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While most of us didn’t know too much about Yoshimar Yotún prior to his arrival at Orlando City SC, we all know a little more following his debut.
Our Designated Player made his first ever MLS start at New York Red Bulls last time out and the general consensus is that the Peruvian international fared well.
As Orlando City UK anticipated in a previous blog post, Yoshimar Yotún lined up on the left hand side of Jason Kreis‘ preferred 4-4-2 midfield diamond formation.
This was despite Orlando City SC‘s official Twitter account tweeting the starting line-up that deployed Yotún at the head of this diamond.
As the game panned out, both Yoshimar Yotún and Kaká switched positions throughout the 90 minutes, underlining the Peruvian’s much publicised versatility.
Tonight’s Starting XI vs. @NewYorkRedBulls. Coverage starts at 7pm on @WRDQ27. pic.twitter.com/LzDdmN5g5e
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) August 12, 2017
An accomplished passer
Yoshimar Yotún was brought to Central Florida due to his supreme passing ability and the 27-year-old wasted no time in demonstrating this at Red Bull Arena.
Performing in a highly impressive first half-an-hour by the Lions where we carved out multiple opportunities, Yotún completed 10 of his 13 passes in the opening 45 minutes.
The former Malmö FF helped to unlock New York Red Bulls’ back line by neatly linking up with Carlos Rivas in both the second and sixth minutes.
Enabling Carlos Rivas to use his pace to run directly at Michael Amir Murillo, Aaron Long, Damien Perrinelle, Yoshimar Yotún‘s passing was very easy on the eye.
Again in the second-half, Yotún expertly sent a through ball high over the New York Red Bulls defence from deep in the 74th minute.
However, Aaron Long managed to miraculously catch up with Carlos Rivas who was running clear on Luis Robles’ goal when it appeared unlikely.
Yoshimar Yotún’s Orlando City SC debut at New York Red Bulls – Highlights (Credit: Embajadores Criollos)
Full of energy
It’s been heavily documented how Orlando City SC‘s midfield has failed to provide regular service to our forward line so far this season.
On the face of it, it would appear that the likes of Cyle Larin, Dom Dwyer and Carlos Rivas can look forward to increased through balls with Yoshimar Yotún full of energy.
A genuine box-to-box midfielder, much like fellow mid-season arrival Dillon Powers, Yoshimar Yotún also showed he can drop in to help the back line also.
In a far better first-half compared to the second, Orlando City SC limited New York Red Bulls to two shots and none on target, underling the strength of our core.
HALF-TIME STATS | 0-0@OrlandoCitySC the dominant side in the first-half but we need to make it count more in the 2nd!#NYvORL #OCSC #MLS pic.twitter.com/L4xrDr43Ol
— Orlando City UK (@Orlando_CityUK) August 13, 2017
Composure on the ball
Just inches away from a goalscoring debut for Orlando City SC, Yoshimar Yotún struck the underside of Luis Robles’ bar in the 76th minute.
After Carlos Rivas was clear down the right, the Colombian whipped in an accurate cross that was cleared by the Red Bulls defence but straight into Yotún’s path.
Collecting the ball centrally and just inside the 18-yard box, the Peruvian could’ve hit it first time but fooled the defence by taking a touch only to agonisingly strike it off the bar.
Hitting the ball cleanly, it was a genuine moment of unluckiness on the debutant’s part but his composure in this situation stood out.
77′ | YOSHI! Off the bar!
2-1 | #NYvORL pic.twitter.com/mO2Gt6GU6s
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) August 13, 2017
Orlando City UK looks forward to seeing what Yoshimar Yotún can produce for the remainder of the 2017 Major League Soccer campaign and beyond!