ORLANDO — Orlando City SC fell 2-1 to Liga MX side Club León at Inter.co Stadium on Saturday night, squandering a first-half lead as the Mexican club scored twice after the break to take control of Leagues Cup 2026 Phase One.

Designated Player Marco Pašalić, making his first start since May 15 after representing Croatia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, opened the scoring in the 38th minute. Pašalić met a diagonal from Tyrese Spicer at the top of the box and buried a left-footed strike into the lower right corner past León goalkeeper Óscar García. The goal was Pašalić’s third across all competitions this season and his 18th since joining Orlando City ahead of the 2025 MLS campaign. Spicer’s assist was his fourth of the season, giving the forward six goal contributions — three goals and three assists — over Orlando City’s last four matches across all competitions.

“The best feeling was to be back on the pitch today and to be able to help the team,” Pašalić said. “I was happy to help in the first half with the goal. Sadly, I got hit on the knee, so my knee was getting numb. I spoke with them at halftime. I tried to go out in the second half, but I felt my knee was not going to help the team. It is nothing serious but I wanted to make sure the team had [all] players on the pitch that could play fully. I was not fully [fit] anymore because of my knee.”

Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau made five saves before the break to help the Lions carry a 1-0 advantage into halftime, but León equalized in the 54th minute when Juan Guevara headed home a curling Jordi Cortizo free kick. Eighteen minutes later, Iván Moreno picked out Daniel Arcila at the top of the box, and Arcila slotted a left-footed shot into the net in the 72nd minute to give the visitors the lead for good.

Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman made four changes to his starting lineup from the club’s previous match against C.F. Monterrey, inserting Wilder Cartagena, Iago, Pašalić and Zakaria Taifi into the starting XI. Cartagena made his second start of the season, his first since the opener against Red Bull New York on Feb. 21. Midfielder Joran Gerbet made his first appearance of the 2026 season in the 66th minute after recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the 2025 campaign.

“I think, of course, very, very sad for the result — for us, for our people, for everyone,” Perelman said. “We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t — especially when we are at home — so, we suffered. Then the game, as I said when we faced Monterrey, today we faced another very good team [in] Leon. Congrats to them. They did a really good job.”

The loss drops Orlando City to 1-1-0 with 3 points in Phase One, while Club León improved to 2-0-0 with 6 points. Defender Nolan Miller, midfielders Eduard Atuesta, Braian Ojeda and Martín Ojedá all missed the match due to injury, while defender Clovis Archange and midfielder Colin Guske were away on international duty.

Orlando City faces Atlético de San Luis in its final Phase One matchup on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV.