Savarino Claims Man Of The Match In Win Over Atlanta
May 26, 2019, 7:13 PM
Real Salt Lake forward Jefferson Savarino (7) drops to his knees after scoring the game-winning goal in an MLS game against Atlanta United at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, on Friday, May 24, 2019. Real Salt Lake won 2-1. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake picked up their third straight win with a 2-1 victory over the defending MLS Cup Champion Atlanta United FC.
Bofo Saucedo scored his second straight goal in as many games in the 36th minute to get Rio Tinto Stadium loud.
Josef Martinez equalized in the 78th minute as he barely scored by getting behind RSL’s defense.
In the dying moments of the match, Jefferson Savarino scored a beautiful strike from the left side of goal that was shot outside of the 18-yard box that traveled to the right side of the goal and went into the back of the net.
Sava at the death pic.twitter.com/gMIze1M09h
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) May 25, 2019
Here is how the players were rated after the win, 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.
Goalkeeper
Nick Rimando, 8
As expected, Rimando was fantastic for RSL as he picked up one save, while punching a shot away and had two clearances but allowed one goal past him. It looks like the injury hasn’t bothered him since his return to the lineup.
The 🐐is back pic.twitter.com/JPfWXjXOI7
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) May 26, 2019
Right Back: Aaron Herrera, 6
Herrera had a decent performance. He had two interceptions, one tackle won but lost two tackles and had 8 unsuccessful passes in the opposition half. The young defender will gain more experience as the season progresses.
Center Back: Justen Glad, 7
Glad was again good, he had great ball movement with crisp passes in the back and did a good job in clearing RSL from any danger against Atlanta. He committed five fouls throughout the match.
Center Back: Nedum Onuoha, 8
Onuoha is the definition of consistency. He brings his experience and it shows on the pitch with the RSL defense. Onuoha had three interceptions, three clearances and 21 successful passes in their own half.
Left Back: Donny Toia, 6
Toia has played well over the last few weeks, but he needs to work on completing passes in the attacking half. He had 11 unsuccessful passes in the opposition half and 3 in RSL’s half of the field. Toia did have 3 interceptions and many successful passes but would like to see the percentages go up.
Center Midfield: Nick Besler, 7
In the past two matches before the Atlanta game, Besler has had two different performances. Against Atlanta, he was solid with 3 interceptions, 19 successful passes in the opposition half, but lost a challenge, a tackle and committed a foul. He played more like the Colorado Nick Besler than the Toronto FC one.
Center Midfield: Damir Kreilach, 6
Kreilach tapered off a little bit against Atlanta after a brilliant match against Toronto. He was still good as he was aggressive on the defensive end and a key player on the offensive attack with his passing.
Left Wing: Jefferson Savarino, 9
Savarino scored the final goal for the second straight week, this time it was the most important strike that put RSL up for good in the dying moments of the match. He scored in the 94th minute with the referee blowing the whistle shortly after the goal. Savarino almost had a brace as a goal earlier in the match hit the post.
Striker
Striker: Corey Baird, 6
Baird didn’t have the best performance. The work he put in was great but the results didn’t show like they normally would. His passes were good but was caught offsides once, 4 unsuccessful passes in the attacking half and committed two fouls.
The Bench
Everton Luiz, 6
Luiz entered the match in the 72nd minute for Damir Kreilach. He had an instant impact in the 22 minutes of action, he assisted on Savarino’s goal, picked up an interception, won a tackle and made a big difference on the pitch.
Sam Johnson, 6
Johnson came on in the 79th minute for Corey Baird and made an impact in the short time that he was on the pitch. He had a shot to go with a key pass and winning a corner kick. It was only 15 minutes of game action, but Johnson had a decent showing.
Brooks Lennon, 3
Lennon came on in the 90th minute for Bofo Saucedo and didn’t see a lot of action on the pitch.
Real Salt Lake hit the road for a midweek match against the Montreal Impact on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The match can be streamed on KSLSports.com, as well as on the KSL TV app.
KSLSports.com in collaboration with Real Salt Lake has launched a new podcast, The RSL Lion’s Den. It is the official Real Salt Lake podcast for all your club news and updates. Tom Hackett, Spencer Warne and RSL’s Director of PR, Matt Gaschk break down the games and discuss important club matters.
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!
Head coach Mike Petke and TV analyst Brian Dunseth have launched a new podcast titled “Off The Chest”. The duo discuss all matters of the world game in a entertaining and informative podcast that will be sure to make you laugh.
