Nashville caught the lions off guard with their aggressive play from the start, creating opportunities and forcing Orlando City to defend. Shaq Moore and Shaffelburg posed a threat to Santos and his fellow players. Hany Muhktar outplayed Wilder Cartagena. Even though Muyl had an opportunity to score, Gallese stopped the shot. After Gallese’s save, Nashville’s defense had trouble regaining control and the lions gained momentum. Ivan Angulo took advantage of a mistake by Nashville’s defense to score the opening goal, creating excitement among the fans at Inter&Co Stadium.
Martin Ojeda played a crucial part in the match and helped in scoring the goal. Facundo Torres successfully scored a goal with a clever play by Dan, extending the lion’s advantage. After the second goal was scored, there was a rise in physicality on the field, resulting in yellow cards being given to players from both sides. Schlegel and Ramiro Enrique were both warned for their aggressive tackles. As the second half progressed, the lions started dominating the attacking opportunities.
A spectacular attempt at goal from long range by Facundo Torres in the 50th minute was almost successful, but Nashville’s Willis pulled off a brilliant save. In added time at the end of the game, the visitors came close to scoring on a quick break, with Surridge narrowly missing the target on the right side. Santos was out of position after pushing up too far, causing the shot to hit the netting on the outside. Orlando managed to ward off multiple corner kicks towards the end and caught a break when Bauer’s header missed the goal just before halftime, thanks to injury time.
The Lions dominated the game in the first half with a higher possession rate of 54.3% compared to 45.7% for the opponents. Pareja and his team had a meeting about improving control in the second half. Schlegel got a yellow card, so Pareja decided to substitute him with Brekalo at the start of the second half.
Orlando had their first chance in the 51st minute when Torres tried to score after receiving a pass from Enrique. Willis managed to block the shot. Shortly after, Enrique took a surprise shot that almost went past Willis, but he managed to deflect it off the post. In the 61st minute, the Lions created an opportunity from a corner kick which was eventually missed. The game slowed down for a while as both teams focused on playing in the midfield.
In the 85th minute, Torres secured the win for his team with a well-placed shot thanks to assists from Lodeiro and McGuire. Lodeiro’s assist marked his 10th of the season. In extra time, McGuire nearly scored another goal that was stopped by Willis. Ajago scored a late goal, but it was disallowed due to offside.
Orlando City dominated in possession, shots, shots on target, and passing accuracy, with 56.9% possession, 13 shots, 7 shots on target, and 85% passing accuracy.
The Lions will have a break next weekend for an international event and will return to play on September 14th against the New England Revolution.
