The Portuguese couple formed by the defender Joao Moutinho and a half offensive midfielder Nani they scored the decisive goals that allowed the Orlando City beat this Friday on penalties (5-4) at LAFC in the quarterfinal match of the ‘MLS is Back’ tournament after regulation time ended tied at 1-1.
Moutinho, 22, was the great hero of the game by scoring a double that decided the luck and continuity of Orlando City with his pass to the semifinal that will play against the winner of the quarterfinal match that tomorrow, Sunday, they will Dispute, the San Jose Earthquakes against Minnesota United.
The young Portuguese defender scored his first goal in the 90th minute, with a great header from a corner kick from his compatriot Nani, who had missed a penalty in the 57th minute.
Portuguese defense Ruan had penetrated from the right into the LAFC area, where he was shot down. The maximum penalty was thrown by Nani, to whom Dutch goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer guessed the intentions and stopped him with a great stretch to the left post of the LAFC frame.
Vermeer’s success, 34 years old, and Nani’s failure, changed the inertia of the game, because three minutes later the LAFC goal arrived, which began to feel comfortable with the advantage: it closed lines and everything was ready to ensure the Vitoria until the geniuses of Nani emerged with the assistance from the right corner and the spectacular shot by Moutinho.
In this way, Orlando City, which was down on the scoreboard from the 60th minute when veteran English striker Bradley Wright-Phillips scored 0-1 after receiving great assistance from Uruguayan striker Diego Rossi, remained alive and reached the series of penalties.
But the winner of the game remained to be decided and that would have to come in the series of penalties, where, again, first Moutinho, who scored his goal for 3-2, had already missed the defense, Jordan Harvey, of the LAFC, his powerful shot it hit the crossbar, and then Nani were decisive.
Nani, who had missed a penalty in regulation time, did not miss a shot.
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Nani, the fifth Orlando City player that Colombian coach Óscar Pareja had chosen to shoot the penalty kick, this time responded claimed his kind of figure in European football, and took revenge on Vermeer, whom he beat on the left side, while the veteran Dutch goalkeeper jumped to the right.
Couple confirmed his great identification with the players in giving him the confidence and without stopping to motivate them from the side of the field, while Bob Bradley, always kept his traditional calm from the bench of the LAFC.
Before the goals by Moutinho and Nani, Paraguayan Mauricio Pereyra, Kyle Smith and Brazilian Antonio Carlos had also scored. Vermeer touched the balls of the penalties thrown by Smith and Carlos, to the Brazilian defender the ball escaped slightly from under the body to enter the goal slowly, being another of the key moments that decided the final triumph of Orlando City.
Both Vermeer and Peruvian goalkeeper Pedro Gallese of Orlando City were also decisive players during the match with four and five interventions, respectively, which prevented both teams from putting more goals on the scoreboard.
The LAFC, which in the end did miss the absence of Mexican striker Carlos Vela, its top scorer, scored in the 32nd minute of the first half through the mediation of Wright-Phillips himself, but the referee of the match, Joseph Dickerson, after reviewing the move through the VAR, decided its cancellation.
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