The 10th time was the charm. Orlando City finally beat Atlanta United on their tenth try across all competitions, and they did it at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Five Stripes again looked a little out of sorts in the midfield, and defensive mistakes led to easy chances that Orlando finished off clinically.
Despite only having 39% of possession on the day, Orlando tallied 2.29 in expected goals to Atlanta’s 0.49. Worst of all, Orlando did it largely without their two best players, Nani and Mauricio Pereyra, which the Ultimate #ATLUTD Troll was quick to point out:
It was smart of Pareja to rest his two best players (Nani & Pereyra) against a smaller, much weaker side.