Connect with us

Orlando City

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

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-0 victory over Nashville SC?

Published

3 months ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City rebounded from a bad loss a week ago, defeating Nashville SC 3-0 in a big home victory. The Lions scored twice in four minutes early in the first half to change the nature of the match. Orlando City weathered Nashville’s press to get back on the winning side of the ledger.

 Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in a home matchup against an Eastern Conference opponent.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Gallese started the match with a huge one-on-one save in the eighth minute to deny Alex Muyl. He almost had a horrible giveaway when trying to chip ball past Surridge while next to the right post, but it rebounded into his arms. Fortunately, Nashville only got one shot on target, but Gallese did what was needed to keep the clean sheet.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — Santos was not his worst, but he was far from his best on the night. He left Muyl alone on Nashville’s first corner. A little later he allowed Sam Surridge to beat him to the back post. Fortunately, the post made the save to keep Nashville off the scoreboard. He had a bad giveaway in 30th minute, and failed to settle an easy pass in 33rd minute ruining a promising attack. Santos also earned a yellow card to start the second half. The Brazilian led the team with 82 touches, completed 85.3% of his 61 passes, and was accurate on five of his 10 long balls, with one cross. Defensively, he made one tackle, one interception, and four clearances. He committed three fouls, including the aforementioned yellow card. He was subbed off for Kyle Smith in the 82nd minute.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson almost got a rare goal but missed his header, which was set up by a Facundo Torres header in the 26th minute. Like plenty of others on Orlando City, he earned a dumb yellow on a bad challenge. Jansson did make a good header to clear the ball on one of Hany Mukhtar’s many free kicks. The captain had 63 touches, completed 87.7% of his 57 passes, and was accurate on two of his seven long balls. Defensively, he had two clearances and one blocked shot. His one shot was not on target, he committed one foul, and he suffered one foul. Jansson did well after his yellow card to play smart down the stretch.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5 — Schlegel started the match with a good clearance in the fifth minute but got too high up the pitch, allowing Muyl a run at goal shortly after. He only had 22 touches, including 18 passes at a 72.2% rate, and was successful on one of his five long balls. Defensively, he made four clearances. Schlegel also earned his obligatory yellow card for kicking the ball after a foul was given against Nashville in the 17th minute. It was a bit of a forgettable night for the center back and he was subbed off at the half.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6 — Thorhallsson reverted to form following a poor performance in the last match, though it took a bit to settle in. He fouled Muyl in the sixth minute to give Nashville a free kick. He had a bad giveaway after a good interception in the 30th minute. I know it might not sound like he had a great night, but that was most of the bad, and he provided the assist on Torres’ first goal. Thorhallsson had 54 touches and completed 80.7% of his 31 passes and two of his five long balls. He made two crosses, with one key pass, and drew two fouls. Defensively, he recorded one interception, six clearances, and one foul committed. He was one of the few Lions who didn’t earn a yellow card.

MF, César Araujo, 6 — Araujo was his normal self in the defensive midfield. He finished with one tackle, two clearances, and one foul committed, which resulted in a yellow card. Normally, defensive midfielders earn fouls and sometimes yellow cards. They also earn fouls for their team, and Araujo earned five fouls for Orlando City. He had 57 touches and completed 84.4% of his 45 passes. He made two key passes and completed one of his two long balls.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6 — Cartagena was a bit undisciplined in this match, though he was active with 72 touches. He and Mukhtar battled all night, with Cartagena committing four fouls, and finally earning a yellow card after several warnings. Defensively, he made five tackles, one interception, and one clearance. He completed 91.1% of his 56 passes and was successful on his one long ball. He also drew two fouls. I’m a little surprised he got away with as much as he did, but ultimately he frustrated Nashville, which is his job.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6.5 — Angulo couldn’t have started things off any better than he did, being in the right place at the right time to take Martin Ojeda’s pass inside the box, turn, and put the ball in the back of the net. It was one of his two shots on the night. He roamed up and down the pitch like his normal self. Angulo had 52 touches, completed 75% of his 40 passes, including one key pass and one cross. He was subbed off in the 82nd minute.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 7 — Ojeda had a good night. He was elusive and proficient with the ball at his feet. He set up the first goal when he intercepted Joe Willis’ bad pass, and one-timed it to Angulo to put it in the goal. He also started the attack on the second goal when he nutmegged his defender to get the ball into the attack. He sent the ball into the box on a free kick that ultimately ended up on Jansson’s head, but not in the back of the goal. His one foul wasn’t really a foul though it resulted in a free kick for Nashville. Ojeda had 42 touches, completing 88% of his 25 passes, including one of his two long balls, and three key passes. He also took one shot that was on target, though he didn’t get the goal. He did get the assist on Angulo’s goal.

MF, Facundo Torres, 7.5 (MotM) — Scoring a brace was more than enough for Torres to earn Man of the Match honors. On his first goal, he took the pass from Ojeda, sent it forward to Thorhallsson, and then made his way to the other side of the box to receive the cross for the second goal of the match. It was Torres who gave Jansson a chance to score off the free kick with a header. He was wide open on his second goal, but he couldn’t have taken it better, putting the ball over Willis and just under the crossbar for the goal. Torres had 52 touches, completed 90.2% of his 42 passes, one of his two long balls, and two key passes. He took five shots, with three on target, and put two in the back of the net. It was an excellent night from the Designated Player.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 6 — You could tell that Enrique wanted to score in this match. He managed one shot, which was on target. Unfortunately, Willis got enough of the ball to have the shot hit the post. His tenacity resulted in a dumb yellow foul in 20th minute when he was trying to get the ball back. Enrique had 23 touches, and completed 80% of his 15 passes. Defensively, he made one tackle, had one blocked shot, and committed one foul, resulting in a yellow card. It was a good night for the youngster despite not getting a goal. He subbed off in the 68th minute.

Substitutes

D, David Brekalo (46′), 6.5 — Brekalo came on as a halftime substitute for Schlegel, who was on a yellow card. He had two chances on goal, including one on a set piece in the 61st minute, but he couldn’t direct his back heel attempt on frame. He also made a good clearance in the 67th minute. He actually didn’t commit any fouls or receive a yellow card. Brekalo had 27 touches, and completed 80% of his 15 passes. Defensively, he made two tackles, one clearance, and one interception, and he blocked two shots. He did enough to get the start in Orlando City’s next match.

F, Duncan McGuire, (68’), 6.5 — McGuire didn’t get the start, but he put in the effort once he came on. He made a good run in the 73rd minute, but couldn’t get past the defenders to get a shot, though he did win a corner kick. McGuire provided the assist on Torres’ second goal. He had 17 touches and completed 44.4% of his nine passes with one key pass.

MF, Nico Lodeiro, (69’), 6 — Lodeiro helped Orlando City see out the match after coming on for Ojeda. He had 20 touches, completing 88.2% of his 17 passes, including three key passes, including a secondary assist on the third goal. He attempted one shot, though it wasn’t on target.

MF, Luis Muriel (82′), N/A — Despite only managing 16 touches, Muriel got a shot off. The shot was from outside the box, and it sailed over the crossbar. He completed 88.1% of his 11 passes. Muriel made one tackle, committed one foul, and suffered one foul. He wasn’t on long enough to earn a grade.

D, Kyle Smith (82′), N/A — Smith finished with 18 touches in his short time on the pitch. He completed 78.6% of his 14 passes, including one successful long ball. Defensively, he made one tackle. As with Muriel, Smith’s time on the pitch was too short to warrant a grade.

That’s how I saw the individual performances on Saturday night. What did you think? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and vote in the poll below for your Orlando City Man of the Match.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

Published

5 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to advance to the Eastern Conference final?

Published

7 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continues its playoff journey against Atlanta United Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions are coming off an emotional penalty shootout win over Charlotte FC in their best-of-three, first-round series. Likewise, Atlanta United stunned everyone by taking out Inter Miami to advance in its own best-of-three matchup. Now, the rivals meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

What does Orlando City need to do to get past Atlanta United to advance to the Easter Conference final?

Beat Guzan

Brad Guzan made 16 saves over Atlanta’s three matches against Inter Miami, including seven in the 3-2 win on the road in Game 3. The 40-year-old former USMNT keeper is in excellent form and is a big reason why the Five Stripes are facing Orlando City. Converting chances against Guzan will be crucial to earning a result. There have been times this season when the Lions have struggled to convert their chances. Despite that, the team has done enough offensively to get to this point. Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and others have contributed and will need to do so this weekend.

Cartagena is Essential

Orlando City lost twice to Atlanta United during the regular season. What is interesting, and perhaps relevant, is that Wilder Cartagena was out for both of those matches. Cartagena was shown a straight red in the match against Minnesota United prior to the first match against Atlanta way back in March. He was shown a yellow card in the match against FC Cincinnati and then served a yellow card accumulation suspension for the final match of the season against Atlanta. Fortunately for Orlando City, Cartagena will be available for the match this weekend. I’ve mentioned before the importance of Cartagena to Orlando City’s success. When he and Cesar Araujo are on the field together, the defense is simply better. Cartagena is frankly one of the better defensive midfielders in MLS. Atlanta scored five goals in the series against Miami, and Orlando will need to keep the visitors from having that kind of offensive success.

Overcome the Past

That darn international break in the middle of the playoffs is something I don’t love. More precisely, I don’t like it because Orlando City often struggles after a break. It would have been nice if Orlando City could have ridden the momentum from the penalty kick victory into the Atlanta match, but that’s not to be. Now is the time for Orlando City to break some bad habits, including turning around its historical lack of success against Atlanta, and tendency to struggle in the first match after a break. Oscar Pareja needs to have the players in the right frame of mind, and the players need to execute the plan. A full house of supporters can also make a difference. Given it’s a Sunday afternoon match, there’s no reason not to pack the house.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday afternoon. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/21/24

Marta’s chance to shine in NWSL Championship, NWSL and MLS award winners announced, 2025 SheBelieves Cup details, and more.

Published

11 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

  • District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Continue Reading

Trending