Higuita’s Magic Touch

For a bulldozing central midfielder, I always marvel at Cristian Higuita’s first touch. A handful of good examples in this one, including a special one we’ll discuss later.

A Rookie Doing Vet Things

Chris Mueller is a vet disguised as a rookie. First example. Kljestan puts this pass down the wing, but Mueller has already changed his run. He plays this one off the chest and draws a foul in a dangerous area.

Example 2. Starts the counter with his speed, but has the vision to see the opportunity to play Pinho long.

Example 3. Many players with Mueller’s agility and speed might have been tempted to take on these defenders. Instead, he uses that threat to create space and delivery a tempting cross into the box.

Hesi Pull-Up Jimbo

Of all the moves, hesitation moves are my favorite. It’s a subtle beauty.

Mo Handles Less Problems

Just warming up.

Warmed up. First rabona sighting for the Lions this season.

Crafty Space Manipulation

A great job here by two veterans to use just two passes and a little space to cut-out the entire Toronto midfield.

Push Ups

One big improvement I’ve seen with Orlando City’s newly built backline this season is their awareness to push up the field and catch the offense offside in situations like below. It’s a team effort, if one person is too slow it can result in an easy goal. The Lions have squelched a good handful of chances this season due to this.

False 9

On the surface, the Colmán sub for Pinho could have been puzzling, but with Kreis using Colmán to play the false 9 I was surprised with the amount of space it created. One key for the forward dropping into the midfield in this role is his movement off the ball. Check out a few examples of Colmán’s work below.

Déjà-Higuita

Did this look familiar?

You When You See .GIF Is Posted

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