The Herons of Miami Fall Prey to the Lions of Orlando Once Again

In this edition of the Sol Clásico, even the greatest of all time was not missed in what will be one of the most memorable nights for the Orlando faithful.

Credit Orlando City SC

Going into the game, the talk of the town was whether a certain Argentinian maestro would be cleared to make his first appearance in the City Beautiful. To the dismay of many soccer fans-casual and hardcore alike- Messi was missing. Despite the absence of the biggest star in the world, fireworks were set off in an enthralling battle to determine what color Florida would be: pink or purple.

In front of a sellout crowd of just over 25,000, it would only take a mere one minute thirty-five seconds for Luis Muriel to combine with fellow designated player Martin Ojeda and open up the score sheet. Muriel, who has struggled to live up to his DP status until recently, has collected 10 goals and 4 assists across all competitions this year. In their previous fixture against Necaxa, the Colombian would score the fastest hat trick in club history. With a goal so early, the crowd was already in high spirits. Many, myself included, figured that this game was going to be a slug fest with the momentum changing between the sides throughout the match.

Miami dealt a counter blow to the Lions not long after Muriel’s opener. A poor clearance from Eduard Atuesta set up a charging Yannick Bright to hit the ball off a one-time volley straight past Pedro Gallese. The MLS Super Draft first-rounder has recently hit a bit of form which may help his case to be a starter in Javier Mascherano’s lineup. Unfortunately for Miami, this would be the only goal for them for the rest of the night.

No other goals were scored in the first half despite a huge chance for Muriel to add to his tally after Oscar Ustari was caught way out of his box and practically gave the ball straight to Muriel. No, the main story for the rest of the second half was Orlando’s dominance in finding overlapping runs and tempers flaring that led to five yellow cards being handed out in twenty minutes. The teams would finish the half with Orlando taking the crown on the number of shots and big chances created.

It was sort of deja-vu in the second half as, just like the first half, Muriel would find the back of the net again in the fiftieth minute after being played a short corner from Ojeda, beating Jordi Alba on the dribble, and finding the back corner inside a crowded box. It’s this type of goal that Orlando will want to see more of as Muriel has always been an extremely crafty player inside of the box.

After assisting Muriel score his two goals for the team, Ojeda would be hungry to put himself on the scoresheet. After a perfect ball was played overhead from his teammate, Ojeda would find himself one on one with one Sergio Busquets. Being the quality of player he is, Ojeda would spot the Ustari not covering the near post. Like lock and key, Ojeda would slip the ball right past Busquets and the Miami keeper for his 17th goal this season further solidifying his place as one of the best attacking midfielders in the league.

Despite now being down 3-1, Miami were still fighting to salvage any points from this match. Much like Muriel’s chance earlier, Luis Suarez would find Pedro Gallese off of his line and attempt to chip El Pulpo. Despite the shot being on target, Gallese managed to scramble back to his goal and tipped the ball over the bar at the last second. The keeper would take a nasty bump into the goal and took a few minutes to recover but would finish out the game strong.

The final dagger into the hearts of Miami would come in the 88th minute with the final Orlando DP, Marco Pasalic, scoring his thirteenth of the season. With this goal, all three of Orlando’s designated players would make their mark on the match. I would argue that Orlando’s trio of attackers is arguably the best set of designated players in the league and Ojeda will be in the conversation for MVP by the end of the year.

Looking ahead, both teams will be looking to maintain and improve their standing in the Eastern Conference. Orlando will be back at home Saturday to go up against the West’s Sporting Kansas City before facing off against Liga MX champion Toluca in the Leagues Cup quarter-final. Similarly, Inter will play in a star-studded game against the Los Angeles Galaxy before their Leagues Cup opponents, Pachuca.

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