RSL Suffers Disappointing Road Loss At The Hands Of Minnesota United

Here is how the players were rated after the loss, on a scale of 0-10.

0-5: The player did not play well or did not get enough minutes to judge performance correctly.

6-7: The player played well, but had moments where they did not make good decisions.

8-9: The player was very impressive, had very few mistakes and offered a lot of production.

10: The player played a perfect game. No mistakes, everything the player touched turned to gold.

Head Coach

Freddie Juarez, 7
Juarez struggled to get the players ready for Minnesota with only four days to do so. That, or the players were unable to execute the game plan. The careless turnovers cost RSL points as all three of Minnesota’s goals came on counter-attacking opportunities.

His forced substitution pattern with bringing on three attacking players was Juarez signifying trouble. He knew the players needed a spark to get back into the game. The risk did not pay off, as Minnesota scored the final goal and put the nail in the coffin as RSL were pressing to equalize.

"How many times, bro!?" pic.twitter.com/qTwrcSQpn1

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 16, 2019

Goalkeeper

Nick Rimando, 7
Rimando started the game on fire. Keeping RSL in it during the opening 15 minutes as Minnesota were finding chances in front of goal. However, Rimando was beaten at his near post from outside the box in the 51st minute which gave Darwin Quintero Jr. his brace. Rimando has been beaten at his near post on a number of occasions this year. He ended the match with three saves.

Rimando things pic.twitter.com/2YWPCWSbRG

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 16, 2019

Defenders

Right Back: Aaron Herrera, 8
Herrera played well. The right-back ended with three clearances and three interceptions and has shown promise throughout the season. Although his performance can be spotty, Herrera is clearly the future at right-back for RSL and will continue to develop with the more minutes he is given.

Center Back: Justen Glad, 8
Glad made no big mistakes against Minnesota. In fact, the defense as a whole played well. The midfielders were to blame for the result as they turned the ball over and put the defense under pressure with their inability to control the football. Glad ended with 4 clearances.

Center Back: Nedum Onuoha, 8
Much like Glad, Onuoha did not make any big mistakes. He was constantly under pressure trying to defend the counter-attack. Onuoha was clearly fed up with defending and went on a few runs himself. He ended with two clearances and two interceptions.

Left Back: Donny Toia, 7
Toia was at fault of turning the ball over on a number of occasions. He ended the afternoon with 13 unsuccessful passes while ten of them occurred in the oppositions half. The build-up to Minnesota’s second goal was influenced when Toia clumsily bowled over Kyle Beckerman and sprung Quintero into open space in which he attacked, shot and scored.

Toia can influence the game with his ability to provide service into the area. One of the better chances of the second half came after Toia found the head of Brooks Lennon who headed the ball over the crossbar from six yards out.

Midfielders

Center Midfield: Kyle Beckerman, 8
Kyle Beckerman had one of his better outings on Sunday. The veteran disposed the football efficiently and helped defensively. His legs are clearly gone and he does not have the ability to cover the surface like he once used to, but his leadership and experience is priceless when RSL go on the road.

Center Midfield: Everton Luiz, 8
You can never criticize his effort. Luiz gave everything he had and was solid holding down the center of the pitch. Luiz showed his abilities against Minnesota as he defended, attacked and controlled the tempo of the game to the best of his ability.

Right Wing: Albert Rusnak, 8
Rusnak opened the scoring for the afternoon after he squeezed the ball past the outstretched arms of Vito Mannone in the 17th minute. However, Rusnak was unable to have any more of an impact after the opening goal.

Hit 'em with the old change up pic.twitter.com/Z8IysrqbFh

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 15, 2019

Center Attacking Midfield: Damir Kreilach, 8
Statistically speaking, Kreilach was the best player on the pitch for RSL. He ended with 64 successful passes, 2 key passes, 2 tackles and 5 aerials won. Although his impact was small in comparison to what we are used to seeing.

Left-Wing: Jefferson Savarino, 8
Savarino created a number of chances for RSL on the road but was never rewarded for his efforts. He ended with two shots from inside the box and one shot from outside the box that never found the back of the net. Savarino was unfortunate to not score as he found himself one on one with Mannone only for Mannone to make a miraculous save. If he had of scored, RSL would have gone back up 2-1 and we may be talking about a different outcome.

29'- So close 😱

RSL 1 | 1 MNUFC
📺 KMYU
📻 @ESPN700
📱 https://t.co/9r6UupVI5l#RSLvMNUFC pic.twitter.com/sSaC0z8THf

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 15, 2019

Striker

Striker: Sam Johnson, 7
Johnson relies on service. He did not get any during the 72 minutes he played against Minnesota. Johnson was nowhere to be found. Granted, he was coming off a lot of travel and 180 minutes over the course of two games with his national team Liberia. Regardless, Johnson did not look ready to take on Minnesota.

The Bench

Joao Plata, 5
Plata got 18 minutes of action after he came off the bench and was unable to give RSL any spark. His impact was limited but has clearly grown on interim head coach Freddy Juarez as his minutes are increasing as the season goes on.

Corey Baird, 5
Much like Plata, Baird got 18 minutes and was unable to have any impact on the game. Baird is coming off 25 minutes with the USMNT last Tuesday.

Brooks Lennon, 3
Lennon joined the game in a last-ditch effort to pinch a point. He only played in 10 minutes and could have leveled the game with a wide-open header from the 6-yard box but pushed the ball over the crossbar.

Next Up

Real Salt Lake will jump on a plane to take on the New England Revolution this Saturday at 35:30 p.m. The match can be streamed live on KSLSports.com or the KSL TV app.

New England are coming off a 3-3 road draw against Orlando City.

They currently sit in 7th place in the Eastern Conference.

Full highlights from tonight's 3-3 draw with Orlando#NERevs // #ORLvNE pic.twitter.com/E9uSLtlLw7

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) September 15, 2019

Reminder

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To listen to The Lion’s Den, click here. It is available on iTunes, Google Play or wherever podcasts are found. Don’t forget to rate and subscribe!