Real Salt Lake Fixated On Scoring More Goals As MLS Season Restart Looms

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake are preparing for the MLS season restart as six games in three weeks looms with the first matchup scheduled for this upcoming Saturday with an away trip to Colorado.

RSL were knocked out by San Jose in the round of 16 after scoring a combined four goals through four games, creating more attacking opportunities is at the forefront of Freddy Juarez’s mind.

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— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 13, 2020

“Anytime we are in possession and the ball carrier has space and time we have to threaten the backline with multiple players, not just one,” Juarez said.

Creating attacking opportunities and scoring goals has been hard work for RSL over the last few years. In 2019 RSL finished the season by scoring just 46 goals, the sixth-worst in the league.

“When we get to the attacking part you are starting to see structure when we are in an organized attack. I would say that we need more growth and more work in the creation of chances in getting behind the back-line,” Juarez added. “When we get behind the back-line we are working on getting more numbers inside the box.”

Plenty Of Attacking Options

Thus far in 2020, Douglas Martinez Jr. has been getting the majority of minutes at striker. The young Honduran international is playing in his first MLS season after scoring 17 goals in 40 appearances for the Real Monarchs in 2019.

"We're here, we're ready & we have fixtures to prepare for."#RSL pic.twitter.com/aGWHh7V17y

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 12, 2020

Sam Johnson, who saw the most minutes at striker in 2019, has predominantly come off the bench. Johnson has struggled with soft-tissue muscle injuries this season but remains available for selection if Juarez grants it.

RSL acquired a number of very talented, experienced attacking players during the offseason including the likes of Jeizon Ramirez, Giuseppe Rossi and Justin Meram, however, neither player has had any significant impact on the attacking threat for RSL in 2020.

Next Match

Real Salt Lake will travel to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids, on Saturday, August 22nd. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the team intends on travelling to Colorado via a charter flight the day of the game and returning to SLC immediately following the conclusion of the game, per league protocol.

Tom Hackett is a Utah Football 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.