Minnesota United finally broke through their low-scoring ceiling and capitalized their way into a victory over LA Galaxy this week. Now, riding a winning high and gaining more confidence in the attack, the Loons return home to face Real Salt Lake on Sunday, July 3.

The Occasion: MLS week 17; Game No. 18; Home Game No.9

The Opponent: Real Salt Lake

Head-to-Head:

Minnesota United and Real Salt Lake have met 11 times since the Loons’ expansion into MLS. Minnesota has won four, lost two, and drawn five. Past games have almost always been tight contests, with the average score difference being no more than 1. While the Loons have historically had a slight upper hand, Salt Lake is sitting second in the Western Conference with 29 points, 8 points ahead of MNUFC, who find themselves in 10th on 21 points. However, both teams have scored the same amount of goals this year (20), the main difference being MNUFC has a goal differential of -1 and Salt lake has a goal differential of 1.

Their Run of Form: L-D-L-W-D

Week 12  - 2-1 W at Montreal (Justen Glad 54th, Sergio Cordova 66th)

Week 13 - 3-0 W vs Houston Dynamo (Bobby Wood 29th, Sergio Cordova 57th, Justen Glad 92nd)

Week 14 - 2-1 L at Vancouver (Justin Meram 52nd) 

Week 15 - 2-0 W vs San Jose (Marcello Silva 22nd, Jefferson Savarino 81st) 

Week 16 - 0-0 D vs Columbus

Last Season

Real Salt Lake finished 7th in the conference with a record of 14-6-14 and 48 total points. MNUFC and Salt Lake met twice in 2021.  Both of the games were tight matchups, with the first game ending in a 2-1 win for Real Salt Lake, and the second ending in a 1-1 draw. 

Salt Lake snuck into playoff position after winning against Sporting KC on decision day, narrowly taking the spot from LA Galaxy. Once in the MLS Cup Playoffs, Salt Lake surprised everyone with a first round upset against the Seattle Sounders, winning in penalty kicks. After that, they proceeded to almost take the whole thing; but they were turned away at the door when the Portland Timbers beat them 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals.

That was then, this is now.

Real Salt Lake began play in 2005 when ownership was granted expansion into MLS; they were the 12th team to be granted this.  RSL won the 2009 MLS Cup and were runners-up in 2013. In 2010-11 RSL made history as the first American club since the CONCACAF Champions League was introduced in 2008, to advance to the final stage of the tournament, when they finished as runners-up.

More recently, Real Salt Lake went through turbulence in the ownership front. On August 30, 2020, Dell Loy Hansen announced that he would be selling his stakes in the club. RSL struggled to find a buyer and went into the 2021 season with no defined ownership.  Things were made even more difficult when head coach Freddy Juarez opted to leave his role on August 27 of that season. Assistant Coach Pablo Mastroeni took over as the interim gaffer, and after a successful push into the playoffs, was named official head coach for the 2022 season.

Now for this current 2022 season, the club has both new ownership and a new head coach. The team has been successful, currently in 2nd place in the Western Conference standings. However, a goal differential of one leaves them vulnerable to be knocked out of that spot. It is a tight race in the Western conference and it wouldn’t take much to tumble down the rankings, especially for a team that has given up about as many goals as they’ve scored.

The Attack

Real Salt Lake typically runs a 4-4-2 formation, and it has been working for them. RSL has been squeezing by with very tight games all season, but even though they are winning by small margins, a win is a win.

Two of their key offensive players are out with injuries, Bobby Wood and Damir Kreilach. Team captain Damir Kreilach is out for the season with a back injury. Kreilach was RSL’s leading goalscorer and team MVP for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. His absence could be contributing to the low-scoring games from Salt Lake.

Forward Bobby Wood had contributed 3 goals and 1 assist before being injured last week. Now, Salt Lake looks to other players to get the job done offensively. Last game, the final score against the Crew was 0-0, which shows a struggle to find the net. However, with players like Justin Meram, there are always going to be opportunities to score. The veteran MLS player is a very solid left-winger who also plays for the Iraqi National Team. So far this season he has contributed 2 goals and 4 assists.

The Defense

The starting defensive line will most likely be Aaron Herrera, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, and Andrew Brody. These four players working in tandem have conceded a total of 19 goals this year, which is right in line with the top performing clubs this season.

Aaron Herrera was voted RSL defensive player of the year in each of the past three years and has been the anchor at right back. An honorable mention is given to Aaron Herrera for his performance, winning 73% of tackles and 66% of duels, and is one to watch out for.W

Final Thoughts

Real Salt Lake may be pushing through multiple key-player injuries, but that hasn’t stopped their success on the season. If anything, it seems to fuel their competitive fire. RSL struggles to finish up-top and such a low goal differential shows they are able to be scored on as well. However, they have a solid defense and it will take the offensive tenacity that Minnesota United showcased last game, to really break through to the goal.

Minnesota United will be playing at home for the first time in five games. Not only do the Loons get to return home, but they get to return home with reinvigorated confidence and a desire to add to it. It should be a tight game, but the victor will be whoever can play at full capacity the full 90 minutes.

MATCH INFO

Minnesota United F.C. vs Real Salt Lake

Allianz Field | St. Paul, Minnesota

07.03.22 | MLS Game No. 18

7:00 pm CT (Bally Sports North EXTRA, The CW Twin Cities, SKOR North)

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