Connect with us

Orlando City

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

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Union?

Published

2 months ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City started its 2025 MLS campaign with a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Union. The game started well but got out of hand when the Lions fell behind by two and then three goals. The blame can be shared by some terrible defending, poor finishing, and fantastic goalkeeping by Andre Blake. The loss continues a run of poor results stemming from a winless preseason.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this troubling loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5 — The Union didn’t have many chances in this game, but they scored plenty. They put four of their 10 shots on target and all beat Gallese, who didn’t make a single save. Much of the blame goes to the poor back line, but giving up four goals without a save is a bad night. In addition to his lack of shot-stopping, Gallese completed 70.8% of his 24 passes, including five of his 11 long balls.

D, Rafael Santos, 4.5 — Santos led the team with 108 touches on the night. He completed 82.4% of his 68 passes, including a key pass. However, he only completed two of his 10 crosses and four of his 11 long balls. He also took one off-target shot. Defensively, Santos recorded two tackles, an interception, two clearances, a blocked shot, and won two aerial duels. The left back’s most impactful moment came in the 47th minute when he let Daniel Gazdag get behind him and volley in the go-ahead goal.

D, David Brekalo, 5 — Brekalo’s 95 touches were second on the team behind Santos. He completed 91.6% of his team-high 83 passes, including four of his eight long balls. The center back took two shots but both were off target. Defensively, Brekalo had one tackle, two interceptions, four clearances, and won three aerial duels. Unfortunately, he was at fault for the equalizing goal in the 23rd when he failed to pick up the run by Tai Baribo, allowing the attacker to tap in a Kai Wagner pass. 

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 4.5 — Schlegel had 75 touches in this game while completing 91.9% of his 62 passes and two of his four long balls. Defensively, he had two tackles, four clearances, and a blocked shot. The whole defense was bad in this game, but Schlegel made the worst mistake. In the 51st minute, he misplayed a pass by Brekalo, allowing Mikael Uhre to get in on goal and make it 3-1.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallason, 5.5 — Thorhallsson had 44 touches on the night and completed 86.7% of his 30 passes. He didn’t attempt any crosses and his lone long ball was incomplete. Defensively he had a clearance and a blocked shot before being replaced by Alex Freeman in the 56th minute. I bumped him at least a half point above the other defenders despite a rather forgettable game because he was the only one on the back line not directly responsible for a goal.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 5.5 — Araujo had 71 touches in the game and completed 93% of his 57 passes, including five of his six long balls. He also drew a team-high seven fouls. Defensively, Araujo had one tackle, two clearances, and a blocked shot. However, he was partially at fault for not getting back to cover Baribo on Philadelphia’s fourth goal.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5.5 — Atuesta had 39 touches in his debut and completed 63.3% of his 30 passes. He had one key pass in the eighth minute, playing Martin Ojeda forward in what turned out to be the opening goal, earning himself a secondary assist. The defensive midfielder also completed two of his four long balls. He took one shot in the game, but it was off-target. Defensively, Atuesta added two tackles and a clearance. He was replaced by Joran Gerbet in the 71st minute.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 4.5 — Angulo had 38 touches in this game, completing 88.9% of his 18 passes with a key pass. He only attempted one cross and it was incomplete. The left-sided midfielder was credited with both of his shots on target, but that’s generous. In the 77th minute, a good ball into the box by Freeman found a wide-open Angulo who just had to tap it in. But he scuffed his attempt, sending the ball wide. His turnover in his own defensive third allowed the Union to equalize in the first half. Defensively, Angulo had three tackles, one interception, and one clearance before being replaced by Nico Rodriguez in the 80th minute.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda was one of the few bright spots for Orlando City in this game. He finished with 57 touches and completed 79.3% of his 29 passes with a team-high seven key passes, including one assist. It was his good turn and pass forward in the eighth minute that led to Marco Pasalic’s opening goal. He also completed five of his 13 crosses, both team highs. Two of four shots were on target. In the 60th minute, he forced Blake into a very good save and an excellent free kick nearly led to a goal in the 62nd minute, but Freeman hit the crossbar. Defensively, Ojeda recorded two tackles and an interception in what was a decent game by the number 10.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 (MotM) — Pasalic was without question the most dangerous attacker for Orlando City in this game. He made the most of his 40 touches, completing 84.2% of his 19 passes with two key passes and one of his three long balls. He put four of his seven shots on target, netting a brace, and he could’ve had a hat trick if not for excellent goalkeeping by Blake. He hit the post with an acrobatic attempt in the 79th minute and put in the rebound for his second goal of the night. He added two tackles defensively in a Man of the Match performance in his debut.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 5 — It was a pretty forgettable night for the striker, who only compiled 17 touches and didn’t take a shot. He completed 71.4% of his 14 passes and failed to complete his only cross. He had an interception defensively before being replaced by Luis Muriel in the 56th minute.

Substitutes

F, Luis Muriel (56’), 5.5 — Muriel was more effective than Enrique in a straight swap in the 56th minute. He also had 17 touches and completed 57.1% of his seven passes, including a key pass. One of his three shots was on target and he nearly scored twice. In the 69th minute, a strong header forced Blake into a diving one-handed save. He was wide open 10 minutes later right in front of the goal, but his shot was off the crossbar. On the defensive end, he had two clearances.

D, Alex Freeman (56’), 6 — Freeman replaced Thorhallsson in the 56th minute and was better than the starter. The teenager touched the ball 35 times and completed 86.4% of his 22 passes, including three key passes and his lone long ball. He nearly scored in the 62nd minute when he got his head to an Ojeda free kick, but he hit the crossbar. He was also active defensively, recording a tackle, an interception, and four clearances.

MF, Joran Gerbet (71’), 5.5 — Gerbet came on in the 71st minute for Atuesta and had 25 touches in his first professional game. He completed 89.5% of his 19 passes, including all three long balls. He also had a clearance defensively.

MF, Nico Rodriguez (80’), N/A — Rodriguez was the final substitution for the Lions, replacing Angulo in the 80th minute. He only had 10 touches and completed 88.9% of his nine passes. He didn’t take any shots nor record any defensive stats in his first 10 minutes as a Lion.

That’s how I saw the performances in Orlando City’s opening night loss to the Union. Let us know how you saw the game and don’t’ forget to vote on your Man of the Match below.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions head north looking to find their offense and continue their recent defensive form.

Published

10 hours ago

on

April 19, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City and CF Montreal at Stade Saputo (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the first of two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2025. The Canadian side is scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on July 12.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 8-9-5 against Montreal in the all-time regular-season series and 10-10-5 in all competitions since they joined MLS. OCSC is 4-5-2 in away games against Montreal, 3-5-2 in the city of Montreal, and 4-6-2 in away matches in all competitions, which includes an MLS playoff meeting in 2022. The teams drew both regular-season meetings a year ago, with Orlando going 1-0-2 in all competitions against CF Montreal in 2024.

The teams met most recently in Orlando in the 2024 Leagues Cup competition on July 26 of last year, with the Lions running rampant in a 4-1 home victory. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Facundo Torres, Ramiro Enrique, and Martin Ojeda staked Orlando to a 4-0 lead. Josef Martinez scored for Montreal, although his bid for a brace was denied when Pedro Gallese stopped his penalty kick attempt.

The two sides last met in Montreal on April 20, 2024 trading goals back and forth in a 2-2 draw at Stade Saputo. Mason Toye opened the scoring early but Torres equalized from the spot a few minutes later. Ariel Lassiter appeared to win it late in normal time for the hosts, but Ivan Angulo struck in stoppage time to earn Orlando City a road point. These teams opened the 2024 season against each other in Orlando and played to a 0-0 draw. The Lions dominated the stat sheet but had a goal waved off for offside and simply weren’t lethal enough.

The teams met twice in 2023, completing the season series on Sept. 30, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-0 in dominant fashion. Jonathan Sirois’ own goal opened the scoring, and Thorhallsson and Torres added strikes for Orlando City. That was a good measure of revenge for OCSC, after Montreal defeated Orlando City 2-0 and handed the Lions their first road loss of the 2023 MLS season on May 6 at Stade Saputo. A Robin Jansson own goal got Montreal started in the second half and Romell Quioto added a second goal four minutes later.

These two sides played their biggest game against each other in the 2022 MLS playoffs, with CF Montreal knocking Orlando City out of the postseason by a 2-0 scoreline on Oct. 16, with goals by Ismael Kone and Djordje Mihailovic — the latter coming deep in stoppage time from the penalty spot.

Each team won at home in the two-game, regular-season series in 2022, with Montreal thumping Orlando 4-1 on May 7. Joel Waterman, Mihailovic, Joaquin Torres, and Zachary Brault-Guillard did the damage on the scoreboard and Orlando City managed just two shot attempts, with Joao Moutinho’s goal on a set piece helping the Lions avoid a shutout. Orlando City did not have either starting center back for that match, and it showed. The teams also met on opening day of the 2022 season, when Orlando City captured a 2-0 home win behind second-half goals from Alexandre Pato and Benji Michel.

In 2021, the teams met in Montreal on Decision Day, with the Lions earning a 2-0 road victory at Stade Saputo to clinch a playoff spot. Sebas Mendez and Daryl Dike provided the goals. That season’s matchup in Orlando came on Oct. 20, 2021, with the visitors managing a 1-1 draw. Chris Mueller struck for the Lions just before halftime, but Rudy Camacho answered on a corner kick header shortly after the restart. The first meeting of 2021 took place Sept. 15 in Orlando with the Lions falling 4-2 and finishing the game with just nine men after both Nani and Andres Perea were sent off. Quioto led Montreal with a goal and two assists. Mathieu Choiniere and Quioto put Montreal up 2-0, but despite already being down one man, Jansson and Ruan tied things up. The visitors got two more from Lassi Lappalainen and Sunusi Ibrahim.

The teams met at Red Bull Arena in late 2020 as the team then known as the Montreal Impact played home games in New Jersey due to the pandemic. Orlando City got a Dike goal in the 39th minute to win 1-0 on Nov. 1, 2020. It was the second meeting of the 2020 season, with Orlando also beating Montreal 1-0 in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds on July 25 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tesho Akindele scored the game’s only goal on a Montreal defensive mistake.

Orlando City snapped a six-game winless streak against Montreal (0-5-1) in MLS regular-season play dating back to 2016 when the Lions put the Impact to the sword in a 3-0 drubbing at Stade Saputo on June 1, 2019. Nani (penalty), Akindele, and Will Johnson supplied the offense that day. The Lions fell 3-1 at Exploria Stadium back on March 16, 2019, and Ignacio Piatti was a big reason why, scoring his ninth and 10th career goals against Orlando, adding to a strike by Orji Okwonkwo. Dom Dwyer added a cosmetic goal late for Orlando City to spoil the clean sheet.

Montreal did not allow a goal against the Lions in 2018, sweeping the two-game set from Orlando, and the Impact shut out Orlando City in three of the six meetings in that 5-0-1 run. The lone draw in that time frame was a 3-3 shootout in Orlando in 2017, in which the Impact led deep in stoppage time, only to see Jonathan Spector’s well-placed header steal the Lions a point.

Orlando won the first two meetings in 2016 by a combined score of 6-2. The teams split three meetings in 2015, with each going 1-1-1.

Match Overview

Orlando City enters this match on a five-game unbeaten run (2-0-3). The Lions are coming off two consecutive scoreless draws — at Philadelphia two weeks ago and home against the New York Red Bulls last weekend. The latter of those draws came despite Orlando City being down a man for most of the second half. While the league’s best offense entering play two weeks ago has falledn off a cliff, the most porous defens in MLS has strung together consecutive clean sheets. Orlando will look for a bit more balance tonight, although the back line will need to shuffle slightly with Rodrigo Schlegel’s suspension.

The Lions are 1-1-2 on the road this season, and are playing their fifth road match out of the last seven games.

Montreal sits last in Major League Soccer on just two points from eight matches after a 1-0 home defeat to Charlotte seven days ago. That was, however, the Canadian side’s first home match of the 2025 campaign, after starting the season 0-5-2 on an extended road trip. It is unclear how good or bad Montreal is, but despite being winless on the year, the club has lost one-goal games against contenders Charlotte and Columbus the last two weeks, following a 1-1 draw at Chicago. Only Nashville (3-0) and MLS-leading Vancouver (2-0) have managed to beat Montreal by more than a goal, despite the Canadians scoring only a league-worst four times all year.

With Montreal playing well defensively over the last three matches, Orlando will need to find its scoring boots against a solid unit in front of Sirois that includes center backs Waterman and George Campbell and central midfielder Samuel Piette. Former Lion Luca Petrasso is a starter on the Montreal back line as well, and he’ll no doubt want to show Orlando what it is missing without him. While Montreal has the ball, the Lions will need to track Prince Owusu, who leads his club with two goals. Caden Clark and Sunusi Ibrahim can also be a threat in the attack.

“It’s a tricky moment in the season, where teams are adjusting movements and players, and in this case, with Montréal even changing staff. But we are still serious about approaching the game with our intention to go and win it,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “It is an important match for us and it’s a match that can give us the possibility to add points in the standings. It’s much more important that we keep this road of ascending of the level of the group.”

Orlando City will be without Schlegel (suspension), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), Yutaro Tsukada (knee), Favian Loyola (thigh), while Cesar Araujo (lower leg), Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Ramiro Enrique (upper extremity), and Nico Rodriguez (thigh) are listed as questionable. Per Montreal’s game notes, every player is available.

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Alex Freeman.

Defensive Midfielders: Joran Gerbet, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Marco Pasalic.

Forward: Luis Muriel.

Bench: Javier Otero, Tahir Reid-Brown, Rafael Santos, Zakaria Taifi, Thomas Williams, Riyon Tori, Nico Rodriguez, Shak Mohammed, Duncan McGuire.

CF Montreal (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Jonathan Sirois.

Defenders: Luca Petrasso, Joel Waterman, George Campbell, Dawid Bugaj.

Midfielders: Samuel Piette, Bryce Duke, Nathan Saliba.

Forwards: Dante Sealy, Prince Owusu, Hennadii Synchuk.

Bench: Sebastian Breza, Aleksandr Guboglo, Fernando Alvarez, Tom Pearce, Victor Loturi, Caden Clark, Fabian Herbers, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Sunusi Ibrahim.

Referees:

Ref: Fotis Bazakos.
AR1: Lyes Arfa.
AR2: Micheal Barwegen.
4th: Mathieu Souare.
VAR: Ramy Touchan.
AVAR: Claudiu Badea.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Stade Saputo — Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English); Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

Continue Reading

Opinion

Orlando City’s Start to the Season a Pleasant Surprise So Far

The Lions have started the new season well enough, but we shouldn’t get too carried away just yet.

Published

1 day ago

on

April 18, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

While Orlando City didn’t have a ton of roster turnover to deal with during the off-season, it was really anybody’s guess as to what sort of start the Lions would make to the 2025 Major League Soccer season. There was obviously the loss of all-time leading goal scorer Facundo Torres to deal with, then Wilder Cartagena was lost for the year in preseason, although the club did a great job in landing Eduard Atuesta to replace him. There were also questions about depth at left back, center back, and central midfield. It was anyone’s guess on how Marco Pasalic would adjust to life in MLS, and there were serious questions about whether the Lions had enough firepower up front with Duncan McGuire unavailable to start the season while he recovered from shoulder surgery.

While the club returned the vast majority of the guys who played key roles in helping reach the Eastern Conference final, on paper, the roster didn’t improve and arguably got weaker, so was it truly realistic to expect the team to go a step farther and make the final this year?

Despite all of those concerns, and despite a confidence-shaking 4-2 opening game loss to the Philadelphia Union, Orlando has largely made a good start to the campaign. The Lions have compiled a respectable 3-2-3 record and have 12 points to show for it, currently sitting in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, six points behind the first-place Columbus Crew.

Even in the two losses, it’s hard to make the argument that OCSC played truly bad games on the whole. Rather, the Lions were undone by moments of bad defending and losses of concentration that led to silly mistakes, particularly against the Union. The shaky defending has certainly been one of the bigger concerns, especially on an Oscar Pareja-coached team, but things have begun to look better after keeping two straight clean sheets.

Ironically, even though the offense seemed to be most people’s biggest concern before the season started, it’s been the part of the team that has consistently functioned at the highest level. Before the two 0-0 draws, Orlando had scored the most goals in the league, and despite being held scoreless twice in a row, they still have the third-most goals scored. Out of OCSC’s six games played with a first choice XI, the Lions have scored more than one goal four times. Even in the games when they haven’t been as prolific, or have largely been on the back foot, the Lions have still managed to carve out a healthy number of chances. While their finishing has let them down at times, they’ve still managed to get several good looks at goal in every game, and that’s half the battle.

All in all, it’s been a perfectly respectable start to the season, and the team honestly has performed higher than my (probably slightly pessimistic) expectations. While the start hasn’t been white hot, it’s been nice to not see the sort of slow start that so often has seemed to plague this club during Pareja’s tenure at the helm.

That being said, I think it’s important to place the beginning of the year in the proper context. It’s worth noting that of the teams that Orlando has played to this point, Philadelphia is the only one currently above the playoff line (although the New York Red Bulls occupy the last play-in spot). The Lions have beaten an LA Galaxy team that is the worst in the West; Toronto FC, which is second from the bottom in the East; and D.C. United, which is third from the bottom in the East. They drew the fifth-place Union on the road, and lost to NYCFC at the baseball stadium. But it has to be said that Orlando has faced a noticeable lack of top shelf opponents so far.

Essentially, Orlando has played three bad teams, two decent ones, and one that started very well but has cooled off in recent weeks (twice). Of course, OCSC can’t do anything about that, but it’s worth asking if the solid start to the season is due to the Lions legitimately being a good team, or if it’s more of a paper tiger situation where they just haven’t had to play many tough opponents yet.

There isn’t really any way of knowing for sure, and there won’t be any hints for awhile. With the way the standings currently look, Orlando won’t face a team above the playoff line until they go up against Charlotte FC on the road on May 14. I don’t bring all of this up to try to dampen the mood, but I just don’t think we have a truly accurate idea of this team’s level yet. Which is fair and totally fine, after all we’re only eight games into the season.

That doesn’t mean that we can’t give OCSC its due for a solid start to the year. It hasn’t been perfect by any means, but the team has done more good than bad, and the Lions’ current place in the standings reflects that. We should still keep things in perspective and resist the urge to dole out too much praise just yet, but we can be happy with what we’ve seen so far.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/18/25

Orlando City set to play the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Lions reach Generation Adidas Cup semifinals, Angel City hires Alexander Straus, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

April 18, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday! I hope today finds you well as we gear up for another Saturday filled with soccer to enjoy. I don’t have many plans this Easter weekend beyond working, catching soccer when I can, and playing Baldur’s Gate 3 for the first time if I find some spare hours. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Learns U.S. Open Cup Opponents

Orlando City’s 2025 U.S. Open Cup campaign will begin on the road against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 7 at 7:30 p.m. in what will be the latest edition of the I-4 Derby. It will be Orlando’s first game of this year’s tournament, while the Rowdies joined in the previous round and got past FC Naples in penalties. The Rowdies have lost four of their five games so far this season in the USL Championship and fired Robbie Neilson as head coach earlier this month. The Lions also notably would have hosting priority if they reach the round of 16, where they will play either Nashville SC or the Chattanooga Red Wolves.

Here’s the full schedule for the round of 32, which includes some interesting matchups across the country. The Tacoma Defiance are the only MLS NEXT Pro side left and will face the Portland Timbers, while the New York Red Bulls will have a long road trip to take on the Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

Lions Advance to Generation Adidas Cup Semifinals

Orlando City’s U-18 team beat Real Salt Lake 1-0 in the Generation Adidas Cup to secure a spot in the semifinals. The Young Lions have won four of their five games of the tournament and will take on Santos Laguna in the semifinal on Saturday. The winner of that match will face whichever team becomes victorious in the other semifinal between Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids.

The U-16 team’s run in the Premier bracket is also going strong after a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, and Orlando will take on the New England Revolution in the semifinals on Saturday.

Angel City FC Hires Alexander Straus

Bayern Munich’s Alexander Straus was named Angel City FC’s next head coach and will officially join the club on June 1. The Norwegian coach has won back-to-back Bundesliga titles and has Bayern positioned well to make it three straight this season. He’ll join an Angel City team that’s unbeaten in its first four games of the season under interim head coach Sam Laity, who will stay on as an assistant coach once Straus joins.

Europa League Quarterfinals End In Dramatic Fashion

Old Trafford hosted one of the wildest games in Europa League history, with Manchester United and Lyon battling for a spot in the quarterfinals. United scored twice in the first half, then conceded twice in the second, sending the game to extra time. Lyon took the lead despite being a man down and then the teams traded penalty kicks as the madness continued. Casemiro orchestrated Manchester’s victory in the end, assisting on two late goals within a minute of each other to beat Lyon 5-4 and advance. This United fan pretty much sums up just how much of a rollercoaster this match was.

There was also drama in Italy, as Lazio came back in the second leg to force extra time against Bodo/Glimt. The match went to penalties and Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper Nikitka Haikin denied former New York City FC player Taty Castellanos from the spot to book his team’s place in the semifinals. Although Tottenham was without Son Heung-Min, it got the job done in a 1-0 road win against Eintracht Frankfurt, while Athletic Club beat Rangers 2-0 in Spain to advance as well. In the semifinals, Tottenham will face Bodo/Glimt and Manchester United will take on Athletic Club.

Free Kicks

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

Continue Reading

Trending