One game in, 2-0 loss to Inter Miami gave RSL plenty to build on
One game in, 2-0 loss to Inter Miami gave RSL plenty to build on
The visitors matched the Herrons 16-16 in total shots, but put just two of those chances on frame and will undoubtedly rue that it wasn’t more after turning over Miami on several occasions.
Real Salt Lake’s lengthy unbeaten streak in season opening games came to an end Wednesday night against arguably the greatest player of his generation.
Robert Taylor and Diego Gomez each scored a goal set up by Lionel Messi, and Inter Miami handed RSL its first loss in an MLS opener since 2009, 2-0 at the newly renamed Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The visitors matched the Herrons 16-16 in total shots, but put just two of those chances on frame and will undoubtedly rue that it wasn’t more after turning over Miami on several occasions.
“I think it came down to being aggressive in the press. Once we committed together, they were giving us the ball. So I think it was just being committed and pressing together,” said RSL midfielder Diego Luna after the game, per MLSsoccer.com.
“In the final third, it really just comes down to being clinical. I think we missed three or four simple chances where they're giving us chances.”
Added head coach Pablo Mastroeni: “They feel like they kind of let one get away, as far as not getting a result here or getting a draw. But the way we talk about it internally, everything’s a process. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t; but the most important thing is to be able to reflect as a group, recover quickly, and sometimes these games that come quickly are a blessing because they don’t let you think too much about it.”
Here are three things we learned from Salt Lake’s first opening day loss in 15 years:
That messy save by J-Glad
Real Salt Lake’s moment of the match came early, when Justen Glad saved a Messi free kick off the line with his head.
The top-shelf save just before the 20th minute kept the match scoreless, and came as RSL put two field players in goal (along with Zac MacMath) to defend against the Argentine Wonder’s patented free kicks.
It worked, obviously — at least this time. In doing so, he may have given the rest of the league the best option to stop the Argentine’s patented free kicks.
“Obviously, we’ve all seen Messi score that free kick 100 times,” Glad told the media after the game. “So throughout the week, we practiced it with me in the post and maybe Chicho on the other post. We know he’s capable of putting it in the top corner, and it’s tough for a goalkeeper to get there. So it’s just about helping cover Zac, and it ended up going right to me.”
For his part, Zac MacMath finished with five saves, keeping his team in it. The veteran keeper did all he could, but no doubt wishes he could have put a palm on two more shots.
Like, for example, the strike that broke the deadlock just before the 40th minute for the Gulf Stream Galacticos.
Robert Taylor can Finnish those Messi chances
The 29-year-old attacker from Kuopio, Finland had four goals and seven assists in 27 regular-season games last year, but the 6-foot attacker may be the biggest beneficiary of Messi’s midfield in 2024.
With so much attention offered against the Argentina (to say nothing of Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba or Luis Suarez), it may be easy to overlook Taylor. But teams will do so at their own peril, as RSL found out with the Finnish Finisher’s 39th-minute goal that lifted Miami to a 1-0 halftime advantage.
Of course, that was a finish off Messi — who also launched the counter attack for Gomez’s goal that was assisted by Suarez.
“They have quality players, but I thought I actually thought we handled it pretty well,” Glad said. “You just got to always be aware of where Messi is. He's capable of sliding those passes or taking you on the dribble, but I thought we contained him pretty well for the most part. But obviously not quite well enough.”
One game, not a season
Real Salt Lake held a massive unbeaten streak in season openers prior to Wednesday night, a run of games without a loss that dated back to 2009.
That run is over in the club’s first meeting all-time with Inter Miami. But the earliest season opener in MLS history, combined with the increasing length of the season as the league balloons to 29 teams, leaves little time to worry about such marks.
Salt Lake plays again Saturday at St. Louis City SC. And if it’s any consolation, the last time the team opened the season with a loss, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales and Nick Rimando ended the campaign hoisting MLS Cup in the cold Seattle air after a penalty shootout against the LA Galaxy.
We’re not saying that is what is going to happen. But considering the context of Wednesday’s opener — Arango being held up in preseason to finalize his green-card status, Pablo Ruiz returning from knee surgery that stunted the team last season, and the promising debut of 17-year-old riser Fidel Barajas and short-term call-up Noel Caliskan, for starters — RSL showed hints of promise for the 2024 season in the loss.
Can they build on it Saturday at St. Louis City SC (6:30 p.m. MST, MLS Season Pass)?
“It's always gonna be a tough start coming to Miami and I think it took a little while to get over the nerves part,” Mastroeni said. “But overall I thought it was a really good effort from the guys. And again, like I always say, we want to get one game better, and there's a lot of great, great things to take away from this game. There's some areas where we need to continue to work at.”