Magical' Griezmann continues scoring run for Orlando, St. Louis stretch unbeaten streak to 15

Antoine Griezmann was described as "magical" by Orlando City's interim head coach Martin Perelman after he stretched his scoring streak to five straight MLS games in their win over Toronto FC.

The Lions thrashed Toronto 3-0 at Inter.co Stadium on Saturday to continue their upward trajectory, climbing to sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando, whose victory brought about their first three-match winning run since August 2025, were led by goals from Griezmann, Ivan Angulo and Harvey Sarajian.

Griezmann got the scoring started on the stroke of half-time, sliding the ball in off the underside of the crossbar from Zakaria Taifi's searching cross.

The former Atletico Madrid icon is just the second Orlando player to score in five straight regular-season matches and the first to do so in a single campaign, after Dom Dwyer enjoyed a run that spanned the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Griezmann led all Orlando players for expected goals (0.86 xG) and crosses attempted (three) while hitting the target with both of his two shots, before being substituted in the 70th minute.

"It's a pleasure, a joy every day for me as a coach and as a person, because he's unique, he's magical on and off the field," Perelman said of coaching Griezmann.

"All I can do is enjoy every second of it, because it's a privilege that football has given me and everyone else at this club.

"I really hate taking Griezmann off. He's a player I always enjoy watching on the field.

"I also hate taking Martin Ojeda off. I hate when he doesn't start, and I hate when other players don't play. It's the hardest part. What stands out to me is that they put the team ahead of everything else."

Another streak rolled on in the Western Conference, too, as St. Louis City earned a thrilling 4-2 victory over Minnesota United and extended their unbeaten run to 15 MLS games.

Club-record signing Rafael Navarro scored his second brace in as many games, with Daniel Edelman and Carlo Holse also on target – the latter with a sublime left-footed curler – as St. Louis climbed to fifth in the West.

They are now nine points clear of the teams in the wild-card spots, having won 10 and drawn five of their last 15 regular-season games.

"We try to focus on our plan, on our execution, focusing on the task. And I think it helps," boss Yoann Damet said. "We shouldn't pay too much attention to the outcome.

"The scoring is the scoring, but at the end of the day, if we want to make a step as a group, we need to keep looking at the way we want to play the game."

Another six-goal thriller saw FC Cincinnati and Charlotte FC draw 3-3, while the Seattle Sounders' wait for a first win since May continues, following a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy.

St. Louis and Seattle's contrasting runs

St. Louis are closing in on a first playoff berth since their 2023 expansion season, and they also have a chance to make history in the coming weeks.

Only eight teams have ever enjoyed a longer unbeaten regular-season run in MLS than their ongoing streak, with the record being jointly held by the Columbus Crew (in 2004-05), FC Dallas (in 2010) and Inter Miami (2024-25), all of whom went 19 without defeat.

If playoff games are included, D.C. United went 22 without losing back in 1996 and 1997, and that mark could also be surpassed by St. Louis before the regular season's end.

Seattle, meanwhile, have gone 12 games without winning (D4 L8). The only team to endure a longer single-season streak in the last five years is the Galaxy (16 in 2025).

The longest winless run in MLS regular-season history was a 19-match sequence by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in 1999, so Brian Schmetzer's men have plenty of time to avoid making unwanted history.