Real Salt Lake Battles For Draw In Second MLS Is Back Fixture
Jul 17, 2020, 10:48 PM | Updated: 11:33 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake and Minnesota United played only the second 0-0 draw since the tournament began. The match had very little action and seemed as though both teams were rather content with playing to a scoreless draw.
The first half was one to forget. Real Salt Lake constantly turned the ball over in their attacking third and looked disinterested in playing a decent brand of soccer. Albert Rusnak injured his left hip flexor and was replaced by Justin Meram in the 34th minute.
gg @MNUFC pic.twitter.com/olXcahujbC
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 18, 2020
The second half offered more action but was still rather bland to watch. The best chance of the match for RSL came when Johnson made a run in and behind the backline of Minnesota, however, his attempted shot dribbled past the far post. An opportunity lost. It was the only time RSL found themselves in a one-on-one position with United goalkeeper Tyler Miller.
It felt as if passages of play were on repeat. RSL would enter their attacking third only to turn it over, Minnesota would go down the other end and subsequently turn the ball over, the ball was then flicked around the midfield with very little north-south movement before the ball would ultimately be turned over in the attacking third again.
It was dreadful. RSL looked sloppy, their touches were heavy and the vast majority of players looked tired midway through the first half.
Both Minnesota and RSL entered the fixture tied atop the Group D standings with three points. They departed this evening still tied atop the group with four points. All RSL would need to qualify for the knockout stages would be a draw against their final Group D opponent Sporting Kansas City.
Next Match
RSL will take on Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, July 22 at 7 a.m. on ESPN.
Tom Hackett is a Utah and Real Salt Lake Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the It’s Utah’s World Podcast (Utah Football themed) and The Lion’s Den Podcast (Real Salt Lake themed). Follow him on Twitter: @TomCantHackett.
