Luis Muriel scored twice and had an assist and Martin Ojeda had two assists and a goal as host Orlando City SC routed Inter Miami 4-1 on Sunday night.
Orlando City (12-6-8, 44 points) swept the Florida Derby season series with a pair of three-goal victories and leapfrogged Inter Miami (12-5-6, 42 points) in the Eastern Conference standings.
Orlando City remained unbeaten against Inter Miami at home in eight all-time meetings and ascended to fourth place in the East while Miami fell to sixth after suffering its second loss in its past four league matches (1-2-1).
Inter Miami played without superstar forward Lionel Messi, who missed his second consecutive match across all competitions with a mild hamstring injury.
Goalkeeper Oscar Ustari returned to Inter Miami after a five-match absence due to his own hamstring injury, but he was greeted by a relentless barrage of shots.
Ustari made eight saves as Orlando City outshot Inter Miami 22-10 and 12-5 on shots on target.
Muriel struck quickly in the game’s second minute, capitalizing on a great through ball by Ojeda.
Miami leveled the match only three minutes later, however, when defensive midfielder Yannick Bright delivered his first MLS goal on a quick shot off a failed clearance attempt by Orlando.
Orlando City then took control with three second-half goals.
Muriel scored again in the 50th minute, this time off Ojeda’s assist on a set piece.
Instead of kicking the ball deep on a corner kick, Ojeda rolled it short toward Muriel, who dribbled past Jordi Alba and fired a quick shot past Ustari.
In the 58th minute, Ojeda controlled a long ball from distance from Muriel, stopped and then snuck a shot just inside the near post from the corner of the 18-yard box past Ustari.
Marco Pasalic put the finishing touches on Orlando’s victory with a goal in the 88th minute.
Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese suffered an injury scare midway through the second half after making a spectacular save. With Gallese off his line, Luis Suarez fired a deep shot from just across midfield trying to sneak it over him. Gallese recovered enough to swat the ball away but landed awkwardly on his left leg and collapsed into the back of the net. But after being attended to by Orlando’s medical staff, Gallese finished the game.
–Field Level Media
