Mike Petke took advantage of the international break as Real Salt Lake continued building on their strong form as of late, beating Portland 4-1 on the road.
The 2017 season has been a bumpy ride for Real Salt Lake. Injuries, call-ups, roster transition, and a coaching change have all been well noted, but now finally things seem to be coming together for the Claret & Cobalt, and not a moment too soon. Following their 6-2 beatdown of the Los Angeles Galaxy on the road and their impressive outing against historic English side, Manchester United, RSL impressed on their visit to Providence Park, handing the Timbers a 4-1 loss at home.
The timing of Real’s improvement is slightly ironic. In 2016, RSL started the year looking like one of the top teams in the league and kept that form until an international break late in the summer. Real returned from the break and spiraled out of control until Petke took over in April. This time around, the international break provided Petke with a chance to really implement his system and approach into the club without having to play multiple games a week. Just one match out of the “mid-season-preseason”, the break already seems to be paying dividends with a massive road victory.
Another big win for @RealSaltLake. pic.twitter.com/ftDDZB5QZz
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 20, 2017
Firing On All Cylinders
Petke made a few changes to the lineup from the Galaxy match. Luke Mulholland was suspended while Yura Movsisyan was out with a hip injury. David Horst got the nod over Aaron Maund for the only other change. More importantly, the three headed monster of Joao Plata, Albert Rusnák, and Jefferson Savarino were at full force again. Plata finished the night with two goals, Rusnák added another, while Savarino walked away with an assist and plenty of good chances to score one of his own.
https://twitter.com/RealSaltLake/status/887890919583653888
In just their fourth start together, the attackers terrorized the Portland back line all night, which unsurprisingly ended up with four goals scored. All four of their starts together have ended with RSL victories. Their fluid play together, along with the play of Luis Silva, has made RSL look like a completely different team from the one who started the season. Their strong play has also relieved pressure on midfielders Kyle Beckerman, Mulholland, and Sunny in their appearances, which has effectively relieved the pressure on the backline throughout the match. If it wasn’t for a sloppy turnover and a bounce that caught Nick Rimando out of position on the last possession, RSL would have added another shutout to their cache.
Looking Ahead
No pity in Rose City. pic.twitter.com/Lnvsc0EoF6
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 20, 2017
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Real Salt Lake will now head back to Rio Tinto to host league-rival and Western Conference leading Sporting Kansas City. Earning three points against SKC at the RioT is the type of result the club needs if they want to climb back into playoff contention, where anything can happen. Demar Phillips’s injury could cause him to miss additional time, and Kyle Beckerman could miss the match as well if his red card suspension isn’t reversed, but the match presents itself as another opportunity to build on their recent success which has them headed in a very positive direction.