Muriel and Ojeda Shine as Orlando City Stuns Inter Miami 4-1
What a night it was in Orlando! In front of their home fans, Orlando City put on a statement performance, dismantling Inter Miami 4-1 in a high-energy Florida showdown. The evening belonged to Luis Muriel and Martín Ojeda, who seemed determined to make the night unforgettable.
Things kicked off with fireworks almost immediately. Just two minutes into the match, Muriel found the back of the net, giving Orlando an early advantage. The crowd erupted, but the celebration barely had time to sink in before Inter Miami struck back. Yannick Bright, in his 40th appearance for the club, scored his first career goal only three minutes later, leveling the score at 1-1 and momentarily silencing the home supporters.
Ojeda, who already had a club-record streak of 13 consecutive games with a goal contribution, extended it to 14 with his assist on Muriel’s opener. But he wasn’t done for the night. The second half saw Orlando crank up the pressure. Just five minutes after the restart, Muriel pounced again — this time unassisted — netting his eighth goal of the season and restoring the lead.
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By the 58th minute, Ojeda decided it was his turn to get on the scoresheet. Slotting home his 14th goal of the season, he pushed Orlando’s lead to 3-1 and cemented his spot as the league leader in goal contributions with an astounding 27. From that moment on, Miami looked rattled, and the match was slipping away from them.
In the 88th minute, Marco Pašalić applied the exclamation point. His unassisted strike made it 4-1 — his 10th goal in his debut MLS season — sending the home fans into a frenzy. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese did his part for Orlando, recording four key saves, while Miami’s Óscar Ustari was far busier, forced into eight stops to keep the scoreline from becoming even more lopsided.
Notably absent for Miami was their talisman, Lionel Messi. Nursing a right leg injury suffered on August 2 in Leagues Cup play, the 38-year-old league co-leading scorer with 18 goals was sidelined, and his absence was felt in Miami’s attack. Despite sitting in sixth place, Miami still has games in hand, but the loss was a wake-up call.
For Orlando, the win was more than just three points — it launched them into fourth place in the Eastern Conference and brought head coach Oscar Pareja within one victory of reaching 100 wins across all competitions. Both sides now turn their attention to next weekend, with Miami hosting the LA Galaxy and Orlando welcoming Sporting Kansas City.
On this night, though, Orlando City owned the spotlight — and Muriel and Ojeda made sure everyone knew it.
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