Muriel golazo lifts Orlando past Galaxy
Luis Muriel blasted a free kick past L.A. Galaxy keeper John McCarthy in the 90th minute Saturday, clinching a 2-1 Lions’ win against the defending champions.
Orlando City players congratulate Luis Muriel after he scored what would be the deciding goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win against the L.A. Galaxy. Photo: Orlando City SC.
Lions move into seventh place
Orlando City SC (3-2-1, 10 points) put itself squarely in the playoff conversation Saturday with a 2-1 come-from-behind win against the struggling defending-champion Los Angeles Galaxy (0-4-2, 2 points).
Luis Muriel scored the winning goal with a free kick from distance in the 90th minute.
The Lions, unbeaten in three matches, have clawed their way into seventh place in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.
The match was Oscar Pareja’s 200th MLS contest coaching Orlando City. He complimented his players’ character for the second-half rally.
Pareja said the Lions’ strength was “the way they believed in the game the whole time.”
“I thought we had a difficult start, but they had the willingness to change the game and to dominate the game and, also, to continue to the end was something that made us feel very optimistic,” he said. “It was a great performance against a great team … I saw a lot of personality from a majority of our players.”
The Galaxy took the lead in the 14th minute when Christian Ramirez slotted home a cross from Miki Yamane, and the MLS Cup holders stymied Orlando’s prolific offense until Martin Ojeda converted a game-tying penalty kick in the 76th minute.
After the Lions drew a foul outside the penalty box late in the match, Muriel took a long run-up and smashed the ball on target. Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy dived to his left and got a hand to the ball, but couldn’t stop its momentum as it deflected to the ground and rolled across the goal line.
The victory was Orlando City’s first road win of 2025; it will try to add to that total Saturday when it plays at Philadelphia Union.