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Writer's pictureTristan Figueras

MLS Match Recap: Atlanta United vs Orlando City SC (3/17/24)

Updated: Apr 8

Hello everyone and welcome to Early Doors Football. This week, we are taking a look at Atlanta United vs Orlando City SC. After an opening day loss for Atlanta, they have won two matches on the bounce, carrying over their strong home form from last season. 


Orlando City suffered a 2-0 loss on their travels to Georgia. It’s been a rough start to the season, having scored only two goals and conceding 10 in their opening 4 matches. Their lineup against Atlanta was altered from their previous outing, due to injuries and a suspension; let’s take a deeper look.


Lineups


Orlando was without two of their main midfielders, with Araujo missing the match through injury and Cartanega through suspension. They opted to shift fullback Kyle Smith into holding midfield, with Thorhallson taking up the right back role (the image above has them in their usual positions, the MLS site did not update the roles). Both players did fairly well in their adjusted positions, but they were noticeably thin in midfield, in transitions in particular. I will go into more detail on this shortly. 


General Trends



For those that have not seen a similar chart before, this shows the skew of possession in 5 minute intervals. For example, in the first interval, Atlanta had 73% possession to Orlando’s 27%. 


I like looking at these possession-interval charts to get a rough idea of the flow of the game, but it's important to use it in conjunction with match footage. Orlando was comfortable in possession, but struggled to fashion many quality chances, as they were unable to break down Atlanta’s block. 


Although they out possessed the home side and created a comparable amount of shots, the quality of chances was low. Orlando outcrossed Atlanta 14 to 2 at a far lower accuracy (21%), showing their inability to create high quality chances on the night (image and data from MLS website).


Atlanta also were dangerous on the counter, pointing to Orlando’s midfield absentees. While there was quality in possession, the midfielders (aside from Smith) have more of an offensive skill set. Xande Silva and Giakoumakis caused problems on multiple occasions.


Atlanta’s Effectiveness in Possession


Atlanta built out in a 3-2-2-3, but there was plenty of fluidity in who took up the roles. Thiago Almada often floated wide, which allowed Xande Silva to come in more centrally, for example (circled in the image above). Also highlighted is right back, Brooks Lennon, who has pushed up in the attacking midfield space. He is one of the strongest attacking full backs in the league, and he is clearly given the responsibility of getting higher. 



The 3-2-2-3 caused some issues for Orlando’s midblock, as Angulo had to drop back to support the left back (just out of picture above) due to a potential 2v1 with Lennon pushing high and wide. The gap between the back line and midfield line is also quite large in the central area, which allowed for line-breaking passes into the striker on multiple occasions. Issues like this allowed Atlanta to be more effective in their possession, despite having the ball less than Orlando.


As I said earlier, Pineda’s side also had multiple opportunities in transitions, which they did not fully capitalize on. Almada was oddly reluctant to pull the trigger today and other players lacked composure on the final pass. 


I also wanted to highlight Xande Silva, who looked a real threat throughout the match, especially in the first half. I was very impressed with his dribbling ability, he had some flashes of brilliance. The data doesn’t quite back this up, but he is a winger I am going to keep an eye on as the season progresses. 


Positive Takeaways for Orlando, Despite the Loss? 


Orlando played a similar 3-2-2-3 in possession, to less effect than the home side. I feel the midfield line of Atlanta was more organized, preventing Orlando from progressing so frequently. Lodeiro was floated deep in possession, which may have contributed to some struggles in transition after turning the ball over. Orlando’s rest defense was easy to dice through, again, due to Araujo’s and Cartanega’s absences. 


Muriel played off of Duncan McGuire for the first time, and I quite liked this “partnership”. McGuire is the sort of striker that needs service to thrive, and this match he did not have much, but I think there were some signs of life in playing Muriel and McGuire in this dynamic. Muriel was the main threat, with a team high shots and shot creating actions, so perhaps we see him in this second striker role in the future.


Closing Thoughts


Given the circumstances, there were a handful of positives for Orlando to take from the match, but it is hardly any consolation for a 2-0 loss. The Florida side welcome a faltering Austin FC this weekend, which could prove a great opportunity for them to find their first win. Austin FC have shown some signs of life, and with Driussi returning, perhaps it will be Wolff who captures a key road victory.



Atlanta has started this season strongly and will look to keep this form rolling. With Almada perpetually linked to Europe, they will hope to put a strong product on the field to entice him to stick around a little longer.



That is all for today. As always, thank you for reading and for your support. If there are any suggestions or feedback, feel free to send them over. Have a great day!

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