Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Orlando City went to Tennessee with a heavily rotated team ahead of the Leagues Cup semifinal against Inter Miami Wednesday night and it showed. This game was over shortly after it started as the Lions fell to Nashville SC 5-1. There’s not much good to say about this game other than it’s over.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances from this disappointing performance.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5.5 — This was a tough one for Gallese, as the goals weren’t goalkeeper errors. He did make four saves, some of which were quality. But, at the end of the day, he conceded five times. The Orlando City goalkeeper had 15 touches, completing nine of his 10 passes and all three long balls. While his distribution was good, it’s a game to forget for the Peruvian international.

D, Adrian Marin, 5.5 — Marin made his Orlando City debut in this game, touching the ball 72 times. He completed 94.8% of his 58 passes, including six of his seven long balls. The left back recorded a tackle, two clearances, a blocked shot, and three aerial wins. Offensively, he took one off-target shot. He was also part of the buildup to Orlando’s only goal, threading the ball forward to Luis Muriel. However, his most memorable moment was not stepping up on the first goal, keeping Sam Surridge onside. He’s not a regular starter, and it was his first appearance for the club, so his defensive mistake was understandable given a lack of familiarity with his fellow defenders, but you can’t give too much credit to a back line that conceded five times.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — Jansson had 72 touches in this game, completing 90.5% of his 63 passes and six of his 10 long balls. The center back recorded a tackle, an interception, three clearances, and an aerial duel won. Meanwhile, he didn’t take any shots or record any offensive statistics. Unfortunately, he too was at fault for a goal, failing to get tight to Hany Mukhtar and allowing the midfielder to make it 3-0 shortly before halftime. The lapse in concentration lowers his grade for the game. Jansson is usually a very dependable and active center back, but he was much less so in this game.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5 — Schlegel touched the ball a team-high 80 times in this game, completing 91.8% of his 73 passes, including one of his three long balls. He had a team-high four tackles, a blocked shot, and an aerial duel won without recording any offensive stats. His negative in this game was getting outjumped by Sam Surridge on the fourth goal. But, overall, he was one of the few decent players. I was wondering if I was actually watching Schlegel, but he reassured me when he was booked in second-half stoppage time.

D, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — Smith got the start at right back, recording 43 touches and completing 90.6% of his 32 passes. However, he didn’t complete either of his two crosses or his two long balls. The versatile defender had a tackle and three clearances defensively while taking one off-target shot offensively. He may not have been directly responsible for a goal, and was shifted into the midfield to try to stop some of the bleeding. But he was part of a back line that conceded four first-half goals before being replaced in the 58th minute by Alex Freeman.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6 (MotM) — Thorhallsson touched the ball 45 times in this game, completing 85.3% of his passes, including two key passes, two of his four crosses, and one of his three long balls. He contributed defensively with an interception and a clearance and didn’t take any shots offensively. It was his giveaway on a long ball across the field that started the attack for Nashville’s first goal, but he’s hardly the one to blame for the concession. Oscar Pareja moved him to right back during the first half while shifting Smith to midfield. Luis Muriel replaced the Icelandic international in the 74th minute.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 5.5 — Gerbet got the start in the defensive midfield, touching the ball 60 times and completing 96.5% of his 57 passes, including a key pass and all five long balls. He didn’t take any shots or record any defensive statistics, but he was far from the biggest problem in this game. Overall, Gerbet was decent as he gets back to full fitness, but he won’t be threatening the starting spots of Cesar Araujo or Eduard Atuesta anytime soon. His night ended in the 89th minute when he was replaced by Zakaria Taifi.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 5 — This was one of Araujo’s most forgettable games as a Lion. He only had 29 touches and completed just 85.2% of his 27 passes. He didn’t have any key passes or crosses, and he failed to complete his lone long ball. He didn’t record any defensive stats and took one off-target shot in a very unusual performance that included some poor giveaways that jumpstarted Nashville’s counter. Araujo is usually among the most dependable players for Orlando City, with a high number of touches and passes. But he was largely absent in this one. Atuesta replaced him in the 58th minute.

MF, Nico Rodriguez, 5.5 — In a rare start, Rodriguez touched the ball 23 times while completing 91.7% of his 12 passes, including two key passes, two of his three crosses, and his lone long ball. He didn’t take any shots and didn’t record any defensive stats in the game. Again, it’s a player who was largely forgettable, as he didn’t make much of an impact before being replaced by Marco Pasalic in the 58th minute.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 5.5 — Enrique had 27 touches in this game, completing 84.6% of his 13 passes, including a key pass and a long ball. The forward put one of his three shots on target but was unable to score. He also contributed a tackle and clearance defensively. It wasn’t a bad night for Enrique, but strikers are judged on goals, and Enrique didn’t produce in the way his team needed, coming closest on one shot that was saved and another that hit the post before halftime.

F, Tyrese Spicer, 5.5 — Spicer started in the forward position for this game, touching the ball 57 times. He only completed 59.3% of his 27 passes but had a key pass. Three of his four crosses and his lone long ball were incomplete. None of his three shots were on target, with one spectacular effort smacking the right post near the crossbar, but he contributed defensively with two tackles, three interceptions, and a clearance. His best contribution was combining with Luis Muriel on the Orlando goal, although his return pass was off line and only knocked back to the Colombian by the defense. Spicer has shown skill in his three appearances and showed some in this game, but he wasn’t able to produce anything of substance.

Substitutes

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5 — Atuesta came on for Araujo in the 58th minute, touching the ball 19 times. He completed 93.3% of his 15 passes, including a key pass and one of his two long balls. His only defensive stat was a blocked shot, and his lone shot was on target. He stood in front of Jeisson Palacios’ shot in second-half stoppage time, but should’ve stepped up to challenge the attacker. Instead, he kept Palacios onside and gave him the time and room to score. I lowered his grade half a point for that reason.

D, Alex Freeman, 5.5 — Freeman came on for Smith in the 58th minute, touching the ball 20 times. He completed 81.3% of his 16 passes, including two key passes and one of his two long balls. He didn’t record any defensive statistics in his 32 minutes of action and didn’t take any shots. Freeman was more active than Smith in this game despite playing fewer minutes. For the starting right back, it was a night of rest as the team prepares for the Leagues Cup semifinal on Wednesday night.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 5.5 — Pasalic replaced Rodriguez in the 58th minute, touching the ball 20 times and completing 86.7% of his 15 passes, including one of his two long balls. He put his lone shot on target and added a clearance defensively. Again, you need your attacking players to show up and make a difference. Unfortunately, even though the result was pretty much decided, Pasalic didn’t do that in this game.

F, Luis Muriel, 4.5 — Muriel had the most eventful seven minutes you could possibly have. He came on for Thorhallsson in the 74th minute, scored his team’s only goal in the 76th minute, and then was sent off in the 81st minute. He wasn’t on the field long enough to do much more, completing one of his two passes and scoring on his only shot. Without the red card, Muriel would’ve had a much higher grade. But his stupid decision to throw his hand into the face of an opponent resulted in a red and, more importantly, a one-game suspension.

D, Zakaria Taifi, N/A — Taifi came on in the 89th minute for Gerbet to finish the game. He had one touch, no passes, no defensive stats, no shots, and was fouled once. The Homegrown defender didn’t have the time to do anything in this game, so he gets an incomplete grade for his brief appearance.

It was a poor performance overall, and nobody played particularly well, so most players got a grade of 5 or 5.5. I gave Thorhallsson my Man of the Match, but it was by default because nobody deserved it. Muriel got a lower grade because of his red card. Let us know how you saw the game, and don’t forget to vote on your Man of the Match below — if you think anyone is even worthy.