Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting KC: Three key stats
By Daniel Garza
Three key stats from Real Salt Lake’s 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City.
It was an emphatic 3-1 victory for Real Salt Lake against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday afternoon. The hosts conceded an early goal but rallied to score three unanswered en route to their second win of the season. Here are three key stats from RSL’s victory over SKC.
Damir Kreilach involved in every RSL goal
RSL’s reliable veteran player was a key factor in his club’s victory. The 32-year-old Croatian registered one goal and two assists as he was involved in every single one of RSL’s goals in the match. This will go down as one of Kreilach’s best statistical performances to date for RSL in a regular-season match. The last time he was directly involved in three goals in a regular-season match was when he scored a hat-trick against the Los Angeles Galaxy during the 2018 campaign. After leading RSL in goals scored in the 2020 season, it looks like Kreilach is heading towards another impactful campaign for his club in Major League Soccer.
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Rubio Rubin scores his first MLS goals
It’s been a terrific start to life in MLS for Rubin. The January RSL signing scored his first two MLS goals against SKC and was another player who shined in the victory. Just a week prior he had recorded two assists in the 3-2 win over Minnesota United which was his first career match in the league.
Rubin is certainly looking like a player who can be an impactful offensive player for RSL this season and it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Last season in USL, the forward scored five goals in four appearances for San Diego Loyal. It will be interesting to see if he continues to produce goals and assists at a consistent rate in the weeks to come. Although it’s still very early in the 2021 season, Rubin has been one of the top offensive players in MLS over the course of the first few weeks.
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Alan Pulido opens his goal account for the 2021 season
SKC’s star striker scored his first goal of the 2021 season in the 17th minute. Pulido registered six goals in 12 regular-season appearances in 2020 and finished tied with Gadi Kinda and Johnny Russell for the team’s leading scorer spot. Hopefully, he can continue to make appearances in the starting 11 for SKC. This was his first match of the season in the starting 11 and every single MLS goal he’s scored has come in a match where he’s been a member of the starting lineup.