Luis Muriel

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Minnesota United – 09.03.2024

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Suffering the embarrassment of a 5-0 defeat to Florida rivals Inter Miami last Saturday, Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC return to Inter&Co Stadium to face Minnesota United in their first cross-conference fixture of 2024. Currently on just one point after two MLS games, the Lions are desperate to register not only their first league victory of the year but their first goal too.

This home game against Minnesota United is also the Lions’ 10 Year Anniversary Match, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Orlando City SC‘s first match in Major League Soccer. Instead of our home purple, City will suit up in The Legacy Kit to honour the occasion.

At this embryonic stage of 2024, we’ve had to juggle MLS exploits with our participation in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup – something that has posed many MLS sides difficulties in the past. On Tuesday night, Orlando City SC drew 0-0 with Mexican giants Tigres UANL in the first leg of our Round of 16 tie with the crucial second leg taking place next Tuesday. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Tigres UANL – 05.03.2024

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February 27 was a historic night for Orlando City SC as we sealed our first ever two-legged victory in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Making light work of defeating Cavalry FC 6-1 on aggregate across two Round One legs in the 2024 edition of the tournament, Orlando City SC now face a much tougher proposition in the Round of 16.

As fate would have it, the Lions now face two legs against Mexican giants Tigres UANL in exactly the same matchup as we saw at this stage of the competition last year. On that occasion, tournament favourites Tigres UANL narrowly progressed past City via the away goals rule having drawn 0-0 in Monterrey and 1-1 in Central Florida.

Out to avenge the pain we felt in our March 2023 tournament debut, one major difference this time is that Orlando City SC are hosting this first leg at Inter&Co Stadium with the crucial return leg taking place at Estadio Universitario on March 12. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Inter Miami vs Orlando City SC – 02.03.2024

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After a frustrating 0-0 draw against CF Montréal in our 2024 MLS home opener last Saturday, Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC now contest one of the biggest games on this year’s schedule – an away trip to Fort Lauderdale to face fierce Florida rivals Inter Miami.

This year’s Sunshine Clásico falls earlier than ever before with the Lions hoping to achieve the mouthwatering prospect of defeating Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and co in The Herons’ own backyard at Chase Stadium. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs Cavalry FC – 27.02.2024

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Last Wednesday, Orlando City SC comprehensively defeated Cavalry FC 0-3 in leg one of our 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One tie. Now contesting leg two at Inter&Co Stadium, the Lions are coming off a frustrating 0-0 draw against CF Montréal in our 2024 MLS home opener on Saturday.

Considering the Canadian Premier League is only five seasons old, there was a huge gulf in quality between Cavalry FC and Orlando City SC at Starlight Stadium. In this return leg, Oscar Pareja will be demanding another professional performance to finish off the job and seal our passage through to the Round of 16 where Tigres UANL await – just as they did last year – in a much more difficult proposition. Continue reading →

STATS PREVIEW: Orlando City SC vs CF Montréal – 24.02.2024

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After a short, breathless, and exciting off-season of refreshment, anticipation fills the air as Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC kick off the 2024 Major League Soccer campaign.

Starting at home for a tenth consecutive MLS season, City open against CF Montréal (just like we did in 2022) after our crushing 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs defeat to Columbus Crew back in November. Continue reading →

Twitter reacts to… Orlando City SC signing Luis Muriel

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Heavily linked with Orlando City SC since January 31, the Lions have today announced the signing of experienced striker Luis Muriel from Atalanta. Becoming our third Designated Player after Facundo Torres and Martín Ojeda, and our fifteenth ever DP in MLS, the 32-year-old has signed a three-year contract through 2026 at Inter&Co Stadium for a fee believed to be worth around €2 million.

Despite Duncan McGuire returning to Central Florida after his six-month loan to Blackburn Rovers collapsed, the 45-cap Colombian international Muriel will now, in all likelihood, lead the line for City with the Orlando City SC Front Office pulling the trigger on his permanent transfer now rather than waiting for him to become a free agent in June when his current contract was set to expire in Bergamo, Italy. Continue reading →

Duncan McGuire to return to Orlando City SC as Blackburn Rovers loan collapses

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(Credit: Blackburn Rovers)

After an EFL Board meeting today, Duncan McGuire’s six-month loan move to Blackburn Rovers has now officially collapsed due to an ‘administrative error’ by the EFL Championship side. In other words, the move has fallen through because McGuire’s registration paperwork was submitted after England’s January transfer window deadline of 11pm back on Thursday, February 1. On Tuesday, Tom Bogert even went as far to tweet that Rovers only clicked “save” and not “submit paperwork” before the deadline in what is truly a farcical clerical error. Turning 23 on Monday, this has been no way to spend a birthday with McGuire now having to return to Orlando City SC with immediate effect.

This dramatic transfer saga peaked last Wednesday when McGuire took a flight to England, only for Rovers to call Orlando City SC and our striker’s agent to inform us that they were pulling out of a deal. McGuire then remained grounded in England as fellow suitors Sheffield Wednesday re-entered the race, only for Rovers to then remarkably re-enter negotiations themselves, finally announcing Duncan McGuire’s six-month loan arrival on social media at 23:02, minutes after the January transfer window deadline had passed.

Orlando City UK now understands that Blackburn will fly over to the United States over the coming weeks to try to conclude a pre-contract agreement with Orlando City SC, so that Duncan McGuire can officially become a Rovers player in the summer. Continue reading →

Who is Orlando City SC transfer target Luis Muriel?

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Taking a temporary break from the dramatic transfer saga surrounding Duncan McGuire, there was a new name linked with a winter switch to Orlando City SC yesterday as the Lions reportedly line up a new striker to replace the 22-year-old.

Yesterday evening, Italian journalist and transfer expert Rudy Galetti tweeted that Orlando City SC are among the clubs “seriously interested” in signing Atalanta’s experienced Colombian international striker, Luis Muriel. Continue reading →