Just how good is Real Salt Lake? Evaluating the injury woes
The 2017 Real Salt Lake season has been marred with injuries, in a staggering amount. With so many missing pieces, how good is RSL, really?
Real Salt Lake picked up their fifth loss of the season, falling on the road to Sporting Kansas City 3-0. The result isn’t necessarily surprising. Sporting have allowed just three goals in eight games, the league best now by two counts. Part of that success comes from playing well, but it also helps that the team has stayed healthy.
.@SportingKC has allowed three goals through eight games.
— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) April 30, 2017
Only @MLS teams to allow fewer through eight games: 2010 LA, 2011 RSL (two each).
Defenders Graham Zusi, Matt Besler, Ike Opara, and Seth Sinovic have all played every minute for SKC this season, in front of goalkeeper Tim Melia, and behind midfielder Ilie Sanchez, who also have gone the distance in all eight contest. Real Salt Lake have experienced the season quite differently.
Best XI
Real overturned most of their roster following a disappointing finish to the 2016 season. With so many changes, and many key players moving on from the club, their was plenty of intrigue for the new year. 2016 saw injuries play a role in the rise of Justen Glad. Filling in for veteran Jamison Olave, Glad, who was just 19-years-old at the time, showed well alongside Aaron Maund.
The two were arguably one of the best pairings in the league before Maund also went down injured. Maund and Glad were expected to lead the defense in 2017. However, nine games into the season, that hasn’t been the case. In fact that pairing has yet to see time together at all.
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To make matters worse, RSL haven’t been able to get everyone on the field at the same time in several other positions. Only Yura Movsisyan and Luke Mulholland have played in all nine matches this season, but 24 players have seen time this year. For comparison, SKC has had 16 players see the field, with Saad Abdul-Salaam only having registered one minute of play this season.
Going into the year, the best XI for RSL showed plenty of promise. Nick Rimando, Tony Beltran, Glad, Maund, Demar Phillips, Kyle Beckerman, Sunny, Albert Rusnák, Joao Plata, Yura, and Jordan Allen were a solid mix of experience and youth, and on paper seemed like they could take RSL to the post-season for the second straight year. Nearly a third of the way through the season, that lineup has played a grand total of zero minutes together.