Antoine Griezmann's First MLS Brace Lifts Orlando City Past Real Salt Lake 2-1

Antoine Griezmann tried the fancy thing first. In the 81st minute, inside the Real Salt Lake box, he flicked a back-heel that ricocheted off a defender, then calmly collected his own rebound and slid it into the bottom right corner. Even his plan B comes with a highlight package.

That goal finished off a 2-1 comeback win for Orlando City over Real Salt Lake on Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium, and it gave Griezmann his first MLS brace. Orlando trailed at halftime, changed three players at the break, and then let the 2018 World Cup winner do what 2018 World Cup winners do.

RSL Land the First Punch

The first half was cagey. Real Salt Lake were flagged offside four times in the opening 33 minutes, but they kept testing the line, and in the 36th minute the patience paid off. Samuel Junqua whipped a first-time cross from deep on the left to the far post, and Dominik Marczuk met it with a controlled right-footed volley into the bottom left corner. It was Marczuk's first goal of the season, according to the AP.

Orlando barely threatened before the break. Marczuk nearly doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time, only for Maxime Crépeau to push his shot away at the bottom left corner. RSL went in 1-0 up, and Orlando's interim coach Martín Perelman went to the bench.

Three Subs and a Different Game

Perelman sent on Daryl Dike, Justin Ellis and Joran Gerbet for Tiago, Marco Pasalic and Luis Otávio at halftime, and Orlando looked like a different team within minutes. Griezmann pulled an Ellis cross wide in the 49th minute and dragged another chance just wide in the 52nd. Crépeau also had to deny Marczuk again in between.

The equalizer came in the 53rd. Ellis crossed for Dike, Mason Stajduhar saved Dike's shot from the middle of the box, and Griezmann was in the right place to tap the rebound into the center of the goal. Simple. Ruthless.

Orlando kept pouring forward. Griezmann skied a shot in the 55th minute, and Zakaria Taifi smacked the left post from the left side of the box three minutes later. RSL changed things up with Diego Luna, Saba Lobjanidze and Morgan Guilavogui around the hour, then lost Luca Moisa to an injury in the 66th minute.

The Back-Heel Heard Around Orlando

RSL had their own flurry in the 75th and 76th minutes. Guilavogui had a shot blocked, Luna sent one just wide from distance, and Alexandros Katranis fired high and wide after a corner. That was the window. Five minutes later it closed.

Tyrese Spicer, on for Taifi in the 69th minute, fed Griezmann inside the box. The back-heel did not come off clean, but the ball came back to him, and he finished low. Perelman's halftime gamble had its payoff. Spicer nearly added a third in the 84th, and RSL's last real swing was a Junqua shot from distance that sailed high and wide in stoppage time.

"I think the players who went in were able to give us that control of the game against a team that sat back a little bit with the result in their favor," Perelman said.

Who Showed Up

Antoine Griezmann took five shots, put two on target and scored both of them. That is the kind of efficiency Orlando signed him for. "Every time I say that the stadium is very important for us in the bad moments, we need them. Today was amazing," he said postgame, per MLSsoccer.com.

Daryl Dike changed the shape of the game off the bench. His saved shot set up the equalizer, and he also teed up Spicer's late blocked attempt.

Justin Ellis delivered the cross that started the equalizer and added two shots of his own. Not a bad 45 minutes.

Dominik Marczuk was RSL's best player by a distance: three shots, all three on target, one goal. He deserved better than a loss.

Mason Stajduhar made one save against his former club. The AP noted it was his first start for RSL in his second season with the club, after 16 starts across his first six MLS seasons, all with Orlando. He was not the only fresh face in the RSL lineup: the AP noted 22-year-old defender Kobi Henry made his first start for the club in his fourth appearance.

The Numbers That Matter

• 61.4 percent possession for Orlando, plus an 11 to 8 edge in shots. Both teams put three on target.
• 7 offsides for Real Salt Lake, compared with one for Orlando.
• 24 clearances and 18 tackles from RSL, who spent the second half defending deep.
• 25 crosses from Orlando, and one of them started the equalizer.
• 2 saves for Crépeau, both on Marczuk. Stajduhar finished with one.

What It Means

Orlando are 7-3-11 with 24 points, and MLSsoccer.com reported the win lifted the Lions into an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot for the first time this season. It also snapped a three-match winless run made up of a 3-2 loss at Red Bull New York, a 1-1 draw with Cincinnati and a 2-1 home loss to Chicago on Wednesday. Next up is a trip to Minnesota United on Aug. 29.

For Real Salt Lake, the slide keeps going. At 8-4-8 with 28 points, they are now winless in seven MLS matches, a run that includes Wednesday's 4-3 home loss to FC Dallas. Losing a lead on the road three days later stings even more.

Gerbet summed up the night neatly for Orlando. "A gritty win but a necessary win," he said.

Final Whistle

There is a version of this game where Orlando's attack stays flat, RSL bank a 1-0 road win and everybody files home. Then Griezmann showed up like the main character in a heist movie who has done this a hundred times. Perelman did not undersell it. "He is one of the best players in the history of the game. We need to enjoy him," he said. Orlando fans are doing exactly that.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by Orlando City SC (orlandocitysc.com) and MLSsoccer.com. Additional context from the AP recap via ESPN.