Real Salt Lake Gets Utterly Dominated In 5-0 Loss To D.C. United

WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was a game for forget for Real Salt Lake in a 5-0 collapse against D.C. United.

The loss was the first of the season for RSL and it was an ugly one.

D.C. United was completely dominant, firing 22 shots compared to just four by RSL.

D.C.’s Wayne Rooney was terrific, scoring two goals in the first half and then completing the hat trick in the second. He also set up D.C.’s fourth goal with a nice corner kick assist.

35' | @WayneRooney steps up and buries the PK! 1-0 United!#DCU | #DCvRSL pic.twitter.com/BBscS7tAw4

— D.C. United (@dcunited) March 17, 2019

Here are some key takeaways from RSL’s loss to D.C. United:

RSL Starts Well, Herrera Out Of Position

Early on, things looked promising for RSL as they controlled the pace for the first 10 minutes or so. From there, however, the game belonged entirely to D.C. United.

RSL defender Aaron Herrera looked a bit out of place on the left back as he usually plays on the right side. He was exposed all night by D.C.’s attackers, which may have had a large part in the five goals that went against RSL.

Plenty Of Fouls Called

The referee must have been trying to fill some sort of quota as fouls and cards were given out in rich abundance.

While RSL definitely suffered the most damage due to the decisions made by the official, both teams were called for a lot of fouls. Real Salt Lake was tabbed for 13 fouls while 11 were called on D.C. United. The home team received three yellow cards, but it was the two red cards called on RSL’s Jefferson Savarino and Marcelo Silva that really impacted the game. Though they were already down 3-0 at that point, Silva’s second yellow at the 67^th minute mark forced RSL to play with only nine players the rest of the way. They didn’t have a chance at getting back in the game.

Rooney Was Unstoppable

D.C.’s Wayne Rooney was just too much to handle for RSL, both when they were shorthanded and at full strength. The former Manchester United star showed why he was such a force in the English Premier League with a hat trick performance against RSL.

41' | Easy as you like! @WayneRooney!#DCU | #DCvRSL pic.twitter.com/gCGnutHajE

— D.C. United (@dcunited) March 17, 2019

In every way, Rooney was dominant in the game on Saturday night. His touch was incredible and he consistently got into dangerous areas on the pitch and made RSL pay dearly, three times.

Next Up

Real Salt Lake will look to regroup next week when they visit LAFC on March 23. The match will kick off at 8:30 p.m. and be streamed on sports.ksl.com and the KSL TV app.