Orlando City vs. Atlas FC: Five Takeaways

For Lions faced Liga MX side Atlas FC for the first time in club history Saturday night in the second of three scheduled League Phase matches pitting Major League Soccer against Liga MX in the 2025 version of the Leagues Cup. After squandering a 1-0 lead against Pumas UNAM on Wednesday, Head Coach Oscar Pareja rotated the lineup a bit and saw his side walk away with a 3-1 victory. The result keeps the door open for Orlando City to advance, but it will likely need one more victory and possibly some help from the goal differential gods for the Lions to see their time in the tournament continue. What follows are my five takeaways from a gritty victory.

Angulo Continues Strong Run of Form

For the first time since Oct 5. 2024, Ivan Angulo found the back of the next for the boys in purple. Angulo’s form has improved dramatically since a recent benching, and now he has scored for the first time in 2025. His strike in the ninth minute was a welcome sign for Orlando City fans, as the left side of the attack has been a continual weakness throughout the season thus far. Throughout the match, Angulo continued to get into dangerous positions. He now has a goal and three assists in his last four matches in all competitions, so hopefully his upward trajectory will continue into the last third of the MLS regular season.

Wasted Chance

Nico Rodriguez started on the right wing for Orlando City. He looked like a player who has potential but is still raw, and he showed some of the expected rust around the edges that comes wiht not seeing significant game time. Although he put himself into some good positions in the match, he didn’t help his case for more playing time when he botched a breakaway opportunity in the 12th minute. On one hand, he did well to time his run, cut inside the defender, and use his speed to get in alone on Atlas goalkeeper Antonio Sanchez. Rodriguez beat Sanchez but sent his shot wide of the right post.

Atlas Equalizer

Orlando City fans can’t blame the Atlas equalizer early in the second half on Pareja parking the bus. While Atlas took more control of the match over the second portion of the first half and into the initial moments of the second, the Mexican side found its tying goal on a bizarre play. A ball sent into the box was headed up into the air by David Brekalo, who had an Atlas attacker on his chest. Instead of breaking toward the ball, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Kyle Smith all were caught ball watching and did nothing while Matias Coccaro was able to run onto the ball unimpeded and put the ball past Pedro Gallese. The way in which the visitors scored was strange and had less to do with solid offense and more to do with a lack of concentration by some of Orlando’s most veteran defenders.

Ojeda Responds with Help from Second-Half Subs

It took Orlando City just seven minutes and a couple of fresh faces to regain the lead for good, as Martin Ojeda benefited from an excellent cross into a dangerous area by second-half substitute Alex Freeman. Freeman was sent streaking down the right by fellow sub Marco Pasalic, who drew two defenders toward him, anticipated Freeman’s movement, and sent him an easy ball to handle. Freeman was patient, allowing Ramiro Enrique to draw the attention of the Atlas center backs before finding a path through traffic and delivering the ball to Ojeda, who smashed his shot just under the bar.

Ojeda continues to enjoy his best professional year, striking the ball with confidence and precision. It may have seemed like a lifetime ago that Orlando City has scored multiple goals at home, and that’s because it has. The last time the Lions put more than one goal on the board at Inter&Co Stadium came all the way back on May 21 against Nashville SC in a 3-2 defeat in the U.S. Open Cup.

Designated Players Put It Away

Orlando City not only held onto the lead this time, but extended it to bury the visitors. Ojeda controlled the ball at the top box and placed a pass to send Marco Pasalic in behind with perfect timing. The Croatian never even looked up at the goal but fired a rocket with his left foot into the upper right corner, popping Atlas’ Leagues Cup balloon and eliminating the visitors from reaching the knockout phase. Pasalic was active over the game’s final half hour, figuring prominently in Orlando City’s second and third goals, setting up other opportunities for his teammates, and firing a few other long-range shots — one of which required a good save from Sanchez.

Those are my takeaways from a match that lacked flow at times but ultimately saw the Lions secure all three points. The win means that Orlando will still have something to play for when the Lions face Necaxa on Wednesday. What did you think of the match, and what takeaways were the most important to you from the victory? Let us know in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!