Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Five Takeaways

Orlando City emerged from the Leagues Cup play to resume the Major League Soccer season with its first MLS match of August against in-state rivals Inter Miami in front of a sellout crowd at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions continued to ride the offensive wave that broke out against Atlas FC and Club Necaxa into the match against the Herons, resulting in a dominant 4-1 victory and a season sweep of the team from down south. What follows are our five takeaways from a Sunday night under the lights.

Hot Start

Luis Muriel wasted no time putting Orlando City up on the boys in pink. Finding himself on the end of a perfectly weighted pass from Martin Ojeda, Muriel broke past the back line of and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net in the second minute of the match, sending the sold-out crowd into rapture. For Muriel, the goal solidified his recent excellent run of form which saw him secure the club’s second hat trick of the season against Necaxa during the midweek fixture. Ojeda’s assist extended his club-record goal contribution streak to 14 matches in all competitions.

Back to Even

Orlando City fans did not have much time to exhale and enjoy the lead as Inter Miami looked to push the tempo immediately after the opening goal. A headed away clearance by Eduard Atuesta fell to the top of the box, and Designated Player Marco Pasalic was a step too slow to cut in front of a driving Yannick Bright, who struck the ball with conviction and beat the outstretched arms of Pedro Gallese to level the match at 1-1 only three minutes after Orlando City had claimed the lead. It was Bright’s first MLS goal. Truth be told, I am getting a little tired of role players finally finding their legs against the Lions.

Muriel the Catalyst Once Again

Muriel had multiple decent opportunities to find his second goal in the first half after a solid heading attempt fell on frame and then an open net attempt from long range nicked the outside of the post instead of rolling into the net. The Colombian made Orlando City fans wait until the 50th minute of game time to finish one of his most impressive goals of the season. On a short corner, Muriel put a neat spin move on Jordi Alba, maintained his footing, and was able to rifle the ball inside the far post, putting Orlando City up 2-1 and restoring the lead.

Ojeda Stretches the Lead

Ojeda, finally found a goal of his own in the 58th minute on a setup pass from Muriel. The Argentinian put in a world-class effort against some of the best names in soccer and was rewarded with a goal and an assist on the night. Muriel sent Ojeda down the right side with Sergio Busquets marking him. With few options and defensive support starting to arrive, Ojeda smashed a shot toward the near post. Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari could only get a piece of it, as the MLS MVP candidate continued his hot run of form, for all intents and purposes icing the game for Orlando City. It came just moments after Ustari blocked a shot that Ojeda likely still wants back, in which he was 1-v-1 against the keeper and failed to convert the initial shot or the rebound.

Pasalic Joins the Party

With so many goals and assists provided by Ojeda and Muriel throughout the match, the third tip of the Orlando City Designated Player trident may have been feeling a bit left out from all of the celebratory fun. To ensure that he could be a part of the widespread celebrations, Marco Pasalic added his name to the scoresheet in the 88th minute after a wonderful entry ball by Alex Freeman. Pasalic was thwarted on his first effort, but stayed with the play, collected the rebound, and then pulled off one of his patented inside moves to set up his left-foot curler, which found the inside of the far post and put Orlando City up 4-1 to ensure the season sweep of Inter Miami. There has not been a season like this in Orlando, where all three DPs are converting at such a high rate, and the attacking combo of Muriel, Ojeda, and Pasalic still have eight games of the regular season plus at least one more Leagues Cup game to continue their domination.

That is how I saw things in what turned out to be another complete domination of the Herons this season. Let us know what your main takeaways from the match were in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!