Revenge
Everybody remembers the last time these two teams met. It was the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs and after a scoreless draw at Rio Tinto Stadium that saw LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo finish with five remarkable saves to keep Real Salt Lake off the board, they went to the StubHub Center with what stood to be an epic clash between two of the league’s most consistent teams over the last six years. However, it quickly turned into the Landon Donovan Show and the now-retired LA superstar scored a hat trick in a 5-0 win to end the season for RSL.
That premature end to the season did not sit well in the locker room or front office, let alone among the fans in Utah. This will be the first opportunity to exact some revenge for that match, even if through injury or departure many of the key players in that series won’t be on the field for either side.
Find The Net
Real Salt Lake has just one goal since April 5 – an own goal scored last week against the San Jose Earthquakes. With capable players available in the attack, there are scoring chances to be had for RSL, but they will need to get one to break out of that scoring slump.
Without Joao Plata and Sebastian Jaime on the wings and now Javier Morales out of the midfield, that puts a lot of the scoring load on Alvaro Saborio. His 61 career goals is the most in RSL’s history, but he has just one this season and that came off a penalty. He has put himself in good positions on the field and his work rate shows that he is hungry to contribute on the score sheet. Against the Galaxy, he has two goals in three regular season matches at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Break The Tie
Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy have been tied in each club’s history due to their tremendous successes over the last several seasons. RSL has been to the playoffs each of the last seven seasons – the longest streak in the league – and LA has six straight playoff appearances. Over the last six years, RSL and LA hold two of the top three records in MLS, joined by Seattle Sounders FC.
RSL has an 11-11-6 regular season record and a 1-3-2 playoff record, although the teams have actually split in the four playoff series they’ve met, including Real Salt Lake winning MLS Cup in 2009 in a shootout.
Early Goals
A year ago, Real Salt Lake scored 10 goals in the first 15 minutes of its 34 regular season matches. So far this year, though the Claret-and-Cobalt have yet to convert over that span. Getting that early goal could provide the confidence boost needed to add quickly to the team’s goal tally for the season, but would also could force the Galaxy out of its defensive shell.
