Storylines | City vs. Philadelphia Union 

A Viking Goal

Wednesday night saw defender Robin Jansson score his first goal in MLS play and his second across all competitions as a Lion, the first of which came in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play against Memphis 901 FC in 2019. Since joining the side ahead of that very campaign, Jansson has tallied four goal contributions in 80 appearances as a Lion.

The First for Ruan

Defender Ruan scored his first goal in purple at the midweek, sitting at the right place in the right time to send a ball into the back of the net for the Lions. The finish served as the first in all competitions for the Brazilian defender, adding to his 10 assists since joining the side ahead of the 2019 campaign. 

Mas Helpers

In his eighth appearance in MLS action since signing with the Lions on July 14, Emmanuel Mas tallied his first goal contribution for the Club on Wednesday night against Montréal with the assist on Ruan’s finish. The Argentine defender joined City as a free agent earlier this summer, totaling nine appearances in all competitions as a Lion. 

Last Time Against the Union…

The Lions will look for back-to-back victories over the Union in 2021 on Sunday after battling to a 2-1 win at Exploria Stadium on July 22. Goals from Benji Michel and Andrés Perea led the Lions over the 2020 Supporters’ Shield winners, with Mauricio Pereyra tallying an assist on both finishes to propel City to a victory.  

In the City of Brotherly Love

Sunday’s visit to Philadelphia will serve as the first for the Lions since the 2019 MLS campaign, a city in which they have not lost in since 2017. City battled to a 2-2 draw at the Union in its last visit to The City of Brotherly Love in 2019 behind goals from former Lions Dom Dwyer and Santiago Patiño and took a 2-0 shutout victory at then-named Talen Energy Stadium the year prior with Dwyer and Chris Mueller scoring in that contest. 

Milestone Tracker

• Orlando City’s next clean sheet will set a new club record with eight in a single season. 2021 marks the fourth time Orlando City has recorded seven clean sheets in a season, along with 2015, 2017, and 2019.
• Tesho Akindele is two goals away from 20 in his Orlando City career.
• Mauricio Pereyra’s next assist will set a new Orlando City high for his career (9).
• Pedro Gallese’s next clean sheet will be his 10th for Orlando City.