Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, the scored in the 26th minute and again in the 77th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, turning a match Orlando City had handed away inside seven minutes into a 3-2 win over Atlanta United Wednesday.
David Brekalo put through his own net early. Griezmann answered with a left-footed finish from Joran Gerbet's cross. Iván Angulo added a VAR-confirmed goal off a Martín Ojeda assist in the 58th, and when Atlanta pushed, Griezmann took a through ball from Justin Ellis and buried the game. Tyrese Spicer's own goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time made the last few seconds uncomfortable. It did not change the result.
That is the shape of Orlando's season now. The Lions sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with 31 points, but the record is 9-4-11 and the goal difference is minus-15. They have conceded 56 goals in 24 matches, more than any club above them and more than most below them. The defense has not been fixed. The playoff position exists because Griezmann keeps finishing what the rest of the team can only start. Take his two goals out of Atlanta and Orlando comes home with nothing.
Toronto visits Inter.Co Stadium on Saturday, four points back in 10th with a 6-11-7 mark and 43 goals conceded of its own. It is the kind of fixture that decides whether a club spends October in the playoff bracket or watching it. Orlando has the better player who can make a difference.
