Real Salt Lake’s home opener is here, and a familiar foe is on our radar: Seattle Sounders, one of the West’s top teams, but also one of two teams that RSL moved past on the way to the Western Conference Final last year.
While that last match had a favorable outcome — advancing in the playoffs was quite fantastic — I suspect everyone will hope that RSL has a slightly better showing. No shots in a home opener simply wouldn’t be the sort of start that grants anyone a degree of great excitement, after all.
What RSL needs to do to win
Against Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake was found lacking in two distinct areas: First, they didn’t have a player carrying the ball and maintaining possession (perhaps what Albert Rusnak did best for RSL,) and second, they lacked opportunities to exercise creative force in dangerous areas.