St. Louis City SC: RSL shouldn’t have prepped for an expansion squad

With a Real Salt Lake shutout on March 25 St. Louis City SC continues to write MLS expansion team history. They’ve got a lot of time left to keep writing.

Through five games of this young MLS season, opponents still can’t solve expansion team St. Louis City SC for 90 minutes. Although Real Salt Lake at home did well in the first half of the match figuring out City.

The teams went to their locker rooms at the half with a draw. The home team prepared for St. Louis’s 4-2-3-1 formation but never quite got it. It was mainly a standard 4-4-2 in the first half, with Salt Lake using the 4-2-3-1 they’ve shown all this season.

And using that formation, the home team held St. Louis scoreless through 45 minutes. The problem was that with an unshakable City backline, plus another flawless performance by St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki, Salt Lake didn’t score either.

Burki finished with eight saves in the match for his second consecutive clean sheet of this season.

RSL’s problems compounded at the opening of the second half. The team had made no significant game adjustments. St. Louis City manager Bradley Carnell did make adjustments. The team exploded out of the locker room in a 5-4-1 formation. Within the first two minutes, winger Indiana Vassilev crossed following a corner and teammate Nicholas Gioacchini hit it left-footed to the bottom left corner of the net.

Striker Joao Klauss hit right-footed shots for goals in the 61st and 66th minutes, followed by a 76th-minute goal by winger Rasmus Alm on an assist by midfielder Eduard Lowen.

The last goal in that 4-0 road shutout made Alm the eighth City scorer this season. Lowen’s fourth assist this season ties him for first in MLS.

There was nothing wrong with Salt Lake’s passing – 81% accuracy – and possession, 61.1%.

Where City anchored their win was with 29 clearances to the home team’s 15 and just edging Salt Lake with 15 tackles and 73 duels won.

Right-back Jake Nerwinski accounted for three aerials won while center-back Lucas Bartlett got in three of the tackles.

Striker Klauss helped out by winning five aerials, two dispossessions, a tackle, and a dribble.

St. Louis City SC continues to confound opponents executing the in-game schemes of head coach Bradley Carnell and staff. The 15 goals so far this season are the highest of any team. This ties the record for most goals by any MLS team in the first five games.

City is also the sixth team in MLS history to open the season with multiple goals in the first five games. They’re the first since 2019 when both Los Angeles FC and Toronto FC achieved it.

With consistent performances and persistent adjustments keeping opponents reeling – regardless of how capable they are – City players have completely forgotten they’re on an expansion team.

Opponents had better stop expecting to play one.