Orlando City vs. LA Galaxy: Three Keys to Victory

Despite falling in the semifinals earlier this week, Orlando City’s Leagues Cup campaign is not yet over. The top three finishers in the competition earn Concacaf Champions Cup berths for next season, so that means the Lions need to play one more match in order to determine where they finish and who gets the competition’s final berth in the continental competition next year. OCSC will travel out west to face the LA Galaxy Sunday evening, as the Lions’ next opponents dropped a 2-0 result to the Seattle Sounders in the other semifinal match. What follows are my three keys to Orlando City getting a win in the third-place game.

Mute the Big Three

Similar to Orlando City, most of the threat from the Galaxy comes from three players, with Marco Reus, Gabriel Pec, and Joseph Paintsil being the main men for the home side. Reus has vastly improved on an injury-riddled 2024 campaign and has five goals and nine assists in 21 league games. Paintsil has five goals and two assists in one fewer game, while Pec has five goals and five assists in 24 league matches. Matheus Nascimiento has done some good things as well, with three goals and three assists, but the aforementioned trio of players make the Galaxy tick. The Lions need to focus on preventing them from combining with each other in the final third, because that’s when the Galaxy tend to get things going on offense.

Quick Attacks in Transition

Orlando has been at its best this year when it forces turnovers in the midfield or defensive third, and then breaks the other way. Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda in particular have formed a nice tandem when it comes to the Lions hitting teams on the counter. At times in the Galaxy’s semifinal loss to the Seattle Sounders, LA got caught with numbers upfield and Seattle was able to break the other way and carve out some great opportunities in transition. If Orlando is aggressive at pushing the ball upfield after winning it, then the chances are going to be there. The good guys just need to put them away.

Make the Most of Set Pieces

The Galaxy looked shaky against set pieces at times in their semifinal. There were several instances of corners not being cleared properly at first, and the second goal they conceded came as a result of a long throw in. OCSC hasn’t been otherworldly from set pieces this year, but the Lions have managed to bag some goals from them, with Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and Alex Freeman always threats in the air. If Adrian Marin slots in for the suspended David Brekalo, he has some good height as well, and we know that Cesar Araujo is more than capable of unleashing a long throw-in. This is a match with a lot riding on it, so the Lions need to make the most of any advantage that they can find, and set pieces could very well be an area to exploit.

There you have it. Silence LA’s big three, hit the Galaxy quickly in transition, and make the most of set piece situations, and the Lions will have put themselves in a good position to earn a Concacaf Champions Cup berth.