9 – 4-goal games
Orlando City scored four goals in a single game on Saturday night, the first time the Lions have tallied four since March 31, 2018, in a similarly-wild 4-3 win over New York Red Bulls. Orlando had gone 35 games without reaching the four-goal mark. It was the ninth time the Lions had achieved the feat in club history. Interestingly, Saturday’s game and the RBNY game last year are the only two times in club history where Orlando City have allowed three goals and won the game.
5 – xG wins
Opta’s expected goals metric, which measures the likelihood on a scale from 0 to 1 that any given shot will be a goal, liked Orlando better than their opponent for the fifth time out of six games this season. Orlando bested Colorado 2.69-1.76 on xG, with Nani’s late penalty making up most of the difference. Orlando City are fourth in MLS in xG differential this season.
4 – League-leading assists
Nani has already taken MLS by storm. He is tied with LAFC star Carlos Vela for the league lead at four assists after adding another to his tally on Saturday night. Nani is also seventh in MLS among qualified players in G+A/90 min at 1.22, trailing only Vela, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adama Diomande, Wayne Rooney, Darwin Quintero, and Alberth Elis.
1+ -- Front line contributing
Three other Orlando City players are averaging over one goal contribution per 90 minutes. Dom Dwyer sits at 1.15 with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Chris Mueller comes in at a whopping 1.62 and Tesho Akindele is close behind at 1.43. Mueller and Akindele would rank in the league’s top ten if they had enough minutes to qualify.
6 – Substitute contributions
Orlando City have had a goal or an assist from a substitute in all six games this year. In fact, more than half of the team's goals have either been scored or assisted by a substitute. Dom Dwyer leads the pack with a goal and two assists, while Chris Mueller has one goal and one assist off the bench in just the last two games. Nani and Santiago Patiño have also contributed assists as subs.
2 – Consecutive wins over RSL
Orlando are unbeaten all-time against this week’s opponent Real Salt Lake, one of three teams to have never beaten the Lions (Colorado and San Jose are the others). Orlando have topped RSL in each of the last two years, winning 1-0 in Utah in 2017 and 3-1 at home last season.
2%
Score up to 2% cash back and LionNation points when you use your FAIRWINDS Orlando City Visa® or Orlando Pride Visa® on game day purchases and everyday essentials. Apply today and get purple carded.
