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

Antoine Griezmann made his first home appearance in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday night, and he and the Lions sent those fans home smiling. Supporters’ Shield race-leading Nashville SC couldn’t overcome a suddenly stout Orlando defense, and Tyrese Spicer fired a scorcher into the net to give the Lions a 1-0 win and three much-needed points.

Nashville and Orlando were both without some imprtant players, but the Lions were the better team at nearly every position, so I don’t think that played a major factor in this matchup. It’s only been two post-World Cup matches, but the Lions look like a different team. We can only hope it’s a sign of things to come.

Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated in a memorable victory over the No. 1 team in the league.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crépeau, 6.5 — Crépeau had next to nothing to do on a hot night in Central Florida against a red-hot Nashville team. The Lions put in a defensive shift from the forwards on down, limiting the Nashville attackers to six total shots with three on target. The first shot on target was a point-blank effort in the 42nd minute from a charging Alex Muyl that Crépeau saw coming and snuffed out. Muyl was injured on the play and had to be subbed off at halftime. Crépeau’s other big save on the night denied former Orlando City player Shak Mohammed, who got on the end of a ball over the top and fired right at Crépeau from about 12 yards out. It was only Orlando’s second clean sheet of the season, just three days after posting the first of the year against San Jose. The Canadian international made three saves and passed at a 77.8% success rate.

D, Bernardo Rhein, 6.5 — Hours after signing as a Homegrown Player, Rhein had a good night, especially given the task in front of him. Nashville’s potent attack was a little more focused on his side of the pitch and he handled the challenge well. He applied good defensive pressure throughout his time on the pitch and remained calm under pressure. He recorded one tackle, two interceptions, and one clearance, keeping former teammate Mohammed quiet with the exception of when he was caught up the field to allow the ex-Lion to jump into the attack for one of Nashville’s few dangerous moments. Rhein committed one foul and suffered none. He passed at an 87.5% rate and helped out in the offense with a cross attempt, one key pass, and one long ball that found its target.

D, Robin Jansson, 7 — The captain was once again his usual, stout, solid self. Jansson read the Nashville offensive efforts, heading off plays with well-timed interventions. He made a perfect sliding recovery tackle in the 47th minute on a charging Mohammed to snuff out a promising attack. He made three clearances on the night and blocked two shots. He committed no fouls, and none were committed against him. He passed at a 98.3% rate and attempted one long ball that connected. The defensive efforts of the whole team were so complete, the back line didn’t have to deal with many emergencies.

D, David Brekalo, 6.5 — Along with Jansson, Brekalo was not put in difficult positions too many times, as the Nashville attack tended to come down the wings, and the team in front of the back line was organized and proactive throughout the match. He did his job but only had to make one clearance, no blocks, and no interceptions. He committed no fouls but suffered one. On offense, he managed one key pass. He was clean in his passing at 95.9%. He put a poor header right in front of Sam Surridge during a Nashville breakout, but it was not overly egregious.

D, Griffin Dorsey, 7 — Dorsey was active on offense as well as defense as per usual, contributing three crosses, although none connected, and working down his side of the pitch well in combination with his teammates. His passing was clean as well, especially for an attacking player, at 96.2%. He had a particularly good read on a Nashville attack he snuffed out with a well-timed clearance in the 50th minute. Dorsey applied good defensive pressure all night and was a handful for Nashville in both directions. He made one tackle and one interception, as well as three clearances without committing a foul. He didn’t manage any shots, and suffered two fouls for his efforts.

MF, Tiago, 6 — Tiago was energetic on the night, but he was not overly productive. He wasn’t as indecisive as he was Wednesday night in San Jose, but he made a couple of mental errors and got on the wrong side of his man that forced him to take a yellow card. He committed a completely unnecessary foul in the 20th minute on Andy Najar. who was breaking away, but there were plenty of purple shirts between him and goal. In the 29th minute, he did well to win a ball in midfield but fired an inexplicable ball intended for Crepeau back over the end line, which handed Nashville a corner. He contributed a tackle, committed one foul, suffered one, and passed with an 81.3% rate. He attempted no shots and attempted one long ball and one cross, neither of which found a teammate. He did have some nifty combination play in the 47th minute with Griezmann and Ivan Angulo, then sent a lofted ball to himself that he almost got onto, but Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake was there to catch it.

MF, Braian Ojeda, 7 — Ojeda put in a good shift, especially on defense, with two tackles, an interception, one blocked shot, and one clearance. He was better in the second half than the first, as he looked a bit tired with some poor touches and off-line passes, but he recovered his rhythm after halftime. The 67th minute blocked shot was a crucial one, as it looked like it might have been a contender for a goal, and Ojeda busted a lung to make it back to cover. He committed a foul, suffered one, and managed a shot in the 42nd minute that was blocked. He attempted three long balls with one connecting. His passing accuracy was 80.9%.

MF, Luis Otávio, 7 — Ojeda’s midfield partner Otávio put in a good defensive shift as well in place of the suspended Eduard Atuesta. He had one ill-advised lunge on Mohammed in the 41st minute following an uncalled foul on Angulo, and Nashville broke unimpeded toward the Orlando goal. The play resulted in the Muyl shot and might have been avoided otherwise. Otávio made many crucial contributions, however, and overall he was good on the night. In the 49th, he shut down Ahmed Qasem, who was advancing unopposed toward the Orlando 18-yard box, with a textbook clean tackle. Statistically, Otávio logged three tackles and two clearances, and he committed no fouls and suffered one. He attempted one long ball that connected, managed a key pass, took one shot, and passed with a respectable 90.9% rate.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 8 — Angulo’s work rate never ceases to amaze. He was nearly omnipresent in the match, contributing in attack, especially throughout the first half, and making interventions that disrupted Nashville’s plans before they could develop into threatening opportunities. He had a couple of giveaways in the second half, but these were overshadowed by his outsized contribution to the result. His new hybrid role really seems to be a good fit for the Orlando stalwart. He’s always been a dynamo, but Angulo’s contributions in the last two matches have been above and beyond his usual high rate. His passing rate was 84.6%, and he managed three key passes but took no shots. On defense, he finished with one tackle, one clearance, and a blocked shot. He committed three fouls, suffering one.

F, Justin Ellis, 8.5 (MotM) — Ellis was the Man of the Match for me. There were other candidates. Tyrese Spicer scored the game’s only goal, so he would be a popular choice. Griezmann would be another, of course. But Ellis made the goal happen, and he created many other promising opportunities with his dribbling and shrugging off opponents, including putting Hany Mukhtar on the ground while maintaining possession. Ellis is young, and there is only a small sample size so far, but he exhibits skills and vision that are far beyond not only someone of his age, but quite a few veteran players as well. All throughout the match, Ellis’ control facilitated attacking opportunities for himself and his teammates. He looked for his own offense more in this game as Nashville committed numbers on Griezmann, taking six shots, putting three on target, supplying two key passes, and attempting one long ball that did not connect. He committed no fouls but suffered one. He made no statistical defensive contributions and passed with 83.9% accuracy.

F, Antoine Griezmann, 8.5 — In the first home match of his Orlando City career, Griezmann predictably did not disappoint the sold-out crowd. The Frenchman lived up to his well-earned reputation and contributed both on offense and defense. His quality makes those around him better. His seasoned touch and elite vision create so many opportunities that in the last two matches, Orlando looks like a completely different team. Not to take away from the hard work that the players and staff have been clearly putting in, but Griezmann’s level of skill is simply a huge level-up. I could have easily selected Griezmann for Man of the Match, if not for the more direct role Ellis played in the goal and other opportunities. Griezmann took three shots, although none were on target, sent in five crosses, with one connecting amid Nashville’s big center backs, and contributed two key passes. He made two accurate long ball attempts and passed at an exceptional 91.9% rate, especially for an attacking player, and suffered one foul while committing none. Defensively, he recorded two tackles, one interception, and a clearance.

Substitutes

F, Tyrese Spicer (53′), 8 — Spicer came on for Tiago, and was another player I could have easily picked for Man of the Match honors. In addition to scoring the game’s only goal and securing the three points for the Lions, he just added a spark. That’s nothing new for Spicer, who usually adds energy coming off the bench, and this time he made it count. He was aggressive and active in offense and defense, and makes an exceptional super-sub. He took one shot on the night, which was of course on target, and passed with 80% accuracy. He attempted two crosses, with one connecting with a teammate. Defensively, he made three tackles and two clearances, and he committed no fouls and suffered none.

D, Adrian Marin (69′), 6.5 — Marin came on for Rhein and did well helping to see the match out. Nashville pressed hard in the later stages and Marin did his part to help keep the clean sheet. He made no offensive contributions, unsurprisingly, but he recorded two tackles and four clearances. He passed at 87.5% on eight passes.

D, Iago (69′), 6 — Iago came on for Brekalo and he filled in well enough, but it was difficult to assign a grade. He did not find himself in position to contribute much to the match, which was not necessarily an issue with him. The game just did not seem to find him in the time he was on the pitch, but he was able to combine with the rest of the back line to keep Nashville’s offensive stars from getting a late chance at an equalizer. He passed at an 88.9% success rate on nine passes and recorded no offensive nor defensive stats with the exception of two long ball attempts, both of which found their mark.

F, Harvey Sarajian (85′), N/A — Sarajian subbed on for Ellis, and even though he was only on for a short time, he was able to get involved in the action. He only had five touches and completed one pass, but he made himself a nuisance to Nashville and contributed to seeing out the match. He made one tackle and committed one foul without suffering one. He wasn’t on long enough to earn a score.

MF, Wilder Cartagena (85′), N/A — Cartagena subbed on for Otávio and made an outsized impact on the match as well, given his limited minutes. He had two clearances and committed a foul without suffering one, and otherwise registered no significant stats, but like Sarajian, he imposed himself on the match and helped clinch the points for the Lions, although he didn’t play long enough to earn a grade.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in a much-needed Orlando win. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.