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Orlando City vs. LAFC: Final Score 4-2 as Lions Drop Points at Home

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4 years ago

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A second-half goal by Ilie Sanchez snapped a 2-2 tie and late insurance tally by Kwadwo Opoku spoiled a good performance by Orlando city as LAFC defeated the Lions 4-2 at Exploria Stadium. Orlando (2-2-2, 8 points) had a mesmerizing first half but made two mistakes and was punished for both by LAFC (4-0-1, 13 points) — a team the Lions have still never beaten.

Alexandre Pato and Joao Moutinho canceled out first-half goals by Brian Rodriguez and Jesus David Murillo. Orlando fell to 1-2-0 at home and has conceded six goals in the last two home matches.

“What happened is that we lost and we conceded four goals — three of them that are not accepted by ourselves and not at this level, and that’s why it just created the difference in the game,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But it would be bad as well to let this feeling be more than what we produced today as a team. I’m trying to recognize the game that the boys played today, especially in the first half. If they go in that direction they’re going to win many games and I don’t have any doubt about it.”

Pareja had his starting goalkeeper back from international duty as Pedro Gallese lined up behind the first-choice back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Cesar Araujo and Junior Urso manned the central midfield behind an attacking line of Alexandre Pato, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Ercan Kara returning to the starting lineup up top.

Orlando City jumped on LAFC from the opening kickoff, earning some early corner kicks and buzzing around the visitors’ goal. Moutinho did well to send a cross into the area for Urso, hitting the midfielder in stride but the Bear couldn’t set his feet properly and lost control right in front of goal in the seventh minute.

Pato scored in transition in the 10th minute but the flag came up for an offside call on Torres on the buildup. Torres streaked down the left and got onto a ball, crossing in to Pato for the score. The play seemed to be onside but there wasn’t a definitive angle to overturn it.

In the 12th minute, Pato unselfishly dished off to Kara instead of shooting it himself and the striker fizzed his shot just over the bar.

LAFC got its first shot attempt off seconds later when Cristian Arango got a fortunate bounce after being surrounded by three Lions at the top of the box. The ball bounced back to him off a defender and he fired wide.

The game changed moments later when Carlos was injured after suffering one of the 11 first-half LAFC fouls. Rodriguez hit Carlos from behind and he planted awkwardly, going to ground. The Brazilian immediately grabbed his the back of his leg in the hamstring area and appeared to be in a lot of pain. He was stretchered off and Rodrigo Schlegel came on as a sub in the 18th minute.

The Lions kept attacking, and suffering fouls when they were able to create space, but in the aftermath of the Carlos injury, it was LAFC that scored first. A long ball over the top of Ruan by Vela found Aranga down the left side. Aranga had only one man in the box, but that’s all he needed as Rodriguez ran unchecked through the penalty area and scored off the cross in the 24th minute.

“They got the ball back really quick and they opened it up out wide to the left side,” Moutinho said. “And I saw that (Rodriguez) had some space inside the box. I tried to track back and I tried to yell at Robin that (he) was behind him. I think he made a really good run and the cross was just inch-perfect and he got the goal.”

The Lions pulled it back in the 36th minute as Pato again put the ball in the net. A ball over the top by Pereyra found Kara, who made a perfectly timed run. Kara nodded the ball back for Pato, who volleyed it past Maxime Crepeau to make it 1-1.

The tie score didn’t last long. After a set piece in the Orlando end, a recycled ball into the area found Ruan’s head. The Brazilian tried to head it back to Gallese but got it horribly wrong, allowing Murillo to get to it first and restore the LAFC lead in the 38th minute.

Orlando got that goal back just before the break. Pereyra took a pass from Urso on the right and he spied Moutinho lurking on the back side. The Uruguayan fed him a quick pass and the Portuguese fullback slotted his shot just inside the right post to make it 2-2 in the 45th minute.

It was Moutinho’s second competitive goal in an Orlando uniform and both came at the expense of his old team. The first was the late equalizer in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout round that allowed the Lions to go on and win the post-game penalty shootout. Tonight’s goal was Moutinho’s first regular-season goal for the Lions.

“I saw that Urso and Mari were trying to find some space, and as soon as I saw that Mari had some space on the ball, I moved up there to a space where I thought I could score,” Moutinho said. “And I put my hand up and I yelled at him and he saw me. He played me the ball. I took a good first touch and a good finish and that was that.”

Orlando City held more possession (61.5%-38.5%), fired more shots (7-5), and got more on target (3-2), winning more corners (3-0). The Lions were also the more precise passing team (83.1%-78.6%).

“I think the first half was one of those games that make us feel very optimistic about it,” Pareja said.

Despite what should have been an uplifting goal going into the half, LAFC came out more aggressively and much better defensively after subbing on Jose Cifuentes for Francisco Ginella.

LAFC broke the deadlock just six minutes after the restart. Orlando had issues clearing a ball in off of a set piece opportunity and as Schlegel knocked the ball into space and went to follow it, he was picked by Murillo, allowing Ilie Sanchez to collect with enough space at the top of the box to pick out his spot and fire a shot past Gallese.

The Lions struggled to connect in the attacking half with the same accuracy as in the first half. Orlando was able to move the ball across midfield but often sent in a poorly weighted ball or an off-line pass when trying to unlock the LAFC defense.

“The sequences that we created in the first half, probably there were many, and then just comparing the two halves, you feel like we did not have any (in the second half),” Pareja said. “We were not as fluid and we were not as precise.”

Pato, Torres, and Kara all visibly seemed to tire as the second half wore on. Chasing the game, Pareja sent Benji Michel in for Araujo and replaced Ruan — who had a subpar performance on the night, particularly in his own end — with Kyle Smith. Michel’s speed was needed when a poorly worked short corner ended up in an LAFC counter-attack opportunity. The Homegrown did well to hustle back and not only prevent a scoring chance but also won his team a goal kick in the 74th minute.

Pereyra sent in a set piece cross in the 78th minute that nearly produced an equalizer. Kara got his head to it and got the shot on goal but the cross was behind him so he was going backward when he hit it and couldn’t get much power on it. Crepeau was able to make the near-post save.

Two minutes later, Michel freed himself on the left at the top of the box but fizzed his shot wide of the right post.

Tesho Akindele and Silvester van der Water came on in the 83rd minute to give the Lions fresh legs but neither did much. The duo combined for just 13 total touches and produced no shots or (on the official stat sheet I received, anyway) scoring chances.

As time wound down, Crepeau made a good save to deny a Pato header off a cross from van der Water in the 90th minute. A minute later, Moutinho got his head on a set piece cross and headed it down into the turf. The ball had so much power on it that it hit the ground and bounced just over the bar.

“I kind of saw the ball just as it was about to hit my head. So I didn’t have a lot of time to think about what I was going to do,” Moutinho said. “But I definitely think that I should have done better on that.”

Opoku finished a 4-on-2 break in the 93rd minute with Orlando sending numbers forward in search of an equalizer.

Orlando City finished the game with the edge statistically but not where it counts. The Lions had more possession (61.2%-38.8%), shots (13-11), shots on goal (5-4), corners, 7-2, and passing accuracy (82.6%-76.2%). But LAFC capitalized on its few chances, created mainly by Orlando mistakes, and made the game ugly with fouls (19), knowing Orlando hasn’t been precise enough on set pieces.

“We were playing really well until the injury to Antonio,” Pereyra said. “We had control of the game in the first half. We created a lot of chances, we scored twice, but we need to keep working on improving because we (conceded) two goals in the first half and then in the second half, with our mistakes, we (gave up) two more goals. We need to keep working and move forward.”

The Lions will be back home next Saturday when the Chicago Fire visits Exploria Stadium at 1 p.m.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/11/26

Leagues Cup preview, Americans in midweek action, open letter addressing Gianni Infantino, and more.

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18 hours ago

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August 11, 2026

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but fortunately, opportunities to change the vibes are right around the corner. Orlando City B plays NYCFC II in a few hours, Orlando City plays San Luis tomorrow and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, and the Orlando Pride are in action against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night as well. We’ve got lots to talk over this morning, so let’s get into it.

Leagues Cup Preview

Leagues Cup will begin its final round of group stage games later today, and there are several storylines to keep an eye on. Most prominent among them is the match between Austin FC and Club America, as each team currently sits first in its respective table. Myrto Uzuni’s hat trick helped Austin bury Puebla in its second match, and the Verde and Black are now in great position to advance. Before we get to that match on Thursday though, FC Cincinnati plays Atlas this evening to kick off the last round of games. Cincy sits fourth in the MLS table and therefore has plenty to play for, while Atlas has no points and has already been eliminated from contention. With Cincy visiting the City Beautiful on Saturday, Orlando fans should be hoping for FCC’s key players to rack up a lot of minutes tonight.

Americans in Midweek Action

Plenty of Americans will be taking part in matches during the working week, so make sure you’ve got everything noted down on your calendar. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon kick things off later today as they try to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit against Sparta Prague in UEFA Champions Leauge qualifying. Things continue with Brenden Aaronson and Leeds playing Manchester United in a friendly on Wednesday, while Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen have a friendly of their own against Nottingham Forest. Things wrap up with some American-on-American violence on Friday, as Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Marseille in a friendly, while Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Haji Wright and Coventry in a tune-up game.

Confederations Write Letter Criticizing Gianni Infantino

Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC have written a joint open letter soccer as a whole, in which they accuse FIFA president Gianni Infantino of betraying the trust of the confederations and engaging in deceptive practices. They condemned the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and called both FIFA’s integrity and Infantino’s running of the organization into question. U.S. Soccer put out its own statement on Sunday in support of Concacaf’s stance. The letter also urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, while calling for accountability and openness among Infantino and the rest of FIFA’s leadership.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

There are plenty of transfer rumors to catch up on this morning, so let’s get straight into it. We start in England, where Crystal Palace is reportedly finalizing the signing of Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. In Spain, Atletico Madrid has reportedly submitted an offer in the area of €35 million to Lille for winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Meanwhile, Endrick will supposedly be staying at Real Madrid this season following discussions between himself, the club, and Head Coach Jose Mourinho. Barcelona ha reportedly rejected a €50 million offer for Ferran Torres from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Catalonian club wants the fee to be structured differently than PSG’s initial proposal. Finally, in a rather unexpected bit of news, Tom Bogert reports that CF Montreal is signing Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player.

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/10/26

Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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August 10, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic dribbling the ball in the attack against Atlanta.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and getting ready to cover high school sports again soon. Let’s wish a belated happy birthday to former Lion Alex Freeman, who turned 22 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to former Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja, who turns 58 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Fall to Club Leon in Leagues Cup

Orlando City fell 2-1 to Club Leon at home in the second matchday of the 2026 Leagues Cup on Saturday. Marco Pasalic scored for the Lions in the first half as Orlando took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Club Leon overturned the one-goal deficit, responding with goals from Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila to take a 2-1 lead as the Liga MX side edged the Lions for the win. Orlando City will be back at home on Wednesday to face Atletico de San Luis to close out the first phase of Leagues Cup.

Pride Winless Skid Continues with Loss to Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC at home on Friday as the club continues to slide down the NWSL table and has lost back-to-back league matches. Louisville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Emma Sears scored twice to give Louisville a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Kerry Abello scored for the Pride to avoid the shutout, but Louisville secured its third win in its last four games. Meanwhile, Orlando has lost four out of its last five matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, taking on the Portland Thorns.

Americans Abroad

Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske started and played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team against Mexico in the Concacaf U-20 Championships. The U.S. fell 2-0 to Mexico in the final on Sunday. Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made their debuts for Middlesbrough in Round 1 of the Carabao Cup against Wrexham on Friday. Berhalter notched an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 to advance to the second round. Ricardo Pepi started and played 80 minutes for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Austin Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were both in action for Celtic in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Latest MLS Transfer Roundup

The LA Galaxy have been busy making moves of late, signing former FC Barcelona and Como midfielder Sergi Roberto to a contract through June 2028 with an option for the 2028-2029 season. The Galaxy added winger Chucky Lozano from San Diego FC on loan through the end of the season and reached an agreement to transfer midfielder Edwin Cerrillo to Liga MX side Club America. Atlanta United has acquired midfielder Mauricio Amaro from Uruguayan top flight club Defensor Sporting. Amaro will be under contract through the 2028-2029 season with an option for 2029-2030. San Diego FC announced on Saturday that the club has transferred defender Andres Reyes to Atletico Nacional in Colombia.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, scored his first goal in the USL Championship over the weekend.
  • Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored for Malawi, which defeated Ghana 2-1 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
  • Nigeria fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, resulting in Cameroon qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria will face South Africa on Thursday in a play-in match to qualify for the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
  • Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed in a documentary that he had signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, but later backed out of the deal and decided to return to Chelsea after his first stint at Real Madrid.

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Club Leon, Leagues Cup: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Blow Halftime Lead in Loss

Marco Pasalic gave the Lions a halftime lead, but the defense got leaky in the second half.

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3 days ago

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August 8, 2026

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Image of Harvey Sarajian getting elbowed in the neck by Juan Guevara of Club Leon
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Marco Pasalic put Orlando City ahead in the first half, but two second-half mistakes and what appeared to be a clear foul in the penalty area late on Club Leon led to the Lions falling 2-1 at home tonight on the second matchday of Leagues Cup. Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila pulled Leon back from a goal down in the second half, and an Orlando City (1-1) side that didn’t rotate much from Wednesday’s game looked a bit leggy in the second half against Leon (2-0).

“I think, of course, very very sad for the result for us, for our people, for everyone,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t. Congrats to them; they did a really good job. We were there, trying to to compete. At the end, we were short.”

Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Luis Otavio and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfielders with Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer in the attack and Marco Pasalic and Antoine Griezmann up top.

The start of the game was bereft of action as the teams tried to figure one another out. The Lions nearly created something magical five minutes after kickoff when Pasalic sent in a great ball over the top for Griezmann, who brought it down, but it bounced a bit wide, and when he went to ground to try to shoot, the defender caught up and blocked the effort.

Neither team could do much with a corner kick opportunity over the next 15 minutes and much of the action was played between the boxes. Pasalic earned a free kick in a dangerous spot when he blew past Juan Guevara, who brought him down and picked up a yellow card. Griezmann took the free kick from just outside the area but his delivery hit the wall and came back to him. He got under his second effort and put it out of play.

The first real danger from Club Leon came on a ball over the top in the 28th minute. Crepeau came off his line but couldn’t get there before Arcila, who tried to chip the goalkeeper but he sent it wide left. Sebastian Santos got to it before it went over the end line and tried to shoot from a tight angle with Iago defending but he got under his shot and put it over the bar.

Just moments after the ensuing hydration break, Leon nearly scored on another ball over the top that was just out of Iago’s reach. Arcila got to it first and fired a shot that Crepeau saved. Fernando Beltran picked up the rebound and tried to chip the Canadian, but Crepeau was able to go up and catch the shot to keep the game scoreless.

Orlando tried a ball over the top for itself in the 36th minute. Spicer was first to it but as he swung his foot to shoot the bouncing ball, the defense arrived and bodied him, causing him to whiff on his effort. But the Lions scored anyway two minutes later.

Pasalic and Griezmann worked a nice give-and-go in the attacking half and the Frenchman sent Spicer down the left. Spicer fed Pasalic at the top of the area and the Croatian’s shot took a slight deflection and beat Oscar Garcia to make it 1-0.

“Happy to help in the first half with the goal,” Pasalic said.

After the goal, Leon showed more determination in keeping the ball and building up play. The guests couldn’t do much with a couple of corners over the next several minutes.

Leon created another chance in first-half stoppage time, when Iago was beaten and Jansson couldn’t quite get over in time to intervene. Arcila got there first and fired toward the near post but Crepeau knocked it out for a corner.

Griezmann headed away the ensuing set piece to end the first period.

The late spell of possession after Pasalic’s goal helped Leon lead in that category at the break (54.1%-45.9%). The Liga MX side also led in shots (8-6), shots on target (5-2), and corners (4-2). Orlando City passed slightly more accurately in the opening half (92.7%-91.8%)

Griffin Dorsey entered the game at halftime for Taifi, but it was Club Leon who brought the energy to the start of the second half. In the opening minutes, Crepeau was forced into two great saves. Rhein turned it over in his defensive third, and Arcila’s cheeky backheel of a cross in from the right forced the Canadian international to make a a diving stop. Leon sent the ball back in from the left to a wide-open Jordi Cortizo in front but sent it right at Crepeau for another save.

Orlando’s first chance of the second half came on a Griezmann corner kick. Dorsey headed it across the box and Iago made a flying attempt at a bicycle kick, but he missed the ball and committed a foul in the process.

Leon got back on the front foot after that, with Jansson doing well to block an Arcila shot at the top of the area in the 51st minute. Arcila then got to a cross and stabbed it wide a minute later, but the initial play was offside.

The visitors tied the game in the 54th minute off a long-range set piece near the left sideline. The cross appeared to go in off of Dorsey, who was trying to mark Juan Guevara. Crepeau got to it just after it crossed the line. Dorsey said something to Crepeau after the play, but Guevara was ultimately credited with the goal.

Orlando’s struggles throughout the game came in the attacking third, and it was magnified in the second half. One such play was a nice buildup in the 69th minute that ended up with Rhein on the left, but the youngster made a mess of his cross, sending it out of play. Two minutes later, substitute Justin Ellis headed a pass to Dorsey that he perhaps should have shot. Ellis got it to Dorsey, who didn’t make good contact and sent a weak shot for Garcia to collect.

It was a costly missed opportunity, as Leon scored the winning goal a minute later. Rhein got caught too far upfield after heading the ball forward, and Leon broke in transition down the right side in behind him. Ivan Moreno found Arcila at the top of the area and the striker found space in front of Iago and sent an inch-perfect shot inside the left post to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute.

Perelman sent Daryl Dike into the game as Orlando chased the match, and the Lions should have gone to the spot in the 84th minute. Ellis sent a fantastic ball to send Harvey Sarajian into the area on the right. Guevara caught up from behind, threw an arm across the rookie forward’s face, and bundled him over from behind, but referee Jose Camacho Espinoza incredibly saw nothing wrong with what the Leon defender did. There did not even seem to be a stoppage for video review, although media were informed that the play was checked.

“Ellis played the ball through. I’m through. I felt contact to the back, and in my opinion, I thought it was a foul,” Sarajian said. “But the referee didn’t agree. So it is what it is. I felt the contact (to the head and neck area).”

“I saw it,” Perelman said of the play. “I think the same thing as (the media).”

Leon was content to put numbers behind the ball and use the dark arts as much as possible to slow things down. The Lions won a lot of set pieces but could not pay them off. Crepeau came up to join the last few, but in the end, the Lions couldn’t find a way through the mass of Leon defenders down the stretch.

With Leon ceding possession and staying compact late, Orlando City finished with more possession (51.7%-48.3%), while also having the advantage in corners (7-5) and passing accuracy (90%-88.2%). Leon attempted far more shots (18-10) and put more on target (10-3). It was the inability to threaten goal that ultimately prevented Orlando from building on its lead or clawing back into the match.

Pasalic spoke to the referee after the game. He had been taken out in the middle of the pitch in first-half stoppage time that not only didn’t earn Leon a yellow card, but it wasn’t even deemed a foul. He came out to try to play through it in the second half, but the earlier contact forced him off before the hour mark and appeared to be one of the more egregious fouls in the match, despite the no-call.

“Suddenly, I get the hit in my knee, so my knee was getting a lump,” Pasalic said. “And I spoke with them in the halftime. I tried it to go out in the second half, but I felt that my knee is not going to help the team. It’s nothing serious, but I just want to be sure that the team has 10 players on the pitch who can play fully. I mean, I don’t want to get fined. No, just I want to speak in a respectful way about (the referee). For me, it’s unacceptable that he don’t give even the foul when I get fouled, and because of this, I was not able to play again in the second half, fully. This was not even a yellow card.”

The Lions will close out the first phase of Leagues Cup Wednesday at home against Atletico de San Luis.

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