putting his hand on the base of the throat of the Atlanta midfielder. It was perhaps soft, but it was also not a smart play, and Araujo was immediately sent off for violent conduct that wasn’t all that violent but was rather foolish.

After the sending off, Bartosz Slisz leveled the game for the hosts, prompting a reaction from the Orlando City bench that got Head Coach Oscar Pareja sent off. Jamal Thiare then scored off a needless giveaway in the defensive half late in stoppage time to steal the last point away from Orlando.

“I thought we played a very good 70 minutes until the red card and (that’s) something that we’re going to be loud (about) internally with the behavior of the referee,” Pareja said after the match. “I want to leave it there, but we (aren’t) very impressed with the way that was handled, because it was a game well played. We were doing the right things. And that changed the whole thing. So, we’re obviously frustrated, but we’re going to follow our protocols, as we always do with the league, and we’ll take care of that the best professional way possible.”

Pareja’s lineup again featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Araujo was joined in central midfield by Joran Gerbet with attacking midfielders Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Enrique up top.

The game got going early. Atlanta won a corner kick and the cross found Derrick Williams at the far post in the third minute, but the defender’s soft header was no trouble for Gallese, who made a routine catch.

The Lions went the other way after the save and scored the game’s first goal. Ojeda sent a centering pass to the middle, where Pasalic and Araujo were waiting. Pasalic touched the ball a few inches to Araujo, who had plenty of space and decided to shoot. The defensive midfielder sent his shot just inside the left post to open the scoring in the fourth minute. There was a long video check as Enrique was in an offside position all the way out near the top of the area. The judgment was that his positioning did not affect the goal, and the Lions led 1-0.

Each team had a near miss with a dangerous looking ball that couldn’t find a friendly foot over the next few minutes, before the Lions put together a couple of good attacks. A good buildup on the right fizzled when Enrique tried to force a pass in front to Angulo and Atlanta’s defense intervened in the 11th minute. Four minutes later, Ojeda was sent over the top by Jansson and was in alone on Brad Guzan’s goal on the left. Ojeda fired his shot wide of the right post by a couple of yards, wasting the chance.

Atlanta held the ball a long time after that chance, passing it left and right, picking up some rhythm. That was broken up eventually, but Pasalic opted an audacious long attempt from his own defensive third, and he scuffed his effort, handing the ball right back. Atlanta scored a minute later, punishing the mistake.

Saba Lobjanidze shook loose down the right side, beating Brekalo and sending a cross toward the middle. The ball deflected off Angulo’s heel and hit off Schlegel’s arm, which would have been a penalty, except the rebound fell for Miranchuk — who Gerbet let go — to fire home from point-blank range, tying the game in the 19th minute.

The game settled down a bit for a while after that. The next shot came in the 25th minute when Angulo sent a weak header to Guzan off an Araujo long throw-in.

Orlando regained the lead out of nowhere. Ojeda sent a good ball up the pitch for Enrique, but Williams took it away. The defender then lost the ball and Enrique pounced on it, beating Guzan to the near post to make it 2-1 in the 32nd minute.

Neither side had more than a half-chance until stoppage time. In the first minute of injury time, Angulo made a great pass to send Ojeda in behind on the left. The Lions’ No. 10 sent a dangerous ball to Freeman at the back post, but the ball bounced over his foot to rob him of a tap-in goal.

“With Ojeda, when he’s in that position, he either hits it very hard across or he’ll try to dink it back post,” Freeman said. “didn’t want to anticipate it too much, because if he put it hard across goal, I wanted to be able to tap it. Then he kind of just dinked it right in front of me, and then the bounce kind of…I kind of misjudged it. And then it was kind of by me. But it was a beautiful move by the left side and Ojeda.”

That was the last decent look at goal and the Lions took their one-goal lead into the break.

Atlanta held the halftime advantage in possession (52%-48%) and passing accuracy (87.6%-86.8%), while the Lions recorded more shots (6-5), shots on target (4-2), and corners (2-1).

Atlanta put in a cross just after the restart but it was no trouble for Gallese. The Lions then went the other way and Angulo and Ojeda played a nice 1-2, but Orlando got no scoring chance out of it because Angulo’s first touch on the return pass was far too heavy.

The Lions came agonizingly close in the 50th minute on back-to-back shots. Freeman sent Pasalic down the right flank, with the Croatian cutting inside and firing. His shot took a partial deflection and floated over Guzan but hit the back post. Ojeda had to wait for the ball to come down as Guzan recovered, and then the ball bounced on him. He was eventually able to shoot, but Guzan did well to stop the shot at the near post.

In the 55th minute, Pasalic again got forward again off a nice pass from Ojeda, cut inside, and fired. This time his shot went right down the middle for an easy Guzan save. Three minutes later, Ojeda again had a good look and, again, fired wide to the right of goal from the left.

Atlanta held much of the possession from that point on, but didn’t create much against Orlando’s organized defense. The only threat during that span came from Pedro Amador in the 70th minute, when he was alone on the left but fired his swerving shot off target.

What turned out to be an important decision by Referee Filip didn’t seem like it at the time. Orlando broke a long spell of Atlanta possession when Pasalic won the ball and looked to move up the pitch. Klich completely engulfed the right wing, pulling him back in a bear hug on an obvious tactical foul. Referee Filip Dujic opted not to book Klich for the cynical challenge with no attempt to play the ball, and that ended up helping the host team immensely moments later.

Both teams then started to substitute. The Lions put on more defensive troops in Smith and Eduard Atuesta, removing Angulo and Ojeda for them, with Luis Muriel stepping on for Pasalic in the 73rd and 74th minutes. The idea was to see out the final minutes and take three points back to Orlando.

However, Araujo lost his head a few minutes later and it turned the game around.

Smith’s foul could have gone either way, but the whistle blew and Araujo dribbled the ball forward. Klich wanted to get on with the restart and shoved the Uruguayan down from behind. Araujo got up and came at Klich, who was engaging with another player, from the side, putting his hand up on the base of Klich’s throat. Dujic immediately showed a red card. Orlando has seen worse let go the other way, but it was still a moment of empty-headedness for the midfielder, who took forever to leave, so he’ll expect a fine from the league. Klich was shown a yellow for the initial shove that instigated it. Had Dujic done his job properly moments earlier, both teams would have finished with 10 men, but that no-call was critical to the outcome.

The Lions dealt with the ensuing set piece and held Atlanta at bay for the next several minutes, with Muriel forcing Ajani Fortune into a tactical foul that Dujic did call in the 82nd minute. However, the Lions gave the ball away right after the restart and it was costly.

Jansson cleared a routine ball out of the box with a header, but it only went as far as Slisz. Gerbet was late in recovering, giving the opposing midfielder room to shoot. Slisz’s shot hit the inside of the left post and in, giving Gallese no chance and tying the game in the 83rd minute.

In the aftermath of the goal, Pareja was sent off after confronting the fourth official about the earlier red card on Araujo.

“I came up to the fourth referee, and I asked him why it was a red card (on Araujo),” Pareja said. “The Atlanta player, he pushed Cesar wildly too, and we were the ones who received the red card. And I said, ‘It is not a red card, why did you eject the player?’ And I was coming out from my zone like the other coach did, too. I have been in the league coaching for many years, so this is something natural in the games, but it seems like the (treatment) from them was different. We’re going to address it with the league instead of doing it in public, but what happened today, we’re very frustrated with the way they handled it. If the coaches need to be ejected because we came out eventually from our area, then we all have to be out every single game. It was a normal question to the assistant referee that we do every single game.”

Buoyed by the tying goal, Atlanta continued to attack, but Orlando did well to keep shots coming from distance or angles, and the defense dealt with the crosses in from the flanks. One shot that got through was from Klich in the 88th minute, but he hit it straight at Gallese, who saved comfortably. Gallese made another big save from point-blank range moments later, but the play was offside anyway, so it didn’t count.

Miranchuk sent a shot well off target from range in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and the Lions had at least four more minutes to kill off to earn a road point and extend their unbeaten run to 13.

The Lions had a chance to clear their lines in the fifth added minute, as the ball fell for Atuesta outside his defensive penalty area. Rather than clear it down the field or find a teammate, the Colombian tried a fancy play to knock the ball to himself, but instead Atlanta recovered the ball and immediately attacked. Miranchuk lifted a ball in for Lobjanidze, who got away from Schlegel. The attacker chested the ball down and knocked it over to Thiare, with Jansson caught ball watching and Brekalo on the wrong side of the striker to be able to stop the play. Thiare touched the winner home from point-blank range, and Orlando’s collapse was complete.

Duncan McGuire subbed on late but was not able to do much. Guzan was allowed to waste time without a yellow card, unlike Gallese, who had received one earlier for roughly the same amount of time wasting.

The Lions won a late corner and shouted for handball to no avail late in stoppage time. Gallese had come up for the set piece and the net was wide open. Atlanta was able to move the ball down the pitch but Edward Mosquera was offside and the final shot was over the empty net anyway.

There didn’t seem to be a review of the play in the box, but the ball appeared to come off a teammate from point-blank range and hit the arm of an Atlanta player, and by the way that rule has been officiated this season, that’s not often given, as there is no time for a player to react. That was the last gasp, and the Orlando City streak was over.

Atlanta ended up with the advantage in possession (58.2%-41.8%), shots (13-10), and passing accuracy (87.8%-80.6%). Orlando City put more shots on target (6-5) and won more corners (6-5).

Orlando missed an opportunity to keep building on an outstanding May, as the Lions vomited up their three-game winning streak late. The Lions fell to just 5-11-7 in the all-time series, and 2-5-4 at Atlanta.

“Overall, I feel that we played a good game,” Freeman said. “I feel like the first half, we played very well on the way we want to play. Most of the second half we did as well. Then the little scuffle happened. After that it was just 10 men, us defending, and they were able to get some goals back. Now we have to move on to Saturday against Chicago.”

“The players have to think about what a good job they did until those 75 minutes when the referee got involved with the red card and just bounce back on those positive things,” Pareja said. “Because I thought we played very well until that happened. We cannot forget that, and we have two days to bring forth the message and keep doing what we’re doing, and play against Chicago.”

The Lions have one more quick turnaround before anyone gets any rest, as they return home Saturday to host the Chicago Fire. They won’t have Araujo or Pareja for that match unless some unexpected adjudication happens.

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Opinion

Predicting Orlando City’s June Results

It’s time to take a glimpse into the future and predict how Orlando City will fare during the month of June.

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23 hours ago

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May 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

We’re almost to the end of what’s been an extremely packed month of May for Orlando City. After the conclusion of Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire, the Lions will have played nine matches in the span of 28 days. OCSC has basically played a match every three days, which is an absurd pace. Other than two recent blemishes, Orlando has mostly handled it exceedingly well though, and June presents a much lighter schedule for our brave heroes.

The Lions play just three games next month and will have two weeks off between Saturday’s match against the Fire and their next game. Without any further ado, I will now attempt to peer into the crystal ball and predict the results of Orlando’s three games in June.

Saturday, June 14 — at Colorado Rapids

Orlando will return to action after a two-week layoff by hopping on the purple plane and flying west to take on Colorado. The Rapids are currently eighth in a crowded Western conference table with 22 points, and they are 10 points off the Vancouver Whitecaps at the top of the table. They’ve put together a pretty even season so far with a record of 6-6-4 (W-L-D). The biggest problem for Colorado has been scoring goals, as the Rapids only have 18 goals in 16 games and have been held scoreless five times in the league. They have this week off, and won’t return to action until June 7, when they host Austin FC. I give Orlando City the edge in this match, and hopefully that extra rest will help the good guys hang tough at altitude. The Lions have been defensively sound recently — when they’ve had all 11 men on the field — while also still being able to put the ball in the back of the net several times a game. Shutting down Djordje Mihailovic is going to be key, but I like Orlando’s chances given its recent form and the fact that the Lions will be well rested.

Prediction: Orlando City 3-1 Colorado Rapids.

Wednesday, June 25 — at St. Louis City

I refuse to capitalize every letter in “City” in St. Louis City’s name, because frankly I think it’s a ridiculous stylistic choice. The team also hasn’t been very good this year, so it doesn’t deserve me catering to it in that manner. St. Louis is currently 2-8-5 and only truly woeful campaigns by CF Montreal and the LA Galaxy are saving it from leading the Wooden Spoon race with 11 points. It makes Colorado look like an offensive juggernaut, as it’s only scored 11 goals in 15 games. St. Louis isn’t bad defensively, as it’s only conceded 20 goals, but it’s always going to be a struggle when you average scoring just 0.73 goals a game. Its form was enough to get Head Coach Olof Mellberg fired, and he lasted just over six months on the job. The club hasn’t won since a March 15 match against the Galaxy and has a tricky upcoming slate, with a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, an away game against the Portland Timbers on June 8, and a home match against the Galaxy on June 14. With a week and a half between the Colorado match and this one, I once again like Orlando City in this game. Unless St. Louis can find its shooting boots, I don’t see it offering much threat against a rested Orlando defense that has come on strong since a shaky start to the year.

Prediction: Orlando City 2-0 St. Louis City.

Saturday, June 28 — vs. FC Cincinnati

OCSC wraps up June by returning home to play one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on short rest. It isn’t ideal, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world either. Cincy has been good this year, compiling a record of 9-4-3 and 30 points to sit second in the East. New signings Evander and Kevin Denkey have been as good as you would expect, as Evander has seven goals and five assists in 14 appearances, and Denkey has nine goals in 15 games. As a team, Cincinnati has scored 24 goals and conceded 22, so it’s been a balanced campaign to this point. It’ll be coming to the end of a stretch of three straight road games, as Cincy will be away to the New England Revolution on June 14 and then at CF Montreal on June 25, so it’ll also be traveling on short rest. That said, aside from the Philadelphia Union, Cincy is the toughest team the Lions will have faced in MLS play, and stopping both Evander and Denkey is far from an easy task. This reeks of a draw that has a couple of goals for each team, so that’s what I’ll be going with.

Prediction: Orlando City 2-2 FC Cincinnati.

There you have it. I’ve scrutinized the tea leaves and you now know what the path ahead holds for the Lions. Be sure to check back in at the end of June so you can marvel at how stunningly accurate my forecast was. Until then, feel free to either disagree or tell me how crystal clear my visions are down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 5/30/25

Orlando City players called up, Orlando Pride sign Simone Jackson, USWNT gets ready to play China, and more.

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1 day ago

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May 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday! It’s been a bit of a brutal week, but we’ve made it through. Our reward is an exciting weekend of soccer to enjoy to close out the month. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working, but it should still be a nice next few days. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Lions Called Up For International Duty

Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was predictably called up for Peru’s CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. Peru is ninth in the standings and will take on Colombia June 6 before hosting Ecuador on June 10.

Defender David Brekalo was called up by Slovenian for a pair of friendlies against Luxembourg and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These matches will help prepare Slovenia for World Cup qualifying this fall against Sweden, Switzerland, and Kosovo.

A few Young Lions are also heading to Europe for the UEFA Friendship Cup in Switzerland. The U.S. will represent Concacaf at the U-18 tournament, and OCB players Justin Ellis, Colin Guske, and Jackson Platts were called up for it.

Orlando Pride Sign Simone Jackson

The Orlando Pride signed forward Simone Jackson to a contract through the 2028 season. Jackson played at the University of Southern California for four years, recording 22 goals and 13 assists in 75 games, and trained with the Pride during the preseason. Internationally, she’s represented the U.S. at various youth levels and scored a goal in the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The 22-year-old gives Orlando some helpful depth up front and can develop her game learning from some of the best attackers in the sport as well.

USWNT Prepares For Friendly Against China

The United States Women’s National Team will take on China Saturday at Allianz Field in St. Paul, MN in the first of two friendlies during this international window. Orlando Pride defenders Emily Sams and Kerry Abello were both called up to join a young roster as the team builds a foundation before the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Goalkeeper will continue to be a position to watch, as opportunity knocks for Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Mandy McGlynn, and Claudia Dickey to stake a claim as the team’s starter. Following this match, the USWNT will take on Jamaica in St. Louis on Tuesday before a pair of friendlies against Ireland later in June.

Denver’s NWSL Team Hires First General Manager

Denver’s NWSL team hired Curt Johnson to serve as the club’s first general manager. He will have the opportunity to build the team’s roster and staff from the ground up before the team takes the field as an expansion side in 2026. Johnson left the North Carolina Courage in December and was the chief soccer officer when the club dominated the league in 2018 and 2019. It looks like a solid hire in my opinion and I’m interested to see what kind of team he puts together in Denver.

Free Kicks

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure a victory against Chicago at home?

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2 days ago

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May 29, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City ends May the way it began, with a match against the Chicago Fire. The Lions are coming off a wild and disappointing match against rival Atlanta United. I always worry about a team after such an emotional outing, and on short rest to boot, especially since the Fire were off during the midweek. How the team reacts will determine the result. What does Orlando City need to do to take all three points from Chicago at home?

Defend this House

Much like the last time, Orlando City will need to deal with Hugo Cuypers and the rest of Chicago’s attack. The Lions likely won’t get the benefit of having Chris Brady sent off in the 36th minute again, meaning they will need to defend more attacks for a longer time. In the last match, Chicago took 16 shots, putting eight of those on target. Limiting those chances will be critical.

I expect to see Alex Freeman, Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo starting on the back line despite having done so Wednesday night. No cheap giveaways, no errant arms away from the body in the box, just solid defending for 90 plus minutes. The Lions will have to do it without Cesar Araujo, thanks to his sending off against Atlanta. I think they can, but it will be more difficult without him.

Atuesta Ahoy

Eduard Atuesta played the full 90 minutes against the Portland Timbers, and then played limited minutes against Atlanta United. I completely agreed with that strategy, because he did not need to be playing too many minutes so soon after returning. He is also working back to full fitness. He will be rested for this home match, and the pitch conditions will be much better.

We were reminded of how good he is in the attacking midfield in that match against Portland. I need him to provide those slicing passes through tiny windows against the Chicago defense. Joran Gerbet has proven to be a steal in the draft, but he doesn’t yet have that extra bit of quality you see from Atuesta. Look for him to break Chicago’s lines.

Early and Often

Orlando City will come in on three days rest, whereas Chicago will be on six days rest. This match will also be the Lions’ ninth match in May — their seventh in the league and two more in the U.S. Open Cup. To say that tired legs will be a concern is an understatement. As such, Orlando City needs to jump out to an early lead as it did against Atlanta.

Fortunately, there was more rotation in the attack on Wednesday for Orlando City with Ramiro Enrique getting the start. That means Luis Muriel will be fresh for a start on the much nicer grass at Inter&Co Stadium. I’ll take a goal from Muriel, or frankly any Orlando player. Heck, Jansson is due for one, right? Multiple goals will likely be needed to secure a victory.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday night. Let me know your in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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