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

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 6-0 away loss against LAFC?

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3 months ago

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Image of Ivan Angulo trying to dribble past an LAFC defender.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City was never really in the game on Saturday night, as the Lions were on the back foot from the jump and ended up flat on their backs in the fetal position by the end, losing 6-0 to a rampant LAFC. If there was any positive it was that the second half went better than the first half, but the Lions were still unable to put any shots into the goal, making it three straight away games without a goal scored. Yuck.

I have my purple pen out, though I am once again going to need to use the red one liberally, so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in a matchup with a Western Conference opponent.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crépeau, 4.5 — The Canadian might want to take a trip down to the Men In Black ride at Universal Studios to see if they have a Neuralyzer available, because he allowed six goals on seven shots on target and will want to forget this game ever happened. He did not play poorly, and none of the goals can be pinned solely on him for mistakes, but six goals on seven shots on target is yet another terrible six-seven reference, and possibly the worst one that is reasonably applicable to a soccer match. He completed 86.7% of his passes and he made two saves while collecting several other balls from dangerous areas, but it was a rough night for Crépeau and the entire Orlando City defense.

D, Iago, 3.5 — Iago started the game as a bit of a left back in a four-man back line / left center back in a five-man back line hybrid. That defense did not work well and he did not play well either. In fairness to him, he has played mostly center back in his young career, but he was repeatedly beaten by LAFC attackers going up the right side (Orlando’s defensive left) and he once again did not close down attacking players quickly enough. The Brazilian played much better in a traditional center back role in the second half, but the damage was done in the first half, and it should be clear to the coaching staff that Iago should stick to the center of defense in the future. He completed a game-high 73 passes at a 97.3% completion rate and was able to put one shot on target, but the fact that he made zero tackles while playing the full 90 minutes is indicative of his defensive performance in the game. He added two interceptions, one block, and two clearances, but he did not play well.

D, Nolan Miller, 3.5 — The rookie from the University of Michigan fared far worse than his former university’s basketball team did in its Final Four game on Saturday night, as LAFC owned the center of the box like Miller and the other defenders were not even on the field. Despite LAFC dominating the game in the first half, Miller did not make any tackles, and he only recorded one interception and three clearances. He completed a perfect 100% of his passes, but only one pass was in the attacking half of the field and most went directly sideways or backwards. LAFC had everything working on Saturday night, so it would have been difficult for anyone in central defense, and it was another “welcome to the pros” moment for the young defender who has been forced to play far more minutes than the team expected him to during the first six games of the season.

D, David Brekalo, 3.5 — Brekalo has far more experience than his central defense partner Miller, but it was hard to tell that by how he played during the first half of Saturday night’s match. Own goals frequently are more about luck than poor play, but the one scored by Brekalo came as he was trying to block a cross from going onto the foot of Nathan Ordaz and he just scuffed the clearance and put it right into his own goal. He timed the defensive run well and got into good position, and then just failed to deal with the cross. That poor play was indicative of the whole evening for Brekalo and the defense in general, and though he filled up the stat sheet with a 94.5% passing completion percentage, two tackles, two interceptions, three blocks, and seven clearances, the stat that matters most was six, which was how many goals LAFC scored. Four of the six goals came from Brekalo’s defensive zone, with a fifth being the one he put into his own net, and I think it is time that Orlando City looks at moving him back out to left back.

D, Braian Ojeda, 4.5 — The man we call Defensive Ojeda literally started in defense for this game, playing as the right back with Griffin Dorsey out injured. The Paraguayan was not terrible but he clearly is not a right back, and got caught out of position frequently. Denis Bouanga is a handful for even the best right backs, and while Ojeda gave his customary full effort, he should not play right back again this season. Ojeda returned to the middle of the field and was much better at his natural position in the second half, but the game was done and dusted at that point. He completed 91.4% of his passes and added one tackle, three interceptions, and two clearances on defense.

D/MF, Iván Angulo, 5 — Stop me if you have heard this before, but the Colombian once again stood out as one of the best Orlando City players on the field. Angulo played in his customary left wing position but he dropped all the way back as a left back in a five-man back line on occasion. He had a glorious chance to get Orlando City on the scoreboard early in the game when he broke out with the ball on a four-on-two counterattack, but his cross-field pass to Marco Pašalić was poorly hit, leading to a turnover. LAFC scored just minutes later and never looked back. It was one of the only truly poor plays by Angulo during the game, as he completed 94.4% of his passes, including two key passes, and also put both of his shots on target, but in a game against one of the league’s best teams that pass needed to be better to give his team a chance to take an early lead and completely change the tenor of the game.

MF, Colin Guske, 4.5 — The young defensive midfielder definitely was far more defensive than midfielder against LAFC, as his heatmap was heavily red in the defensive part of the field. Guske was fine in this game, as he completed 89.7% of his passes and added two tackles, three interceptions, and three clearances, but he could not help stem the tide of LAFC’s attacks. Orlando City went to a traditional back four for the second half and brought on players who actually play left and right back, and that allowed Braian Ojeda to return to the midfield, which meant that Guske came off after 45 minutes.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 3.5 — The former LAFC player did not have it against his former team, as this was one of Atuesta’s worst performances as a Lion. He was slow on the ball and turned it over repeatedly, losing possession 12 times in only 68 minutes. While he completed 90.7% of his passes, there were few incisive passes to unlock an attacking player, and he was frequently just a passenger as opposed to a driver on the field. Defensively he added one tackle and two clearances, and though he is nominally more of an offensive player than Guske, I was disappointed it was Guske and not Atuesta who came off at halftime.

MF, Marco Pašalić, 4.5 — Pašalić brought his dribbling shoes to Los Angeles but not much else, as he completed a game-high three dribbles but only took one off-target shot and completed 84.8% of his passes, while losing possession 17 times. He was also dribbled past three times, and his partnership with Braian Ojeda out on the right side was unsurprisingly poor, as those two had never played on the right side together before in a game. When Zakaria Taifi came on in the second half, Pašalić played a little better, but he did not bring very much to the table during this game, aside from one corner kick that should have netted him a secondary assist, but Luis Otávio was unable to put his header from point-blank range on frame.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 5.5 (MotM) — On another day against another goalkeeper Offensive Ojeda might have scored twice, but instead he was denied by Hugo Lloris on both of the well-struck shots he put on target. The Argentine’s first half was poor, while his second half was much more like the Ojeda from 2025, but alas, the final product was not fully there. He completed 85.3% of his passes, including two key passes, and was really the only Orlando City player who consistently seemed interested in attacking the net with aggression. All that aggression was for naught though, and the Lions desperately need Ojeda to not only look but finish like he did last season.

F, Tiago, 4.5 — Tiago got the start over Duncan McGuire, but with how poorly Orlando City played it would not have mattered who was starting up top for the Lions, as there was barely any service to the striker position in the first half. The Brazilian had 21 touches, but they were evenly split between the attacking and defending halves of the field, as he frequently had to drop deep to help defend. He completed 100% of his passes, but that was only over seven pass attempts and only one pass was in the attacking half of the field. The hustle was there, as evidenced by his two tackles and one clearance, but unluckily for him he received his minutes in the first half, when LAFC absolutely dominated the game and Orlando City rarely had the ball on the attack.

Substitutes

D, Tahir Reid-Brown (46′), 4.5 — Orlando City came out in its traditional back four alignment for the second half, and Reid-Brown slotted in at left back for the final 45 minutes. LAFC did not attack with the same venom as the first half but part of that had to do with a better back line performance, and the young defender played a role in helping to settle the defense. He completed 90% of his passes, though perhaps his best pass of the game was an unsuccessful cross attempt, which went incomplete but was one of the most dangerous balls played by an Orlando City player all game long.

D, Zakaria Taifi, (46′), 4.5 — The insertion of Taifi at right back was a catalyst for Pašalić, as it was not a coincidence that the Croatian looked a lot more lively in the second half than the first. Taifi is far more attack minded than Braian Ojeda, but that also left the right side exposed behind him on his forays up the field. LAFC’s only goal of the second half happened in front of Taifi, as the young defender did not close down Jacob Shaffelburg, and with extra time the LAFC man put a perfect cross into the middle that took the score to 6-0. Taifi completed 73.3% of his passes and added one clearance on defense, and though he allowed that assist, I thought it was a decent performance by the right back and one he can build on for the future.

F, Duncan McGuire (46′), 4.5 — Big Dunc came on for Tiago but created no more offense than the starter, even though Orlando City played much better offensively in the second half. McGuire brought his trademark hustle and effort, but he was not sharp with his touch, completing 100% of his pass attempts (13) but losing possession of the ball seven times. He should have had an assist to Otávio, as he made a near post run on a corner kick and flicked it right through the defense to the back post, but his teammate was unable to put the ball in the net. At some point the hustle and work rate is going to get McGuire going again, but it did not happen at LAFC.

MF, Luis Otávio, (68′), 5 — The Brazilian’s 22-minute performance was by far his best of the season, and it is probably not a coincidence that it came after a two-week break when he could finally really settle in after a shortened preseason due to injury. He completed all of his pass attempts and unleashed a wicked shot from long range that Lloris had to save at full extension, and he looked significantly more comfortable on the field. If he can consistently play like he did against LAFC, he will have a chance to move back up the central midfield depth chart.

MF, Yutaro Tsukada, (86′), N/A —Tsukada came on late for Angulo and looked to attack, but he was unable to create anything significant. He completed all five of his pass attempts but had little opportunity to contribute much else in his limited time on the field.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s disappointing 6-0 loss at LAFC. 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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Lion Links: 7/20/26

Pride fall to Utah Royals, OCB draws Chattanooga FC, Orlando City signs Clovis Archange, and more.

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1 hour ago

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July 20, 2026

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Image of Pedro Leao taking a penalty against Carolina Core FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy at work, but I checked out a Noah Kahan concert and watched the World Cup final while catching up with friends over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando Pride Fall at Utah Royals

The Orlando Pride fell 1-0 to the Utah Royals at America First Field Saturday night. Narumi Miura scored the lone goal for Utah to secure the win, while the Pride have lost back-to-back matches after losing to Boston Legacy Wednesday. That result also dropped Orlando below the playoff line, as the club sits ninth in the NWSL table with 20 points. The Pride will return home for their next match against the Chicago Stars Friday at Inter&Co Stadium.

OCB Wins Penalty Shootout After 1-1 Draw vs. Chattanooga FC

Orlando City B drew Chattanooga FC 1-1 on the road at Finley Stadium Saturday. Pedro Leao scored the opener for the Young Lions in the first half. However, in the second half, Chattanooga FC scored the equalizer. The Young Lions won the penalty shootout 4-3 to earn a second point. OCB will be back in action at home Sunday, facing Huntsville City FC at Osceola County Stadium.

Orlando City Signs Clovis Archange to Homegrown Player Contract

Orlando City announced Friday that the club has signed defender Clovis Archange to a Homegrown Player contract with the first team. The deal is a three-year contract lasting through the 2027 calendar year, with club options in 2028 and 2029. Archange has made six appearances across all competitions for OCB during the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season.

Latest MLS Transfer Roundup

According to Tom Bogert of The Athletic, there is no movement on the rumored Orlando City forward Marco Pasalic’s potential transfer to Hull City, but the English Premier League side has reportedly inquired about a loan deal.

The Columbus Crew have signed former Manchester United and Real Oviedo center back Eric Bailly. The contract runs through June 2027, with club options for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 seasons. Liga MX side CF Monterrey is reportedly finalizing a deal to sign Chicago Fire forward Hugo Cuypers.

LAFC has reportedly reached an agreement with Hammarby on a transfer fee to move midfielder Amin Boudri to the Swedish club. Lastly, San Diego FC is reportedly finalizing a deal to sign winger Elias Achouri from FC Copenhagen.

🇹🇳 Sources: San Diego FC is finalizing a deal to sign Tunisia int'l winger Elias Achouri from FC Copenhagen.Achouri, 27, joins San Diego as a Designated Player. He had 5g/7a in 2,368 mins (37 apps) last year & played in all 3 games for Tunisia at the World Cup

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-07-18T16:37:04.314Z

Spain Wins World Cup

Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, Sunday to win the World Cup for the second time since 2010. Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off in stoppage time after committing a foul on Spain defender Pau Cubarsi. The match went to extra time, and Ferran Torres scored the winning goal for Spain in the 106th minute. Argentina was unable to find a late equalizer to send the match to penalties. Argentina was looking to repeat as champions but had only two shots in the game (both in extra time) and failed to record a shot on goal. As for the FIFA World Cup awards, Spain midfielder Rodri took the Best Player Award, while France striker Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot Award with 10 goals, the Golden Glove Award went to Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon, and Cubarsi won the Young Player Award.

Free Kicks

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Daryl Dike Returns to Orlando City, Signs Deal Through 2027

Daryl Dike is back with the Lions after being out of contract with West Bromwich Albion.

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3 days ago

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July 17, 2026

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Image of Daryl Dike posing in his Orlando City kit after re-signing with the club on July 17, 2026.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Striker Daryl Dike has returned to the club that gave him his professional start. Orlando City announced today that it has signed Dike as a free agent through the 2027 MLS “sprint season” with an option for 2027-2028. The club also had to send $75,000 in 2027 General Allocation Money (GAM) to the Seattle Sounders in exchange for Dike’s Discovery Priority and could owe the Western Conference side another $75,000 in GAM if Dike meets undisclosed performance metrics.

The signing gives Dike a new start after an injury-plagued career at West Bromwich Albion.

“Daryl is a player our club and our fans know well, and we’re very excited to welcome him back to Orlando,” Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in a club press release. “He brings a powerful combination of strength, speed, and physical presence, and his ability to hold up play, bring teammates into the attack, and finish chances gives us another important option up front. Daryl has already shown what he can do in our league and in this city, and we look forward to helping him make an impact again in purple.” 

Dike, who will wear No. 9 for the Lions, returns nearly five years since Orlando City sold him to West Brom on Jan. 3, 2022, for a fee reported by The Athletic to be around $10 million.

The Edmond, OK native was Orlando City’s first-round selection with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. As a rookie, he started to see minutes on the pitch during the MLS is Back Tournament, making his professional debut against the Montreal Impact in the competition’s round of 16. From there, the striker out of the University of Virginia blossomed, playing in 35 regular-season matches with Orlando, including 30 starts, for a total of 2,547 minutes. He contributed 18 goals and seven assists on 63 shots, getting 27 on target. He passed well (71.1% in 2020 and 72.1% in 2021), providing 14 key passes. Dike drew 71 fouls while committing 40 and was never booked during the regular season in his time in MLS.

He also played in all three of Orlando City’s playoff games during his first stint with the club, starting all three and scoring one goal on five total shots (two on target). He suffered seven fouls and committed four, and picked up one yellow card in the 2020 postseason.

Following his rookie season, Dike went on loan to Barnsley, where he scored nine goals in 22 matches from February to May of 2021.

Dike’s play with the Lions in his first two professional seasons quickly put him on the USMNT radar and before he was sold to West Brom he made eight appearances and scored three goals for the United States at the senior level. He has added two more caps since for a total of 10.

After his sale to West Brom in the EFL Championship, Dike struggled to stay on the pitch, dealing with Achilles injuries that kept him off the pitch for long stretches. Dike managed to score 11 goals in 68 matches when healthy. He scored twice and added an assist in 24 matches in 2025-2026, starting six times, as he was finally able to get a stretch of games in.

“I’m thrilled to be back where it all started,” Dike said in the club’s press release. “Orlando is where I first got the opportunity to play professionally, and returning here feels like coming home. From the moment I arrived the first time, I felt welcomed, and that same feeling has only grown since I’ve come back. Everyone has been incredibly supportive, and I’m grateful to be back in Orlando.” 

What It Means for Orlando City

Dike fills a hole vacated by the trade of Duncan McGuire to the Houston Dynamo a week ago. It will be interesting to see where his salary slots in when the MLS Players’ Association reveals its next salary information. McGuire, who had his own injury struggles in recent years, made a base salary of $600,000 and a total guaranteed annual compensation of over $920,000.

The hope will be that Dike can both stay healthy and contribute at a higher level than McGuire was prior to his trade to Houston. The new scenery may do McGuire good and a return to familiar surroundings may similarly help Dike regain his footing. At just 26 years old, Dike is still in his prime years and there are plenty of miles left in Dike’s legs if he can stay on the pitch. Fans will remember how he tossed center backs around like rag dolls during his two previous seasons in Orlando. That kind of physicality will open a lot of room underneath for Antoine Griezmann and Martin Ojeda.

With just a year and a half on the base deal, this is a low-risk and potentially very high-reward signing for the Lions.

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Flashback Friday: July 15, 2023 at Atlanta United

Let’s rewind to a tense battle up in Atlanta that took place a little over three years ago.

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3 days ago

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July 17, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Well everyone, Major League Soccer is officially back. The league returned from its summer hiatus with three games Thursday night (four were scheduled but air quality from the Canadian wildfires caused Chicago vs. Vancouver to be postponed), and two more games are set to be played later today. Orlando City won’t take the field until Wednesday night against the San Jose Earthquakes though, so that means we have time for one more trip down memory lane. Last week, we went four years into the past and reminisced on a weird 1-0 win over Inter Miami that came courtesy of a Damion Lowe own goal. Today, we go back to mid-July 2023 and a road trip against Atlanta United.

Orlando had been in mostly good form heading into the team’s trip up I-75 to take on the Five Stripes but had hit a sizable bump in the road in the previous match in the form of a 4-0 hammering out west against Real Salt Lake. Oscar Pareja went to his usual 4-2-3-1 in an effort to get back to winning ways, with Pedro Gallese in goal; Rafael Santos, Antonio Carlos, Robin Jansson, and Kyle Smith at the back; Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena at the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in attacking midfield, and Duncan McGuire leading the line.

The Lions seemed determined to put the previous game’s woes behind them and fashioned a chance with not even a minute played. McGuire played a slick pass behind the defense for Pereyra, but a poor first touch let him down and Brad Guzan came off his line well to save from point-blank range. Torres, McGuire, and Araujo then tried shots in the fifth, sixth, and eighth minutes, respectively, but none of them troubled Atlanta’s goalkeeper.

Orlando then took its foot off the gas a bit after trying to come out of the gates and overwhelm the hosts, but some self-inflicted errors gave the Five Stripes some life and eventually led to them opening the scoring. The Lions took a poor throw-in during the 22nd minute which turned the ball over deep in their own defensive third. Miguel Berry drew four OCSC players to him before flicking a ball over the top for Machop Chol. Carlos saved Chol’s deflected shot off the line but Caleb Wiley was first to the loose ball and did well to lift his shot into the net over a recovering Gallese.

Fortunately, the good guys were able to find a quick response. Orlando had a dangerous free kick just three minutes after conceding, and Pereyra curled in a dangerous ball toward the penalty spot. Carlos rose highest and powered a vicious header into the far corner with Guzan left helpless.

Leveling the game gave Orlando a needed injection of belief. McGuire tried his luck at catching Guzan off his line in the 35th minute, and Angulo put a powerful shot just outside the post two minutes later. Smith even had a pop from distance in the 42nd minute, but it went high and that was the last meaningful action of the half.

Atlanta ended the opening 45 minutes with more of the ball (52.1%-47.9%) and more corners (2-0), while OCSC took more shots (7-5) put more shots on target (3-2), and passed more accurately (81.3%-78.2%).

The two teams traded chances after a slow start to the second half, with a deflected ball trickling just wide of the Atlanta net in the 51st minute, before Santiago Sosa put a ball onto the roof of Gallese’s goal four minutes later.

Orlando then went ahead in the 60th minute. Pereyra split Atlanta’s center backs with a great ball for McGuire, who held off Luis Abram’s recovery efforts, and put a low shot past Guzan and into the side netting.

The good guys really should have bagged an insurance goal in the 68th minute, but Ramiro Enrique’s diving header went off the post and out after a great cross from Torres. Pareja then switched to five at the back to try to see out the game, and Atlanta managed to generate some chances. Thiago Almada and Matheus Rossetto had chances in the 88th and 90th minutes, but nothing came of them. The most dangerous moment occurred deep in stoppage time. Atlanta had a dangerous free kick in the 98th minute, and Almada sent a wicked-looking effort on net, but Gallese got over well and put two strong hands on it to parry away.

Atlanta took the resulting corner, but the Lions cleared successfully and the final whistle blew to give the visitors a 2-1 win and all three points.

Atlanta finished with more possession (59.2%-40.8%), corners (7-1), and shot attempts (17-10), but each side put four shots on target. The hosts were also more accurate when it came to passing the ball (84%-76.3%).

Marcus Mitchell was on Player Grades for this one, and he gave Carlos the Man of the Match nod with a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Other high scorers on the evening were Pereyra and McGuire, who each earned grades of 7 out of 10.

Here’s hoping the Lions can pick up some road points in a similar fashion when they return to play next Wednesday. Vamos Orlando!

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