Mistakes costly as D.C. United fall 4-1 at Orlando City: Match report

D.C. United had their chances on the road against Orlando City, but defensive errors condemned them to a 4-1 loss that will dampen their playoff hopes.

Antoine Griezmann struck twice and added an assist on Martín Ojeda's incredible spinning heel flick. Tai Baribo briefly gave United hopes of a comeback with a penalty late in the first half, but Marco Pašalić turned a late cameo appearance into a fourth for the Lions.

United carved out a massive early chance thanks to Keisuke Kurokawa's always-dangerous long throw-in. Sean Nealis — standing in for suspended captain Lucas Bartlett — flicked the service to the back post, causing chaos. Before it was done, João Peglow and Silvan Hefti were both denied by reflex saves from Maxime Crépeau.

Orlando hadn't offered much, but the hosts would take a 15th-minute lead via the red-hot Griezmann. United should have gotten out, as Brandon Servania had ended the Lions' last foray by collecting a stray through ball, but his ball upfield went nowhere.

Wilder Cartagena headed play back towards the longtime France and Atlético Madrid attacker, who played a 1-2 with Daryl Dike, then a second with Eduard Atuesta as he left six D.C. players scrambling to track him. Atuesta's return pass was on the mark, and Griezmann buried his 11th goal in 14 matches.

Seven minutes later, the hole got deeper for DCU. Again United initially got the ball clear, but couldn't stop Orlando from recycling play. The hosts put together a scintillating sequence that began and — after Griezmann's inch-perfect chip — ended with Ojeda, whose audacious flick went beyond Sean Johnson's reach.

United eventually pushed back, with Baribo heading wide after Hefti's deep 32nd-minute cross found him in a promising position. D.C.'s leading goalscorer had an even bigger miss eight minutes later, as the Israel striker barely made contact after Servania's cross from the left picked him out on the edge of the six-yard box.

Still, the visitors were giving it a go, and out of seemingly nowhere United got on the board. Cartagena put Nealis in a bear hug on a corner, and referee Pierre-Luc Lauzière pointed to the spot.

For the second week running, Baribo stepped up to bury a penalty, beating Crépeau to the goalkeeper's right to make it 2-1.

United thought they'd equalized within 76 seconds after the second half began, with Servania glancing Kurokawa's cross into Baribo's path. D.C.'s captain for the night volleyed the chance home, but was flagged offside, and the call stood after a long review.

It was a fair call, but it felt much worse for the Black-and-Red in the 50th minute. Kye Rowles badly mis-hit a pass that went right to Griezmann, who with plenty of room walked in and restored Orlando's two-goal edge.

United began pushing numbers forward, but Johnson had to make a vital save with his trailing leg in the 59th minute after Atuesta picked out the wide-open Iván Angulo with a cutback.

Baribo appeared to lose a Kurokawa cross in the lights, heading over after getting free, but across the final 30-plus minutes that followed, United found it harder to create openings than they did in the first half. While numerous counter-pressing moments won possession in Orlando's end, the final product didn't materialize.

As if there was any drama left in the match, Orlando broke away after a long spell of stoppage-time pressure from United. Marco Pašalić sprinted away from midfield after Justin Ellis sent him in behind, and the offside flag wouldn't bail D.C. out. From there, the Croatia midfielder put the game to bed with a clinical finish.

The defeat could leave United (7-12-10) as many as six points out of the Eastern Conference playoff places by the end of the weekend. The games with massive implications don't let up, as Wednesday's trip to Ohio will see the Black-and-Red face another bubble team, FC Cincinnati, as they make up a postponed match from September. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Highlights will be added when they are made available.

Box score — MLS regular season (game 29)
10/17/2026

Orlando City 4 (Griezmann 15, 50; M. Ojeda 22; Pašalić 94+)
D.C. United 1 (Baribo 47+pen)

Lineups:
Orlando (442): Maxime Crépeau; Zakaria Taifi, David Brekalo, Iago Teodoro, Iván Angulo; Eduard Atuesta (Adrián Marín 70), Luis Otávio (Braian Ojeda 70), Wilder Cartagena (Joran Gerbet 46), Martín Ojeda (C) (Marco Pašalić 86); Daryl Dike (Justin Ellis 70), Antoine Griezmann

DCU (4411): Sean Johnson; Silvan Hefti (Matti Peltola 78), Sean Nealis, Kye Rowles, Keisuke Kurokawa; Jared Stroud (Jackson Hopkins 46), Kimito Nono, Andre Dozzell, João Peglow (Nathan Ordaz 78); Brandon Servania (Oscar Avilez 65); Tai Baribo (C)

Bookings:
Orlando - L. Otávio 38
DCU - Nono 76, Hopkins 82, Baribo 88

Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière
Weather: Gusty winds, partly cloudy, 68°
Attendance: Will add once I have it