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Orlando City vs. St. Louis City: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 4-2 win over St. Louis City?

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City got back to its winning ways on Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory, though it was a much closer game than it needed to be against a team near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. My fellow math people will appreciate that the game was similar to a sine wave from 0 to 5π/2 as Orlando City opened well, faltered badly, but then ended on a high note, taking all three points in the process. If that went over your head, then dust off that Trigonometry textbook. Your teacher told you that you will use trig someday, and today is that day!

It was not the prettiest result, but wins are wins, and the team will fly home hoping to recover quickly with FC Cincinnati coming to Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday night. I have my purple pen out, and I am ready to issue some grades, so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in their road matchup against a Western Conference opponent.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Orlando City’s No. 1 could do little about either St. Louis goal, and aside from those two shots, he had little to do for most of the game, as St. Louis was unable to generate many threatening shots. Gallese’s best sequence of the game came in second-half stoppage time when he elevated to palm a shot from Brendan McSorley over the crossbar and then came off his line to punch the subsequent corner kick out of the box — an excellent set of plays to cap what until then had been a quiet night. Gallese also completed 15 passes at a 53.6% completion rate.

D, Kyle Smith, 6 — With Rodrigo Schlegel forced to sit out due to yellow card accumulation, David Brekalo shifted over to center back and it was Smith who got the call at left back, as at least for this game he jumped over Rafael Santos on the depth chart. The Accountant was steady on the left side. He did not venture forward a ton and played conservatively behind Iván Angulo and Luis Muriel for most of the game, though he made a few attacking runs and ended up getting off one shot and making two key passes. He completed 54 passes — fourth most on the team — at a 94.6% completion rate and added two tackles on defense. He was partly culpable for the first goal Orlando City allowed, as a long ball from the midfield line went over his head to a streaking Simon Becher, and had Smith been tucked in a little tighter, he may have been able to head that ball away instead of making me think briefly about Billy Hoyle and White Men Can’t Jump as the ball sailed over his head.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Jansson shared the culpability with Smith for that Becher goal, as he was stuck tightly onto Klauss and allowed Becher to slip into the gap and run onto that long ball, and then he was beat by Becher’s cutback that then became a left-footed shot that put St. Louis on the scoreboard. It was understandable why Jansson was tight to Klauss, and it may have been more on Brekalo or Gallese to communicate to Jansson that Becher was making that run and that Brekalo should have shifted to Klauss so Jansson could get in between the ball and Becher, but ultimately the Swede likely expected Smith to handle the danger on that side. Aside from that play, Jansson was solid though, patrolling the middle while blocking three shots and making a game-high 12 clearances — eight more than any other player. The Beefy Swede also completed 91.4% of his passes, looking comfortable playing with Brekalo instead of his usual central partner Schlegel.

D, David Brekalo, 6 — The Slovenian moved to center back with Schegel out, and while he was not directly at fault for either of the goals Orlando City allowed, he was right there for both of them, and had chances to snuff out each. I think Brekalo could have done more to prevent the second goal than the first, as he did not see Klauss, the most dangerous player on St. Louis, moving into the box and setting up right around the penalty spot. When Eduard Atuesta whiffed on a clearance attempt, Brekalo did not have time to react to the miss, so the ball went right past him to Klauss, who wasted no time putting it into the lower corner past Gallese. Klauss has to have a man on him, and with where he was on the field, it should have been Brekalo, but it’s understandable that the Slovenian thought the defense was sufficiently in position to deal with the ball in from the defensive left. Aside from that, Brekalo acquitted himself well alongside Jansson in the middle, going deuces wild with two tackles, interceptions, clearances, and blocks and completing 50 passes at an 87.7% completion rate.

D, Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, 6 — Alex Freeman’s call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team meant that the Icelandic Army knife was deployed at right back again, and while St. Louis tried to attack down its left more than the right, the hosts did not initiate many scoring opportunities against Thórhallsson. Klauss’ goal was scored right in front of Thórhallsson, and there were no other attacking players behind him, so perhaps he could have been tighter to the St. Louis striker, but that goal is mostly on Atuesta, not the Orlando City back line. Thórhallsson also took opportunities to get forward, taking two shots and making two key passes, and he will be frustrated with putting one of his shots over and wide of the target as he had a great opportunity to score, but it was not his best effort. He completed 91.8% of his passes and added two tackles, one interception and three clearances.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6 — The Colombian winger was a key participant in one of the game’s best plays and one of the game’s most frustrating plays — a continuation of his season-long trend of inconsistent play on the left side for the Lions. On the positive side, he made a perfect pass to a cutting Martín Ojeda early in the game for a secondary assist on the game’s opening goal, but on the frustrating side he made a brilliant run up the left side, but then dribbled too deep into the box before trying to pass the ball to a wide-open Enrique, who would have easily scored to make it 4-1. There was no reason to dribble as far as he did, and after watching it five times, I am still not sure what he was thinking or why he did not pass the ball earlier so Enrique could complete his hat trick and restore the three-goal lead. He completed 86.5% of his passes on the night, but he and all of Orlando City’s fans wish he had completed one more pass on that attack. On the defensive side, he was second on the team with three tackles while adding one interception and clearance. But both St. Louis goals came on plays that happened right in front of him, as he was unable to close down the attacker and prevent the passes that led to the shots.

MF, César Araújo, 7.5 — Araújo was excellent on both sides of the ball on Wednesday, doing yeoman’s work in the middle of the field for the Lions. The Uruguayan made a game-leading six tackles and completed the second-most passes in the game (65) at a 95.6% completion rate. His midfield partner, Atuesta, may have walked away with three assists, but Araújo was the better two-way player on the evening, quietly dominating the center of the field and triggering attack after attack for Orlando City, who on a different night could have easily scored six or seven goals. He put both of his shot attempts on target with a pair of headers on set pieces.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 8 — It is rare that a player who made such a gaffe defensively can still earn a score as high as I gave Atuesta, but the Colombian’s passing against St. Louis City was so good that even with that mistake he is in contention for Man of the Match. Atuesta was involved in all four goals for the Lions, and the ball he played to Angulo for the first goal might have been his best pass of the night. That was the one goal on which he did not get an assist. The other pass that I consider in contention for his best pass was the little flick he had to Enrique for the third goal, as he had to weight it perfectly while rushing in to take advantage of a defensive miscue. He did just that, setting up Enrique to smash a shot into the far corner and put Orlando City up 3-0. Atuesta completed 59 passes on the night at an 88.1% completion rate. Seven of those were key passes, a season high for the midfielder. He attempted three shots, putting one on target. He swung and missed on a simple clearance opportunity that allowed St. Louis back into a game it did not deserve to be in, and turned the ball over in the attacking third that led to a dangerous chance on the counter by Klauss, but aside from that, Atuesta was outstanding.

MF, Marco Pašalić, 8.5 (MotM)— What a performance by the Designated Player, with two brilliant strikes from distance that were absolute arrows into the lower corner of the net. The Croatian now has eight goals on the season, and both of these will go on the end-of-season highlight video because of how pure the strikes were. Pašalić was a threat every time he had the ball in this game, as he rampaged down the field at speed multiple times, flying by defenders and putting the St. Louis defenders on their heels. He beat three defenders off the dribble, but it felt like even more, and every time he had the ball it felt like something good was going to happen for the Lions. He completed 40 passes at an 83.3% completion rate and put three of his four shots on target before making way in the 84th minute for Zakaria Taifi in an offense-for-defense substitution.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 8 — I have the receipts on my hope that Orlando City would start Enrique in this game, and I was vindicated just minutes in when Ojeda played a perfect cross into the middle of the box and Enrique timed his run so he could slide right into that cross and get Orlando City on the scoreboard. The Argentine was not done though, as he added a second after Atuesta stole the ball and put him in, and he made no mistake with the shot, blasting it into the far corner. Enrique should have had his hat trick on the play when Angulo did not make the pass in time, and he almost got it in the second half anyway if not for a leaping save by Roman Bürki to keep his shot out of the net. I thought Enrique was excellent at the top of the lineup for the Lions, leading the press on defense and constantly making runs into space on offense. If not for Bürki, he could have had four or even five goals, but he got his brace and hopefully this kicks off a hot streak now that summer is officially here on the calendar. He completed 90.3% of his passes and put three of his shots on target, narrowly missing the net on two other occasions before coming out in stoppage time for Nico Rodríguez.

F, Martín Ojeda, 7.5 — Ojeda will only be credited with one goal contribution — the assist on Enrique’s opener — but he was deeply involved in the offense all game long, and, just like with Enrique, if not for Bürki we would have seen his name on the scoresheet with goals of his own. The Argentinean led all players with 68 completed passes, and he completed them at a 90.7% rate, including going eight for eight on long balls and making three key passes. His offensive strike partners may have gotten all the counting statistics in this game, but make no mistake, it was Ojeda who was pulling the offensive strings, and with the Lions scoring four goals, he definitely pulled the correct ones in a midweek game in Missouri.

Substitutes

F, Luis Muriel, (68′), 5 — Muriel played 22 minutes but was basically a non-factor, even with St. Louis City stretched out while trying to make a comeback to tie the game. He completed eight of his nine pass attempts, but his biggest contribution was in the humor category, when his shorts were pulled off when he got pulled down to prevent a counterattack. He was going to be in on goal if not for that foul, so he could have contributed more, but alas he was pantsed, a sentence I know I have never typed before while delivering grades.

MF, Zakaria Taifi, (84’), N/A — Taifi entered the game for Pašalić and was a bundle of energy for the final minutes, and though he only completed one of his three pass attempts, he added one tackle and one clearance and suffered one foul on a run up the right sideline.

MF, Rafael Santos (90 + 1′), N/A — Santos came on in stoppage time but did not touch the ball or make any plays on defense.

F, Nico Rodríguez (90 + 1), N/A —Rodríguez came on in stoppage time but did not touch the ball or make any plays on defense.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 4-2 win on the road against St. Louis City. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Five Takeaways

What did we learn from a hard-fought win over Nashville SC on Saturday night?

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8 hours ago

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July 26, 2026

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Image of Antoine Griezmann dribbling the ball past Hany Mukhtar of Nashville.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City kept the good vibes rolling on Saturday night, as the Lions fought through tired legs and a weather delay to beat Nashville SC 1-0 and make it two clean sheet wins on the bounce. What follows are my five big thoughts from the victory.

Lions Look Leggy

After playing in California on Wednesday night and missing a number of regular first-team players due to a combination of injuries, suspension, and regaining match fitness, it perhaps wasn’t surprising that a largely unchanged Orlando team looked a little heavy-legged. Bernardo Rhein and Luis Otavio were the only changes from the San Jose victory that saw the Lions play an energetic, high-pressing style, and the team wasn’t able to replicate it on Saturday night. There were moments when the team put together some good passing moves and carved out some dangerous chances, but the execution and fine details just seemed to be missing when they were needed most. In short, OCSC looked like a lowly rotated team playing on short rest after traveling across the country, and it made the win over the Supporters’ Shield leaders that much more impressive.

Bernardo’s Big Night

After making just his second appearance with the first team on Wednesday and signing a Homegrown Player deal earlier on Saturday, Rhein made his first MLS start at left back and turned in a performance that belied his 18 years of age. He helped keep Nashville’s attack quiet by contributing one tackle, one clearance, two interceptions, and five recoveries. He also completed 35 of his 40 passes and created a scoring chance. He played a more balanced role than the offensive minded Griffin Dorsey, and it was notable that Nashville didn’t have much luck when trying to target the youngster’s side of the defense as he went mainly up against former OCB teammate Shak Mohammed. Time will tell if Orlando sticks with Rhein or Marin, or if the club tries to get a new left back in the building, but if nothing else, the team’s newest Homegrown signing has given the club’s decision makers something to think about.

Quiet Evening for Crepeau

Entering Saturday’s game, Nashville had scored 33 goals in 16 games, which was good for the fifth-best attack in the league. Not only did Orlando pitch its second shutout in a row, but it did so in relatively uneventful fashion. OCSC held the ‘Yotes to six shots with just three on target, and neither Hany Mukhtar nor Sam Surridge were able to put a shot on Crepeau’s net. Nashville’s best chances of the game — by Mohammed and Alex Muyl — were right at the Canadian shot stopper, and he had a much quieter game than he did midweek. All six of the Orlando City defenders who played on the night had solid outings, and they played a big part in helping the team pick up its second clean sheet of the year. While Marin looked a little shaky when defending 1-v-1 in wide areas, he still put in two tackles and four clearances in just 20 minutes and rebounded well from a difficult outing against San Jose.

Attacking Trio at it Again

Antoine Griezmann, Justin Ellis, and Ivan Angulo were once again the most impressive starters for Orlando. Griezmann touched the ball a team-high 81 times, Angulo played a game-high three key passes, and Ellis had the all-important assist on the game-winning goal. Griezmann looks every bit the do-it-all Designated Player that he was brought in to be, Angulo has thrived in a hybrid wide midfield/no.10 role, and Ellis was a complete terror with the ball at his feet. The 19-year-old is shifty, physical, an excellent dribbler, and has the vision and confidence to thread passes into tight windows. Enjoy him while you can, because European teams are going to come calling soon, and rightly so.

Spicer Sparks from the Bench

Tyrese Spicer so often seems to thrive when coming off the bench to be a difference maker, and so it was again on Saturday night. He came on for Tiago early in the second half and caused problems for the ‘Yotes with both his willingness to run at the defense and his work rate in pressing and harrying the Nashville players. His three tackles tied Luis Otavio for the most on the team, and he was rewarded for all his hard work when he scored the game-winning goal. Ellis’ no-look through ball was absolutely sublime, and the substitute applied the finish it deserved by smashing his shot past Brian Schwake at the near post before the goalkeeper even had a chance to move. It was the sort of incisive execution that had been missing all night, and he came up big off the bench once again.

Those are the aspects of Saturday’s win that stood out to me. What did you see? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Final Score 1-0 as Spicer’s Goal Sinks League Leaders

The Lions followed up their big win in San Jose by taking down the MLS Supporters’ Shield leaders at home.

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19 hours ago

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July 26, 2026

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Image of Tyrese Spicer shooting against Nashville.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Lions look to be a different team since the World Cup break ended. After beating Western Conference co-leaders San Jose on the road Wednesday, they battled to a hard-fought 1-0 win over MLS Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at Orlando City’s home stadium tonight.

Second-half substitute Tyrese Spicer scored the game’s only goal in the second half to lift the Lions (6-9-2, 20 points) to their second big win of the week. It was only the second loss of the year for Nashville SC (12-2-3, 39 points) as Orlando avenged its 5-0 loss in Tennessee back on March 21.

“Very happy for everyone here in the club. I think this was a really good victory against a very difficult opponent,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “Highlight the effort of our players and highlight the support of our people. Today they brought an amazing energy to the stadium. They filled the stadium. It was a really, really good night. We really enjoyed it.”

Perelman’s side changed out only two starters from Wednesday night’s win at San Jose. Luis Otavio stepped into the midfield for the suspended Eduard Atuesta (yellow card accumulation), while newly signed Homegrown Player Bernardo Rhein made his first MLS start in place of Adrian Marin.

Perleman’s lineup included Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Ivan Angulo, Otavio, Braian Ojeda, and Tiago made up the midfield four, with Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis leading the attack.

After both teams played Wednesday and traveled, it wasn’t surprising that the teams came out after the hour-long weather delay looking to stay organized and prevent chances, leading to a defensive opening half. The Lions started the game with some good pressure early but couldn’t fashion a clear-cut chance.

Nashville’s first opportunity came in the ninth minute, when Hany Mukhtar got forward down the right, but Jansson did well to track back and block his shot out for a corner. Orlando was able to clear the danger to end the threat.

Griezmann was active, spending much of his time out wide on the right, looking to find space to work in against the compact Nashville defense. The Frenchman served in a good cross in the 15th minute, looking for Ellis. The ball was headed weakly goalward by either Ellis or Andy Najar, allowing Brian Schwake to collect it. Ellis got a good look in the 22nd minute after taking a pass from Angulo, but the young forward didn’t make good contact on it. Schwake still had to make a good effort to keep it out, as the placement of the shot was good.

Rhein did well to force a turnover in the 28th minute and Griezmann found space on the left but he fired his shot over the bar.

Nashville came close in the 42nd minute after a long period of back-and-forth possession. He got in behind but Crepeau made himself big and blocked the shot at the end of a sequence in which Angulo looked to get clipped but no call was made, allowing the visitors to break in transition.

Ellis got the last decent look of the half a minute into first-half stoppage time, finding space outside the box. He put his shot on target but right at Schwake.

At the break, Nashville led in possession (51.1%-48.9%) and corners (3-1). Orlando City had the advantage in shots (8-3), shots on target (4-1), and passing accuracy (91.4%-88.8%).

As with the first half, the Lions came out and put Nashville under pressure to start the second half. Griezmann found room for a shot from the top of the box on the left side in the 48th minute but Maxwell Woledzi headed it away. Orlando quickly regained possession and Ellis tried a long-range effort but sent it sizzling over the crossbar.

A minute later, Ellis cut inside from the left and fired, but his shot hit Angulo on the way in.

Griezmann sent second-half sub Spicer down the left in the 57th minute. The speedy winger tried to pick out Dorsey in front but the defense arrived at the same time as Orlando’s right back and broke up the play.

Nashville’s first good look of the second half came in the 63rd minute when the visitors broke in transition and a ball deflected into the path of former Lion Shak Mohammed. He took his shot quickly and hit it well, but Crepeau made the save. Nashville broke again four minutes later and Rhein got caught too high, giving the guests numbers in transition. Ahmed Qasem fired from the right side but the defense deflected it just wide into the outside netting, and the Lions cleared the subsequent corner.

The Lions broke the scoreless deadlock moments later. Ellis did well to bring the ball forward and drew the defense before releasing it through traffic to Spicer on the left. The Trinidad & Tobago international angled in from the left and blasted a shot past Schwake and in to make it 1-0 in the 72nd minute.

“Leading up to the goal, I know Justin likes to dribble a lot, and I was just like, you know, let me give it to him and run in the space,” Spicer said. “But I know he was going to cut in, and I was just waiting for it. I was yelling his name as loud as I could, like just give it to me. And as soon as I got that ball, I know I had to go first (touch). It was just like muscle memory, there.”

From there, the Lions did well to see out the game, withstanding some Nashville pressure and several set pieces without allowing anything too dangerous to develop. There were a few nervy moments when clearance attempts didn’t quite go as planned, but it’s a testament to the Orlando City defensive effort that it held to just six shot attempts on the night. The high-scoring duo of Sam Surridge and Mukhtar combined did not manage a shot on target in the match.

In the end, Nashville controlled more of the possession (55.3%-44.7%) and won more corners (7-2), but Orlando City finished with more shots (12-6) and shots on target (6-3). Both teams passed at an 89.7% rate.

“Happy with the win. More than anything, I take away the effort from the whole team — the work we put in from the first minute until the end,” Griezmann said. “We played against the team at the top of the table, a great team. It was difficult for us to create chances because we came up against a very good defense, but we managed to score that goal.”

“I think this is a very big win,” Spicer said. “Just coming into the back to the league, facing San Jose, who was like second in the West, and then facing Nashville. I know we had like a big task against us, but leading up to the game, winning this game is a big momentum to carry us through the season.”

“I think at the end of the day, it is the the players. I mean, we coaches we can do many tactics, but at the end of the day, the protagonists are the players, and I think our players today, they performed really well,” Perelman said. “They did a huge effort both with and without the ball, and I think that’s the reason (for the win). If I need to find one (reason), then again we faced a really, really good opponent that we respect very much, and it was a really tough game. I’m happy we could win it.”

The Lions head back on the road for a match a week from tonight at New York Red Bulls before starting up Leagues Cup play through the middle of August.

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

The Lions look to build on Wednesday’s impressive win at San Jose, but it won’t be easy against the MLS leaders.

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1 day ago

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July 25, 2026

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Image of Braian Ojeda dribbling the ball up the field against Nashville.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (5-9-2, 17 points) and Nashville SC (12-1-3, 39 points) on the Lions’ home grounds (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the first of second of the two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference clubs in the 2026 regular season.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 5-4-4 against Nashville in MLS regular-season matches and 7-6-5 in all competitions. Orlando is 3-2-1 at home in the regular season against Nashville and 4-3-4 in all competitions in the City Beautiful against tonight’s visitors.

It’s wrong to say the most recent meeting between the sides was a forgettable one for Orlando City fans, as 5-0 beatdowns tend to stick in the memory. That’s exactly what happened on March 21, as Martin Perelman suffered his first loss as Orlando’s interim head coach in his first road match and second game overall. Sam Surridge scored a hat trick, with Cristian Espinoza and Warren Madrigal also finding the net on a terrible night in Tennessee.

The last time these teams met in Orlando took place on Sept. 20, 2025, with the Lions winning 3-2. Martin Ojeda scored two goals two minutes apart to give Orlando a first-half lead, but Hany Mukhtar and Jacob Shaffelburg scored moments before and after halftime, respectively, to knot things up. Duncan McGuire’s goal deep in stoppage time lifted the Lions to all three points. Just a few weeks earlier in Nashville, on Aug. 23, things did not go well for the Lions as Nashville SC blasted Orlando 5-1. Surridge and Mukhtar netted braces and Jeisson Palacios added a late goal. Luis Muriel scored a consolation goal to spoil the shutout.

These teams faced each other in U.S. Open Cup play on May 21, 2025 with Nashville claiming a 3-2 road win. Marco Pasalic provided the Lions with an early lead before an own goal by Rodrigo Schlegel and an Ahmed Qasem goal put Nashville ahead at the break. Ramiro Enrique equalized in the second half, but Wyatt Meyer’s goal knocked Orlando out of the competition.

The teams met at Inter&Co Stadium on Aug. 31, 2024 with the Lions blasting Nashville 3-0. Facundo Torres’ brace and an opening goal by Ivan Angulo led Orlando City to the season sweep. Orlando City visited Nashville SC at Geodis Park on July 17, 2024, with the Lions cruising to a 3-0 road win. Goals by Cesar Araujo and Enrique sandwiched an Alex Muyl own goal as Orlando City got its fourth consecutive shutout victory over Nashville.

The teams met at the end of the previous season on Nov. 7, 2023 in the best-of-three, first-round playoff series. The Lions got an early goal from Angulo in a 1-0 win to sweep the series. Orlando City drew first blood in the series by beating Nashville 1-0 on Oct. 30, 2023 at Exploria Stadium. Wilder Cartagena’s blast from outside the area provided the game’s only score.

The teams met in the 2023 regular season on Oct. 4, with Orlando City stealing a 1-0 win in Music City on McGuire’s goal just before halftime. That was one of only two shot attempts by the Lions all night and the only one on target. Orlando played well defensively and Pedro Gallese didn’t have to make a save as the hosts didn’t put any shots on frame. Nashville visited Orlando on April 1 of 2023 at Exploria Stadium and it was the visitors who made fools of the Lions, as Nashville won, 2-0. Fafa Picault and Mukhtar did the damage for Nashville.

The teams did not face each other in the regular season play the year before, meeting only in the U.S. Open Cup in Orlando on June 29, 2022. Mukhtar scored in the second half, and that looked like it would be enough until Schlegel equalized deep in stoppage time. After a scoreless 30 minutes of extra time, the Lions won the ensuing penalty shootout, 6-5.

These clubs met in the 2021 postseason in Tennessee, with Orlando scoring first through Daryl Dike’s early goal, but Nashville won 3-1 on Nov. 23, 2021 to knock the Lions out of the playoffs. Mukhtar tied it up before halftime on a fluky deflected goal off of Antonio Carlos and then put his team ahead in the second half. Jhonder Cadiz put things away deep in stoppage time.

The teams met in Orlando on Oct. 31, 2021 and ended in a 1-1 draw after referee Allen Chapman’s Halloween Heist chalked off Andres Perea’s apparent stoppage-time winner. The referee’s excuse for overturning the goal was an imagined foul on Dike, who, if anything, was the fouled party. The decision cost the Lions a valuable home playoff match, which instead sent Orlando to Nashville. Mukhtar scored for Nashville to equalize in the second half after Dike’s first-half goal.

The teams met in Nashville on Sept. 29, 2021 with a late rally by the Lions earning the team a 2-2 road draw at Nissan Stadium. The hosts had taken a 2-0 lead on goals by Mukhtar — scoring off the rebound of his own saved penalty — and Randall Leal, but a penalty by Dike and a stoppage-time own goal by Brian Anunga turned the game around. On Aug. 18 of that season, the teams finished in another 1-1 draw. C.J. Sapong put the hosts ahead in the first half and Carlos leveled the score in the second half.

The teams met on Decision Day of 2020 at Exploria Stadium, with Orlando melting down late, allowing two goals from the 88th minute on, and falling 3-2 at home on Nov. 8, 2020 — the team’s only home loss of the season. Dike and Nani goals sandwiched a strike by Daniel Lovitz, giving the Lions a lead until late. Headers by Mukhtar and Cadiz just before and into stoppage time turned the game on its head.

In the Lions’ first trip to Nissan Stadium, the teams played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 2, 2020. Benji Michel put the Lions ahead with a stunner of a goal, but Leal knotted things up and that’s the way the match ended. That draw came a week after a 3-1 Orlando City win on Aug. 26 at Exploria Stadium. Dave Romney opened the scoring for Nashville, but Orlando scored the last three. Dike scored a brace and Chris Mueller added a goal.

Overview

The Lions are coming off an impressive 4-0 win at San Jose in their first game after the World Cup break. Antoine Griezmann made his MLS debut and opened his Orlando City account, but it was a team effort. David Brekalo and Angulo gave the Lions the lead, with Griezmann and Braian Ojeda ensuring there would be no Quakes comeback. Maxime Crepeau had his best night in goal for Orlando to help the cause. While it was impressive that it happened at all, let alone without the injured Martin Ojeda, Designated Player Marco Pasalic, or newly re-signed Dike, it remains to be seen if it was a one-off after the layoff or the start of something for the Lions.

Orlando City is just 3-3-1 at home this season, but that’s still far better than its road record.

Nashville SC has been dominant all season — maybe not always quite as dominant as it was on March 21 against the Lions, but still quite good. The Coyotes are seven points clear in the Supporters’ Shielf race and lead MLS with both the most wins (12), fewest losses (1), and goal differential (+22). Tonight’s opponent has only dropped points on the road three times, going 4-1-2 away from Geodis Park. Nashville rides a five-game winning streak and nine-game unbeaten run into tonight and hasn’t allowed a goal in its last two outings.

To get anything from this game, Orlando City must figure out a way to stop (or at least significantly slow down) Nashville’s star forwards, Surridge and Mukhtar (I would add Espinoza here but he’s ruled out with a lower body injury). Both Surridge and Mukhtar have absolutely destroyed Orlando City over the years. Surridge has scored 10 goals in MLS play this season, with Mukhtar chipping in six goals and five assists. At the other end, Palacios has paired with Maxwell Woledzi to form a solid central defense in front of emerging goalkeeper Brian Schwake. This second meeting is going to be another difficult matchup for the Lions, who will need their best performance to take anything from this game.

The Lions will be without Martin Ojeda (thigh), Nolan Miller (knee), Joran Gerbet (knee), Eduard Atuesta (yellow card suspension), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archange (international duty), however, Marco Pasalic has only recently returned to Orlando from the World Cup and Dike is still returning to match fitness, so they may also be missing when the lineup drops.

Nashville will be without Chris Applewhite (international duty), Espinoza (lower body), Madrigal (lower body), Joe Willis (lower body), and Patrick Yazbek (lower body), while Reed Baker-Whiting is questionable with (what else) a lower body injury.

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

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

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Luis Otavio, Tiago.

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Gustavo Caraballo, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer.

Nashville SC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Brian Schwake.

Defenders: Daniel Lovitz, Jeison Palacios, Maxwell Woledzi, Josh Bauer.

Midfielders: Alex Muyl, Matthew Corcoran, Edvard Tagseth.

Forwards: Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge, Shak Mohammed.

Bench: Joe Willis, Andy Najar, Jack Maher, Thomas Williams, Bryan Acosta, Woobens Pacios, Jordan Knight, Ahmed Qasem, Charles Brunet.

Referees

REF: Ramy Touchan.
AR1: Eric Weisbrod.
AR2: Meghan Mullen.
4TH: Carlos Rodriguez.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Kevin Huet.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: 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 game. Go City!

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