After picking up a valuable 1-1 draw a mile high at Colorado Rapids, Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC stay on the road to visit fierce Eastern Conference rivals Atlanta United.
The first meeting with The Five Stripes this year, this game always means more to City supporters and the Lions will have to battle hard to defend our honour in the cavernous Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Tallying 29 points so far, Orlando City SC sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, but only three points above the red line.
Sure, there’s still plenty of time to solidify our place in the top seven but City would love some more breathing room.
In a super tight Eastern Conference, there’s little room for error with the games coming thick and fast this mid-season.
This visit to Atlanta United is the fourth of eight games that Orlando City SC will contest in the month of July alone.
An incredibly busy schedule, many expect City to drop a few results but it’s been reassuring to pick up four points from six following that shocking 3-5 defeat to D.C. United.
Reflecting on our 1-1 draw at Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, Facundo Torres opened the scoring in the 22nd minute.
Latching onto a loose ball in the Rapids’ 18-yard box, the Uruguayan’s fierce one-time shot cannoned in off William Yarbrough’s crossbar.
His fourth Orlando City SC goal, Facundo Torres has enjoyed an encouraging debut MLS season so far and his talent is clear.
Nevertheless, scoring enough goals has been a problem for Orlando City SC all season long.
Only scoring three goals in a single game once, against D.C. United (3-5), City couldn’t capitalise on their 0-1 advantage.
After an Orlando save-of-the-season contender from Pedro Gallese on Gyasi Zardes in the 49th minute, a Rapids comeback was bubbling away.
Zardes wasn’t to be denied and the pressure told on 65 minutes when the USMNT forward converted a Michael Barrios cross.
In the end, Orlando City SC were happy to steal a point with Pedro Gallese amazingly equal to a Diego Rubio point blank header minutes after Zardes’ equaliser.
As for Sunday’s opponents Atlanta United, Gonzalo Pineda’s side beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 at home the same Wednesday evening.
A Ronaldo Cisneros brace helped The Five Stripes halt a four-game winless streak in Major League Soccer.
Atlanta United vs Orlando City SC – 2017/21 head-to-head stats
The last time Orlando City SC faced Atlanta United, The Five Stripes snapped a six-game winless streak against their Florida rivals.
Ruthlessly punishing the Lions 3-0, Oscar Pareja‘s side were out fought and out thought at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With Daryl Dike, Nani, Mauricio Pereyra and Benji Michel all starting, our attack was virtually non-existent all evening in Georgia.
Admittedly, Gonzalo Pineda’s Atlanta United performed well and started strong with Luiz Araújo and Ezequiel Barco impressing throughout the 90.
In truth, Orlando City SC were on the back foot early on and never ever recovered on the plastic pitch (not an excuse).
Ultimately, there’s ways to lose soccer games, especially rivalry fixtures – with effort, pride and determination.
Orlando City SC were found wanting on all three fronts.
Atlanta United 3 Orlando City SC 0 – Highlights – September 10, 2021 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
Ever since Oscar Pareja arrived at Orlando City SC, he’s rewritten the script in games against rivals Atlanta United.
Managing the Lions SEVEN times against The Five Stripes, Papi is unbeaten in SIX, winning THREE and drawing THREE.
This positive streak means that Atlanta United now only lead Orlando City SC by FOUR victories.
Our sweetest MLS win (3-2) over Atlanta United came in July 2021.
After goalscoring nemesis Josef Martínez scored in just 48 seconds, it was easy to fear the worst.
However, Kyle Smith scored a key equaliser on 43 minutes. Wasteful with our second-half opportunities, this came back to bite us.
With Marcelino Moreno ripping an unstoppable strike past debutant Mason Stajduhar on 66 minutes (1-2), it didn’t seem our night.
But substitute Silvester van der Water was inspirational, equalising on 79 minutes before assisting Nani for a crucial 87th minute game winner.
Stealing all three points from City club legend Rob Valentino, cue scenes of Josef Martínez looking less than impressed on the Atlanta United subs bench.
Pure jubilation!
Orlando City SC 3 Atlanta United 2 – Highlights – July 30, 2021 (Credit: Atlanta United FC)
Prior to that horrible 3-0 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last season, Orlando City SC had gone SIX consecutive MLS head-to-heads unbeaten!
This streak was sweet, especially considering how The Five Stripes bullied City throughout 2017, 2018, and 2019.
In our 2021 opener, Orlando City SC drew 0-0 with Gabriel Heinze’s Atlanta United on April 17.
Both sides looked leggy as they acclimatised to competitive MLS action again.
Orlando City SC had the best chances to win the game with Alexandre Pato going close twice before suffering a long-term injury.
Atlanta United form
The good news is that Atlanta United’s defence has been far from watertight so far this season.
The Five Stripes have conceded AT LEAST TWO GOALS in SEVEN of their last NINE MLS fixtures.
Right now, Atlanta United are a far cry from the side that went all the way to winning the 2018 MLS Cup.
With the pressure firmly on an expectant franchise and fanbase, club talisman Josef Martínez was recently outspoken when criticising his team-mates post-game.
In a candid response to the recent 0-3 loss to Austin FC, the Venezuelan said: “Some players … don’t appreciate the jersey, what we’ve [done] for a long time. The injuries are not the problem.”
Atlanta United 0 Austin FC 3 – Highlights – July 9, 2022 (Credit: Austin FC)
Orlando City SC form
At the outset, we mentioned how Orlando City SC have struggled to score enough goals this season.
After 20 MLS regular season games, Oscar Pareja‘s Lions have only won by a multiple goal margin TWICE.
This happened on opening day, a 2-0 victory over CF Montréal, and then at Columbus Crew, a fine 0-2 road win on April 16.
It’s clear to everybody that Orlando City SC are still yet to unlock their attacking potential despite having the talent on paper.
For further context, the Lions are currently tied fourth for being the lowest goalscorers (25) in the Eastern Conference.
Only Charlotte FC have scored fewer goals (23) while retaining a position above the red line.
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