1. Orlando City SC played to a respectable 0-0 draw against Tigres UANL on Tuesday night in the first leg of the Round of 16 matchup in the Concacaf Champions League.
2. Four changes were made from Saturday's league match against Inter Miami, with David Brekalo, Kyle Smith, Nico Lodeiro and Luis Muriel starting in place of Martin Ojeda, Rafael Santos, Rodrigo Schlegel and Duncan McGuire. Three of the changes went the full 90 minutes, with Muriel subbing out in the second half.
3. Of note with Muriel, he looked the danger man in the first half, coming agonizingly close to the opening goal just before halftime off a silky bit of skill. He played a solid 75 minutes but struggled at times connecting with some of his teammates. That will be something that develops over time as he continues to build relationships with his teammates on the field.
4. Despite losing out on possession in the match, the Lions had the best chances throughout, with the best shot on target coming from Robin Jansson in the 23rd minute off a deflected shot, which forced a good save from the Tigres keeper Nahuel Guzman. Still, the Lions only were able to produce three shots on target in the match, something they still need to work on early in the season.
5. Turnovers came costly again for the Lions, leading to chances on the opposite side of the ball, but the recovery defense from Orlando was what kept Tigres off the scoresheet. Despite losing the ball the most, Cesar Araujo also had the most wins of possession between both teams. He'll be looking to clean up his passes over the next few days, something he was visibly frustrated with himself in as the match went on.
6. Speaking of recovery defense, the partnership of David Brekalo and Robin Jansson as a centerback duo is starting to flourish. Both players were able to work in tandem clearing their lines and limiting the chances of the dynamic Tigres attack. Their understanding of passing through lines has also improved, but a few turnovers in key areas continued to be an issue.
7. Pedro Gallese didn't have too much to do tonight, especially with his defense doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but the one time he had to step up, he made a spectacular save. In the 70th minute, a Sebastian Cordova strike from the top of the box came fizzing right at El Pulpo, who made himself big to make his lone save of the night. That was also Tigres' only shot on target in the 90 minutes, an important note for the defensive effort.
8. Both coming on as substitutes, Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda led the team in chances created. Ojeda had a shot from distance that went straight to the keeper in stoppage time, and he also provided a ball overtop to McGuire, who attempted a chip shot that landed just on the roof of the net.
9. McGuire provided a spark up top in the final 15 minutes, pressing the backline and seemingly running all over the field to make life miserable to anyone who had the ball for Tigres. Whether starting or coming off the bench, the young forward can be a gamechanger for the Lions, even if he doesn't score.
10. With a league match — the team's 10th Season Celebration match at INTER&Co Stadium — on Saturday in between, Orlando will now travel down to Monterrey, Mexico, for the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup draw. The last time the Lions went down there, they pulled out another 0-0 result in the hostile environment of El Volcán.
