Everton Luiz’s Midfield Masterpiece Keeps RSL Clean In Win Over Crew
Jul 4, 2019, 9:41 AM
Columbus Crew midfielder Ricardo Clark (13) tries to kick the ball away from Real Salt Lake midfielder Everton Luiz (25) as Real Salt Lake and Columbus Crew play a Major League Soccer game at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy on Wednesday, July 3, 2019. RSL won 1-0. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SANDY, Utah – After a short four day turnaround from the 2-0 victory against Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake returned home to take on the struggling Columbus Crew.
Head coach Mike Petke altered his starting XI given the short week and brought in Brooks Lennon at right back, which pushed Aaron Herrera to left back. Damir Kreilach dropped into the middle and played alongside Everton Luiz. Albert Rusnak returned to his center attacking midfield position, while Corey Baird came on at right wing.
💥💥💥 pic.twitter.com/nVMhN5vwr8
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 4, 2019
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
Mike Petke, 8
Petke was forced to bring in midfielder Nick Besler at half time after Sam Johnson hurt his right quadricep late in the first half. In the 73rd minute Nedum Onuoha came off for Marcelo Silva. Petke’s final substitution came in the 90th minute as he brought Tate Schmitt into the game and gave Sebastian Saucedo a rest for the final four minutes of stoppage time. Overall, Petke’s game plan entering the night worked and he was able to generate more attacking opportunites for RSL while keeping a clean sheet. Put three more points in the bag for Real Salt Lake.
Back to back shutouts & wins! pic.twitter.com/OFiK4KdbcM
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 4, 2019
Goalkeeper
Nick Rimando, 8
Rimando came up with a monster one on one save in the 16th minute that prevented J.J. Williams from scoring, the play was later reviewed by VAR but referee Victor Rivas deemed the save stood. Rimando also used his brilliant footwork to embarrass opposing players.
Find you a keeper that can do both pic.twitter.com/vQTlhz2NsS
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 4, 2019
Right Back: Brooks Lennon, 7
Lennon’s effort was superb, his hustle running back defensively after getting involved in the attack was something Mike Petke would have loved to see.
Center Back: Justen Glad, 8
Fresh after coming off a MLS Team of the Week, Glad was again superb. Utilizing his speed and touch and shutting down most attacking opportunities from Columbus Crew.
Center Back: Nedum Onuoha, 7
The big Englishmen helped organize the back four all night long. As he has done on many other occasions this year. Onuoha makes life very difficult for opposing attacking players as he reads the game better than any other player on the pitch.
Left Back: Aaron Herrera, 7
Herrera played left back, due to Brooks Lennon joining the back four. Herrera played one of his better games of the season, despite playing out of position. His long ball in the 37th minute helped set up
Center Midfield: Everton Luiz, 9
Luiz was at his fearless best tackling midfielders and attackers from the Crew all night long. At one point, Luiz made a tackle right by the Columbus Bench in which head coach Caleb Porter was a foul, only for Luiz to stand up and start mouthing off at the Columbus head coach.
Megs from Everton pic.twitter.com/hkPbYboUsB
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 4, 2019
Center Midfield: Damir Kreilach, 7
Despite pushing back into the center of the park, Kreilach was superb at getting involved in the attack. In the 30th minute, Kreilach found himself with the ball at his feet 10 yards from goal. Only for a Columbus Crew center back to stop it with his chest on the goal line.
Saucedo was very impressive bouncing from the left and right wings. When Saucedo is attacking and playing with confidence, you could argue he is the most dangerous man on the pitch. Saucedo came off for Tate Schmitt in the 90th minute.
Striker
Striker: Sam Johnson, 8
Speed kills. Sam Johnson flew past both Columbus center backs after a long ball was played from Aaron Herrera, Johnson calmly punched the ball into the bottom right hand corner with the outside of his right foot. Unfortunately it looked like Johnson hurt his right quad after a shot late in the first half, he reached for it directly after.
Too Fast, Too Furious! pic.twitter.com/GKwgZmafvE
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 4, 2019
The Bench
Nick Besler, 6
Besler joined the game at half time, replacing the injured Sam Johnson. Besler added a defensive presence to the midfield and was solid in the 45 minutes he played.
Marcelo Silva, 5
Silva joined the defense after replacing Nedum Onuoha in the 73rd minute. Marcelo worked well alongside Justen Glad and helped secure the three points.
Tate Schmitt, 2
Schmitt came on in the 90th minute for Bofo Saucedo and helped RSL pick up three points. Schmitt’s entrance into the game was more of a time killer than everything. His impact was small.
Real Salt Lake will travel to San Jose this Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The match can be streamed on sports.ksl.com, as well as on the KSL TV app.
sports.ksl.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.
