{"id":424681,"date":"2026-10-11T05:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/424681\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T05:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T05:32:09","slug":"golden-griezmann-orlando-citys-star-man-delivers-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/424681\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Griezmann! Orlando City’s star man delivers again"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legendary French star made his latest case for the award on Saturday night, scoring and assisting as Orlando City<\/a> beat Columbus Crew<\/a>, 3-2<\/a>, in dramatic fashion at Inter.co Stadium.<\/p>\n

Since his MLS debut less than three months ago, the FIFA World Cup<\/a> winner has led a terrific turnaround in Orlando, who have gone unbeaten in every game Griezmann has scored in (7W-0L-1D) across all competitions.<\/p>\n

“I think this is one of the most important victories of the season,” said forward Harvey Sarajian<\/a>, who linked up with Griezmann to score the opener within a minute of his first MLS start.<\/p>\n

“I think every game is a final now, so every game that we play is life or death in this league.”<\/p>\n

That mentality showed through when Iv\u00e1n Angulo<\/a> struck in the 89th minute on the counterattack, netting in his third consecutive match to snatch a late game-winner in front of his home fans.<\/p>\n

\n Guiding force<\/p>\n

Courtesy of his exploits against Columbus, Griezmann has racked up an astonishing 9g\/5a in 12 MLS appearances.<\/p>\n

As with any great sportsman, Griezmann not only provides a positive impact via his direct contributions, but also improves those around him through his contagious energy both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n

In the absence of newly capped 19-year-old homegrown USMNT<\/a> striker Justin Ellis<\/a>, who has quickly formed a dynamic duo partnership with Griezmann, the Frenchman connected with the only other Orlando player he follows on Instagram, Sarajian.<\/p>\n

“I have nothing but good things to say about Grizi,” said Sarajian.<\/p>\n

“His enthusiasm is top. His energy is top. Everyone feeds off his charismatic personality.”<\/p>\n

After posting<\/a> a high school football picture of the 21-year-old winger to his Instagram page a few days ago, Griezmann set up Sarajian’s opener before slotting home a free kick fifteen minutes later.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s awesome. I think it just shows Grizi’s character in the locker room,” said Sarajian.<\/p>\n

“I remember waking up in the morning before training, see him on Instagram. I’m scrolling, I’m like, wait, that’s me in high school! It brought a smile to my face, I’m not gonna lie.”<\/p>\n

\n Playoff push<\/p>\n

From 13th in the Eastern Conference when Griezmann arrived to seventh place following Saturday’s victory, Orlando have made a late-season surge into the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs picture.<\/p>\n

Griezmann and the Lions will continue that postseason quest with a visit to Toronto FC<\/a> on Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET | Apple TV<\/a>).<\/p>\n

“Honestly, every game now, there’s so much on the line right now. It’s a marathon in the season and the marathon is gone. Now it’s the final sprint,” said goalkeeper Maxime Cr\u00e9peau<\/a>, who set a club record with 12 saves on the night.<\/p>\n

“There’s six more [games] to be in the best position possible for the playoffs, and we are well aware of this.”<\/p>\n