In a matchup of the two highest-scoring teams in Major League Soccer, of course there were zero goals between the two teams as Orlando City went on the road and took one point home after a hard fought and physical 0-0 draw against Philadelphia. The Lions earned that point without their normal starting central defensive pairing, and while they had some excellent chances to get a goal and take all three points, they will likely be quite happy with the road draw.

It was not a pretty game and will not be a game anyone is likely to want to tell their grandkids, or kids, or friends, or coworkers about, but all road points are important, and Orlando City added another one at Subaru Park.

I have my purple pen out and I am ready to issue some grades, so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in their Eastern Conference matchup.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 (MotM) — This was El Pulpo’s best game all season, as he was in command of the box all night long and kept Orlando City in the game with his four saves and quick reactions to come off his line. Philadelphia had several chances from close range, and while they may not have taken those chances as well as they would have liked, they did take them from areas that led to 2.04 expected goals (according to fotmob.com), but thanks to the Peruvian netminder, instead of two goals, the Union scored zero goals — the first clean sheet of the season for both Gallese and Orlando City. The one drawback was that Gallese once again received a yellow card for time wasting, but it was probably worth it, as Orlando City needed every second they could get towards the end of the game.

D, David Brekalo, 6 — Brekalo played left back for the second game in a row, but this time in a starting capacity, and the Slovenian international was solid, though not spectacular. His role was a hybrid one, as the Lions looked to get Alex Freeman high when possible, with Brekalo playing as a standard left back at times and as a left center back when needed. There were a few scary instances in the second half when Martín Ojeda shifted out to the left. Ojeda is less adept at playing wing defensively than ivan Angulo and he and Brekalo sometimes weren’t communicating effectively, allowing the Union to get down the wing. Pareja recognized that and inserted Kyle Smith, which stabilized things. Brekalo looked much more at ease once he moved into the middle as part of a center back triumvirate, and he played well to see out the final minutes and earn the Lions their first shutout of the season. He finished with two tackles, one interception, six clearances, and one block on defense, and he completed 76.5% of his passes, which was second highest on the team.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — The captain looked more himself in this match, and while he still does not seem fully back to his regal Beefy Swede-ness, this was a solid game for Jansson in the back. He will owe his goalkeeper a massive thank you, however, for saving him in the early minutes of the second half, when he and defensive partner Rodrigo Schlegel let Bruno Damiani split them and have a chance from right in front of the net. Jansson had nearly identical defensive stats as Brekalo, with two tackles, one interception, six clearances, and one block on defense, and on offense he was second on the team with 31 completed passes, completing them at a 73.8% clip. He also received a yellow card near the end of the first half but did not let that affect his play, as he completed the full 90 minutes without another issue.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — The Argentinean made the play that brought the biggest smile to my face, as after Mikael Uhre tried to draw a penalty in second-half stoppage time, Schlegel got right in his face to call him out for flopping, showing the fiery spirit that he never fails to bring to the field every time he plays. Schlegel was the more active of the two center backs on the night, completing a team-high 34 passes, although at a less-than-ideal 65.4% rate, taking one shot and contributing one tackle and a team-high 13 clearances — more than double the clearances of any other player on the field. Schlegel also suffered a team-high four fouls and showed an immense work rate for the entire match.

D, Alex Freeman, 6 — The Homegrown Player continues to impress on the right side of the defense, and there is no more competition anymore for that position. It is clearly his and his alone. With Brekalo in the left back role it allowed Freeman to push forward even more than usual, as there were times in the second half when I wondered if Orlando City was playing five in the back or if the Lions had shifted Freeman up to take on Marco Pašalić’s right side role once the latter had subbed out. As he does nearly every week, Freeman contributed on both sides of the ball, logging four tackles, one interception, four clearances, and one blocked shot on defense, and completing 14 passes, with one key pass on the offensive side of the field. His completion rate was an ugly 43.8%, but none of the turnovers came back to haunt the team, and Freeman’s recovery speed continues to look as fast as anyone’s in the league.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 6 — Gerbet continues to show that he was another excellent draft pick by the Orlando City front office, as he earned his second start in this match and went the full 90 minutes. The Clemson product led the team with a 78.6% passing completion rate, and his partnership with Dagur Dan Thórhallsson was a solid one in the middle of the field. Gerbet worked hard on the defensive side of the ball, blocking a team-high four shots, and he also contributed two tackles and two interceptions. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta were not on the injury report, but both picked up tightness late in the week, so there was little time for Pareja to prepare his central midfield for this match. It says something that the moment was not too big for him going against the team that had scored the second-most goals in MLS entering the game.

MF, Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, 6 — Thórhallsson is on pace to play every field position at some point this season, as the Icelandic Army knife stepped in and went the full 90 in his first start with Orlando City as a central defensive midfielder. Thórhallsson acquitted himself nicely next to midfield partner Gerbet, and the two unexpected starters kept the Union off the scoresheet, even though the Union had nearly two-thirds of the possession. Thórhallsson logged two tackles, four clearances, and one blocked shot on defense, as well as picking up a yellow card, and as was to be expected in his more reserved role, he only completed 22 passes, passing at a 73.3% clip.

MF, Iván Angulo, 5 — The Colombian winger brought his usual hustle and effort, but unfortunately also his usual lack of precision, and it was not surprising to see him removed at halftime for Duncan McGuire. Orlando City was clearly playing to try to break out on the counterattack, a style suited to a player of Angulo’s speed, but he could not get anything going while on the field in what was ultimately a forgettable 45 minutes. He contributed three clearances on defense and completed six of his 10 passes, but it was a middling performance, fitting for a player who played the middle amount of minutes of the match.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 6.5 — Ojeda was by far the most dangerous Lion on the field against Philadelphia, and on another night he might have bagged at least one and possibly multiple assists. The best chances Orlando City created all came from Ojeda and his darting runs, as in the first half he put a ball in front of Pašalić, and in the second half in front of Luis Muriel, but both put their shots too close to Andre Blake. The Argentinean Designated Player also contributed two tackles and one interception on defense, but when he moved out to the left, there were some moments of confusion or lack of communication between he and Brekalo. Ojeda on the left helps the team play all three Designated Players and McGuire at the same time, but Ojeda with a left back behind him is a little more risky than Ojeda with two defensive midfielders and center backs behind him. He also took one shot that was blocked before making way for Colin Guske, as the Lions went defense-for-offense in the final minutes.

MF, Marco Pašalić, 6 — The Croatian Designated Player had two of the best chances of the game for the Lions, but Blake made a good save on one (albeit because the placement was too central) and Pašalić decided to cross instead of shooting from a tough angle with his weaker right foot on the other. Ojeda’s ball to Pašalić was maybe a quarter step late on the one that led to Blake’s save, but the shot could have been much better. Aside from those two plays, the right winger was pretty quiet on offense, as he only completed 57.1% of his 14 passes and did not make too many attempts to beat defenders off the dribble. He finished with four tackles and three clearances on defense, but in a game when the Lions were struggling for possession and playing without a few key players, it made sense for Pašalić to make way for a defender in the final 20 minutes.

F, Luis Muriel, 6 — What could have been for Muriel, as he had a glorious chance late in the game on a ball played perfectly in front of him by Ojeda, and he just did not get all of it or get it aimed properly to get it by Blake. The Union goalkeeper left him a lot of goal to work with, and Muriel just was not precise enough on that shot. Muriel was active and threatening during his minutes on the field, with two shots and also one key pass, but the quality was just not all the way there in Philadelphia, and Blake did not gift him a goal like John McCarthy did in Los Angeles during the previous game. His beautiful flick on a ball out of the back from Jansson sent Ojeda and Pašalić in for Orlando’s only (glorious) scoring chance in the first half. Muriel added one tackle and one clearance, won four aerial duels, and completed 63.2% of his passes before coming off for Ramiro Enrique in the final minutes of regulation.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (46′), 5.5 — McGuire entered the game at the beginning of the second half after subbing in for Angulo and took his customary place at the front of the attack as Ojeda shifted out to the left. The Creighton product was generally starved of service during his 45 minutes on the field, as he only had 15 touches and made more of a contribution on defense with two interceptions and three clearances than he did on offense. He did not get any shots off and only completed four of his nine pass attempts, with one key pass. He made a great back-post run and was open for a header attempt that could have broken the stalemate, but alas Ojeda did not see him and took a shot instead.

D, Kyle Smith, (67’), 5.5 — Smith entered the game as a sub for Pašalić but immediately went all the way across the field and played his minutes as a left wingback, as Orlando City went to five in the back as they tried to grind out a point on the road. The Accountant did not have any tackles but he logged one interception and one clearance on defense. On offense, he got into the box to get a headed ball on target on his one shot attempt, but it was a soft one that went right at Blake. Smith completed four of his seven passes, joining so many of his teammates with a lower-than-usual completion percentage (57.1%).

F, Ramiro Enrique, (83’), N/A — The Argentinean came on late for Muriel but had little influence on that game while on the field. Orlando City was defending for most of his minutes, and he only managed four touches. He did go two-for-two on passes with those four touches, but neither led to anything for the Lions.

MF, Colin Guske, (90’), N/A — Guske made his MLS debut in this game, coming in for the final minutes as a replacement for Ojeda. He did not have any touches, but stayed in good position defensively to help keep the Union from grabbing a late goal.

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That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 0-0 draw at Philadelphia. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote on the Man of the Match.

Well it wasn’t a third win in a row, but Orlando City is now unbeaten in four games. The Lions ground out a tense, physical scoreless draw with the Philadelphia Union to keep the taste of defeat out of their mouths a little bit longer. It was a result that didn’t look likely at times, but the team fought hard and deserved the point, if not more. What follows are my thoughts from the match.

Lineup Changes Hold Firm

We were in for a bit of a shocker when the starting lineups got announced, as not just one, but both of Orlando’s starting defensive midfielders were absent from the squad altogether. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta were both unavailable due to tightness that they felt late in the week, so that meant Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Joran Gerbet got the nod in the heart of the OCSC midfield. Another twist saw David Brekalo come in at left back for Rafael Santos, although that was merely a tactical decision by Oscar Pareja, as Santos was available on the bench. There was some understandable hand-wringing upon seeing the changed lineup on the road, but credit should go to Papi and the trio of DDT, Gerbet, and Brekalo, as they filled in ably and helped Orlando nab a valuable point.

The Less Said About the First Half the Better

The majority of the first half did not make for pleasant viewing if you were an Orlando City fan. When the halftime whistle blew the Union had out-possessed Orlando (52.9%-47.1%), outshot the Lions (9-1), and OCSC had compiled a positively putrid 60.5% passing accuracy. Not all of the Philly shots were dangerous, as some were potshots from way downtown, but Orlando had to make a few blocks and rely on a Pedro Gallese save to keep the hosts off the board. Oddly enough, the Lions got the best look of the first half with their only shot of the opening 45 minutes, but aside from that chance it was a period largely defined by poor passing, turnovers in dangerous areas, and a general inability to hold onto the ball for sustained periods of time.

Defense Stands Tall

The disparity in shots, possession, and passing accuracy only grew as the game went on, as the Union finished with 58.2% possession to Orlando’s 41.8%, 20 shots to Orlando’s six, and 80% passing accuracy to the Lions’ 65.9%. If expected goals are your thing, Philly had the better of it there too, with 1.6 xG to OCSC’s 0.6. With all of that being said though, Orlando mostly defended well as a team, and with 20 shots you would think that the Union’s xG would be higher. The fact that it wasn’t is a testament to the Lions’ ability to largely prevent their opponents from creating dangerous chances. Despite the 20 shots that Philly took, only four were on target and Gallese saved them all to keep his first clean sheet of the season. It was strange to see the first shutout of the year come without both starting defensive midfielders and against one of the best teams in the league so far, but soccer is a funny old sport sometimes.

Points Left on the Table?

Itt’s not absurd to make the argument that the Lions should have actually gotten more than a point from this game. Gallese’s 47th-minute save to deny Bruno Damiani was far and away the Union’s best chance of the night, but Marco Pasalic and Luis Muriel arguably each had cleaner looks at goal that they simply couldn’t finish. On the first, Muriel produced another excellent flick to find Ojeda, who in turn found Pasalic exactly where you want him — in space on the right side of the box, but he shot too close to Andre Blake, who saved well. It was Muriel’s turn to do the same in the 70th minute, as he failed to wrap his foot around his shot enough and put it too close to Blake. They were probably the best chances either team had all night, and if they get put away, then we’re hailing a smash-and-grab, three-point effort.

Good Teams Grind Out Results

Despite the wayward finishing, it’s hard to be too ticked off about this result. If you’d told me the Lions would get a shutout draw against the Union without Atuesta and Araujo before kickoff, I’d have taken it no questions asked. It’s never super enjoyable to not see your team score any goals, but the overall defensive performance was wonderful to see from a team that’s been sorely lacking them for most of this young season. It’s too early in the year to say for sure whether Orlando City is a good team or not, but something good teams do is find ways to get results when they aren’t at their best. The Lions certainly weren’t at their best during this one, but managed to get out of Pennsylvania with a hard-earned point and a clean sheet to boot, and that isn’t anything to turn your nose up at.

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All in all, I’ll take it. There was plenty of reason to be nervous when the starting XI was announced, but Orlando played a tough defensive game and got a solid point as a result. We can talk about the “what ifs” of the Pasalic and Muriel chances, but at the end of the day, the defense continued its upward trajectory, and the Lions kept pace in a crowded Eastern Conference. Up next is another measuring stick game at home against the New York Red Bulls to see how far OCSC has come since Matchday 4. Vamos Orlando!

Orlando City’s maligned defense got its first shutout of the season. However, the Lions’ league-best attack was also shut out for the first time in a scoreless draw against the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park in Chester, PA. Orlando (3-2-2, 11 points) finishes the season series winless (0-1-1) but took four of a possible six points on its two-game road swing as the Lions extended their unbeaten run to four games (2-0-2) and handed the Union (4-2-1, 13 points) their first draw of the year.

Pedro Gallese made four saves to keep his first clean sheet of the 2025 season, while Andre Blake stopped all three shots on target he faced, including two of the game’s best chances.

“Good result for us. I think we’ll take this point from a difficult place, Philadelphia, with a lot of intensity,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We knew that our options would be in behind of their backs, and we had two or three options that could have given us the three points. But at the end, I think it was very level in that end. We will take this game as an improvement of our defensive system. It’s our first clean sheet, and we’re happy, but the boys had a lot of personality to come to this hard place and have that result.”

Pareja was forced into some lineup changes as both starting central midfielders — Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta — picked up tightness late in the week and were held out for precautionary reasons. Gallese started in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Joran Gerbet and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson started in central midfield behind the usual attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Marco Pasalic, with Luis Muriel up top.

“”I have to give a lot of credit to Joran and Dagur,” Pareja said. “They had a lot of personality. We didn’t have too much time or frequency in our trainings with both of them, but they adapted to the possibilities that the game brought. Today they did a good job in trying to keep the lines connected, but they were called to be the ones who can absorb that pressure, that pressing, that way that Philadelphia plays, especially at home. And they did a good job.”

The first half was a chippy, physical 45 minutes with neither side covering itself in glory in terms of precision, but the Lions were second best the entire opening period, passing at a dreadful 60.1% and handing possession to the Union in their own half time after time. Orlando defended well as a team, which is the only reason the Lions didn’t trail at the half.

The game plan was to have Brekalo play a hybrid center back/left back role, winning balls in the air when the Union invariably tried to play into the middle. That would, in theory, allow Freeman to roam forward and join the attack, and although sloppy ball placement limited Orlando’s ability to get forward into the wide spaces behind Philadelphia’s fullbacks, the defensive game plan worked as intended. The Union created a few dangerous chances but the defense frustrated the hosts into settling for several long-range attempts.

“I think David did a good job on that part without the ball,” Pareja said. “We knew that Philadelphia had this centralized game, at once direct. Every ball they play goes toward the center. We thought it was a good idea to have David with his presence. His aerial game that is strong helped us in some occasions as a third central back without being installed as a central back all the game. It was a hybrid assignment for him and I think he did a good job. He provided today solidness on that side.”

After a physical start to the game, with several fouls and most of it played in Orlando’s defensive third, the Lions nearly had something going in the 10th minute when Ojeda got into the box. Jakob Glesnes made a desperation lunge to get a touch on the ball and by the time Ojeda got to it and tried to square it across the box, help had arrived to block the pass.

The Union tried to create chances off long throw-ins in the first half and Glesnes got his head to one in the 11th minute but popped up a soft effort that Gallese caught. The danger bells were ringing, however, and Daniel Gazdag nearly picked out Bruno Damiani in front in the 14th minute at the right post.

Freeman blocked a shot by Ian Glavinovich off a corner kick in the 18th minute. Quinn Sullivan then sent a deflected shot out of play for a corner on the recycle. Gazdag sent a scorching ball on frame off the second corner and Gallese fought it off.

In the 30th minute, Jovan Lukic fired from long range after not being closed down. The ball deflected off Schlegel at the top of the box and nearly caught Gallese wrong-footed. The Peruvian recovered and made a diving save to prevent the goal. Philadelphia kept firing from everywhere, with Sullivan, Lukic, and Tai Baribo all sending efforts from deep various degrees off target.

Orlando finally got its only chance of the half in the 41st minute, and it was the best look at goal for either side. Muriel and Ojeda combined off a long ball out of the back by Jansson to play Pasalic in on the right. The Croatian fired with his first touch and put it on frame, but he left it too close to Blake, who still had to make a good diving save to keep the game scoreless.

"ENORME BLAKE! ENORME BLAKE!"

Andre is doing Andre Blake things. Incredible save to bail out Glesnes.#doop #vamosorlando
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— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) April 6, 2025

“We wanted to have the ball a little longer when we had our sequencing, but it was a very difficult place to have it,” Pareja said. “And I have to admit that they did a good job on their pressing. At the end, we accept that we could have been better with the ball.”

Orlando survived a few more turnovers in the defensive end and the teams went to the break scoreless.

The Union held the halftime advantage in possession (52.9%-47.1%), shots (9-1), shots on target (2-1), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (71.2%-60.5%).

Looking to keep Philadelphia’s back line a bit more honest in the second period, Pareja introduced Duncan McGuire for Angulo at halftime.

However, Philadelphia created its best chance of the night just momentss after the restart. Gazdag got loose down the right flank and sent a good ball in front for Damiani, who redirected the ball from point-blank range with his first touch. Gallese did well to make himself big and hold his position, making a big stop to open the half in the 47th minute.

Hablemos de atajadas y esta del peruano Pedro Gallese 👏.

Gran guardameta el de @OrlandoCitySC 🟣🦁.

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— MLS Español (@MLSes) April 6, 2025

“In those moments, I thought we were defending well. We were organized well, and it’s just one of those things where we were solid in front of our own goal and defended it really well,” Gallese said. “Really happy with the shutout today.”

Nathan Harriel sent a soft header directly into Gallese’s arms off a long-range free kick in the 50th minute.

The Lions appeared to have something going when Pasalic broke down the right behind the back line a minute later. Charging hard toward the end line and having a poor angle, Pasalic tried squaring a ball through the six, but he didn’t have any teammates with him and the chance evaporated.

Lukic was left unattended at the top of the box in the 53rd minute. Frankie Westfield beat Ojeda down the line and pulled a good pass back for Lukic, but the midfielder sent his shot just over the crossbar.

Philadelphia kept the pressure on, but could not pay it off. Damiani got under a shot on a training ground set piece in the 58th minutes, sending it high over the crossbar. Two minutes later, a good cross in nearly found Damiani, but Freeman did enough to keep him from making good contact with his header, which sailed over. Fans and Union players wanted a penalty, but referee Ismir Pekmic wasn’t interested and there wasn’t enough contact to warrant a spot kick.

Kyle Smith came on for Pasalic in the 67th minute, stabilizing Orlando’s left side, which the Union were exploiting. After that substitution, the right side of the Union attack was much quieter.

Orlando’s second golden opportunity came in the 70th minute. Ojeda got forward, but didn’t have much help, so he dribbled left to right across the top of the box, waiting for teammates. Muriel arrived and Ojeda slipped him the ball. The Colombian blasted it with his right foot, but again the shot was too central and Blake made another big save.

Andre Blake doing Andre Blake things 🧱

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— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 6, 2025

“We could’ve even had more from the game in the two or three actions that we had with Pasalic, with Martin, and that one with Muriel,” Pareja said.

The Lions had a better spell of possession for a few minutes, including a great turn by Freeman, who sent the ball to Muriel. The Designated Player may have had better options to his right, but he opted to shoot, firing into the defender in front of him in the 75th minute.

Two minutes later, Ojeda looked to have an open shot, but Westfield arrived just in time to deflect it out for a corner. Orlando City couldn’t pay off the set piece, which was initially cleared. The recycled ball in found Smith, who sent a weak header softly into Blake’s hands.

Philadelphia made a late push to find a winner, earning several set pieces — mostly corners — but couldn’t generate much from them. Homegrown midfielder Colin Guske came on for Ojeda just before the end of normal time, making his MLS debut and helping provide fresh legs and another defensive-minded body to see out the road result.

The only late drama was Mikael Uhre feeling contact from Schlegel and going down easily in the box, looking for a penalty call. Again Pekmic wasn’t interested, although between an ensuing scuffle and a yellow card for time wasting on Gallese, the referee allowed the game to go two minutes beyond the four minutes of stoppage time.

It didn’t matter, as neither side could create a chance and the match ended scoreless.

The Union dominated the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (58.2%-41.8%), shots (20-6), shots on target (4-3), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (80%-65.9%). Nine yellow cards were dispensed in the match, with the Lions getting five of those and all but one — on Jansson — coming in the second half.

“Very tough game, coming here on the road,” Gallese said. “We know that Philly’s having a good year, but we came here with the the intentions to win, but still a good result from our side. We knew that we couldn’t go through the start of the year like we have in the past years, and that in these moments, we need to start getting points and continuing to push ourselves up the table in this early portion of the season. And I think the team’s good right now. We’re in a spot where we’ve got things that we have to fix, but things that we know we can fix and continue to get better ourselves. And, we’re just in a point where there’s a lot of confidence in this group right now.”

“I’m very pleased to see the boys evolving — the youngsters, Freeman, absorbing these types of games,” Pareja said. “I think his character today raised as well and he understands much better what is this game about. I think the team is developing new ideas. I told them in the locker room that this was really a playoff game. That’s what we felt.”

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After four road matches in a five-game span, the Lions will return to Inter&Co Stadium a week from tonight to host the New York Red Bulls, wrapping up a second season series against an Eastern Conference opponent in a two-week span.