1. Dominance over D.C.! Orlando City SC secured all three points at Inter.co Stadium with an impressive scoreline, winning 4-1 over D.C. United.
2. The scoreline is actually a carbon copy of last year’s home match vs D.C., in which four different goalscorers found the back of the net. The win tonight makes it three home wins in a row against the team from the nation’s capital, and the Lions have outscored them 13-2 over those matches.
3. It started incredibly well, with a team goal finished off by the man in form: Antoine Griezmann. After Daryl Dike held up play at the top of the box in the 15th minute, he fed the ball to the Frenchman running into the box. After a quick pass to Martín Ojeda, the ball was chipped up and over the defenders by Ojeda, finding Griezmann in the box as he tapped it with his right foot past Sean Johnson and in.
4. Seven minutes later, Ojeda added a second in what could be a goal of the season candidate. After receiving the ball on the left side of the field. He played a give-and-go pass with Eduard Atuesta and then pinged a one-touch pass to Zakaria Taifi, making a run into the box as the ball left his boot. Taifi then found Griezmann, who did almost the exact same thing Tincho did on the first goal and chipped it up and over the defense for Ojeda to get onto. As the ball came down, it was behind Ojeda, which forced him to contort his body and flick the ball with the back of his right heel. The ball spun perfectly around Sean Johnson, and into the back of the net, giving Orlando a two-goal lead.
5. Marco Pašalić said it best after the game: “It’s a goal you have to go back and watch 100 times.” It’s certainly on par with one of the best goals for Orlando this season, if not the best. Recency bias aside, it was a spectacular goal from the Lions’ all-time best goalscorer.
6. The party was pooped a little as the teams approached halftime. Wilder Cartagena fouled Sean Nealis in the box, giving D.C. a penalty that Tai Baribo converted right as the teams were about to go to the locker rooms. That mistake didn’t end up costing the team points on the night, but as the playoff race gets tighter, those mistakes could be magnified in those close games.
7. As the teams came out after the half, D.C. decided to give Griezmann a nice gift just five minutes into the second half. D.C. centerback Kye Rowles decided to pass the ball straight to Griezmann with no one in front of him. After taking a couple of touches, the Frenchman slotted the ball home and gave Orlando their two-goal lead back.
8. That goal marked Griezmann’s 20th goal contribution for the Club across all competitions, in just 18 games played. It’s been said many times, but the impact that the Designated Player has had for the team has been immense, and as he continues to go, so does Orlando.
9. The cherry on top came in stoppage time from two of the substitutes. Justin Ellis, who returned after being sick last match, and Marco Pašalić, who missed the match in Toronto with yellow card suspension, combined for the Lions’ fourth. After David Brekalo cleared the lines of the defense to Ellis, the Homegrown forward took a few dribbles and threaded a through ball perfectly for Pašalić to run on as he crossed midfield. After driving towards the goal, he used his patented left foot to slot the ball past Johnson and seal off all three points for the Lions.
10. Orlando will now have a week to prepare for their second-to-last home match of the season as they host New York City FC next Saturday. That match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV.