Orlando City slump highlights Oscar Pareja's fundamental, fixable weakness | OneFootball

Saturday's 1-1 tie at home to Eastern Conference stragglers CF Montréal marked yet another disappointing recent outing from Óscar Pareja's Orlando City, but it wasn't exactly a surprise.

Rodrigo Schlegel's lazy challenge on Prince Owusu gifted the visitors a late opportunity to steal a point from the penalty spot, as Orlando once again failed to see out the three points against much weaker opposition.

If not for Martín Ojeda's quick-thinking and clinical free-kick finish in the first half, things could've been a lot worse for the Lions.

That's the crux of the problem for Pareja and Orlando currently; Generally poor performances are being lifted, if not salvaged, by moments of magic from the likes of Ojeda and Marco Pašalić, perhaps masking the urgency of some issues. And if those issues aren't fixed, this could turn into yet another wasted season despite arguably the best collection of attackers in the Lions' MLS history.

Too many inconsistent performers

While Ojeda and Pašalić have consistently won Orlando points all by themselves, there are far too many unknown quantities in Pareja's preferred side.

Designated Player Luis Muriel began 2025 in scintillating attacking form, but the Colombian hasn't scored in eight games.

Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who missed Saturday's game through suspension, has also been crucial at times, with his trademark reflexes and last-ditch stops helping Orlando secure valuable victories. Unfortunately, the Peruvian has also cost Orlando points on no less than three occasions in 2025.

And then we turn to Schlegel. The Argentine defender has been a mainstay in Pareja's defense since arriving in 2020, and was a huge part in Orlando's triumphant Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign in 2022.

But there are far too many mistakes within Schlegel's game. Red cards and penalty concessions have cost Orlando on the biggest of occasions, and Saturday was further evidence to suggest these moments of madness still lurk inside.

Every game, Orlando's fate entirely depends on which versions of its players turn up. This is simply not sustainable for a team with championship ambitions.

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Flawed loyalty

Orlando fans are all too aware of the inconsistency of Muriel, Gallese, and Schlegel, but Pareja simply refuses to drop them.

Add to the equation the misfiring Iván Angulo, who has only recently been dropped after a goalless start to 2025, and we see a coach who is very set in his ways.

Benching your first-choice goalkeeper even for one game is obviously a big ask, even when Orlando's front office rates deputy goalkeeper Javier Otero as highly as they do.

At center-back, though, Orlando has enough options to experiment. Captain Robin Jansson and David Brekalo are two elite MLS options, but the latter has been shifted to left-back this season to accommodate Schlegel. Thomas Williams always impresses for Orlando City B in MLS Next Pro, but he hasn't started a game for the senior team in over three years.

The lesson here is clear: Orlando won't reap the benefits of experimenting with its leaky defense if Pareja refuses to in the first place.

Bizarre tactics

Saturday was yet another example of Pareja's 'Papi special' performances gone wrong. Orlando took an early lead through Ojeda, before sitting back against one of the league's leakiest defenses, seemingly content with just the one goal.

Such tactics have served the team well in nip-and-tuck play-off matches in years gone by, but Pareja is just asking for trouble setting up this way against the likes of Montréal.

If the Lions relentlessly pressed and attacked like they did just a few weeks ago away at St. Louis CITY, they would blow almost every MLS opponent out of the water.

And if the conservative tactics against weak opposition weren't bad enough, Pareja has tinkered with his attacking unit of late to disastrous effect.

Having dropped Angulo, Ojeda is now being deployed on the left. This limits his overall influence on games often to just dead-ball situations, as was the case on Saturday.

What's more, Muriel is now being deployed as the playmaker. This is something Pareja must avoid in the future, given Muriel's habit of dropping far too deep to collect possession, taking far too many touches, and ultimately failing to release the ball at the correct moment.

An unwanted truth

Pareja has all the tools at his disposal to turn Orlando into a championship-winning side this season, be that Leagues Cup or MLS Cup.

He also has the track record, winning the Supporters' Shield with former club FC Dallas in 2016 as well as two Open Cups. Orlando fans want him to succeed, and most believe that he can.

But if Pareja wants that maiden MLS Cup, he needs to make some difficult decisions. Orlando's optimal starting defense of Rafael Santos, Jansson, Brekalo, and Alex Freeman is staring him in the face, but loyalties cloud his judgment.

His attackers deserve the license to attack all game and every game, even if this conflicts with his signature game plan.