ORLANDO, Fla. — Luis Muriel scored a goal in each half and Martín Ojeda had a goal and an assist to lead Orlando City SC to a 4-1 victory over Inter Miami CF on Sunday night.
Miami star Lionel Messi did not play due to a leg injury he sustained last Saturday in a Leagues Cup match against Necaxa.
Muriel scored in the 2nd minute to give Orlando City (9-6-8) a lead that lasted just three minutes after Yannick Bright scored unassisted for his first career goal in his 40th appearance to pull Inter Miami (12-5-6) even.
Ojeda collected his 13th assist on Muriel’s goal, extending his club-record streak with a goal contribution to 14.
Orlando City took a 2-1 lead five minutes into the second half on Muriel’s unassisted eighth goal of the season.
Ojeda found the net for the 14th time this season to give Orlando City a 3-1 lead in the 58th minute. His 27 goal contributions lead the league.
Marco Pašalić scored unassisted in the 88th minute for a three-goal advantage. It was his 10th goal in his first season in the league.
Pedro Gallese totaled four saves in goal for Orlando City, including a brilliant save from a long-range Luis Suarez shot that the home keeper just managed to tip over the crossbar.
Óscar Ustari turned away eight shots for Inter Miami.
As it tried to mount a comeback, Miami looked short of answers without Messi, whose 18 goals have come while playing in 18 of his club’s 23 matches.
Orlando City jumps into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, with head coach Oscar Pareja needing one more victory to reach 100 across all competitions.
Inter Miami sits in sixth place, but has three matches in hand against the top four and two in hand against the fifth-place Columbus Crew.
Inter Miami hosts the LA Galaxy on Saturday, while Orlando plays Sporting Kansas City at home.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
