Real Salt Lake aims to extend their strong start as they face San Diego FC on Saturday evening in Sandy, Utah.
The team’s current record of 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss (13 points) is their second-best start in 22 seasons, trailing only the 2011 season when they started 5-1-0.
“At the start of the season, people didn’t expect much from us,” said RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni, highlighting their unbeaten streak of five matches (4-0-1).
In their earlier encounter on March 22, Real Salt Lake drew 2-2 with San Diego FC, thanks to a late goal by Victor Olatunji.
Despite being undefeated at home (3-0-0), Mastroeni is prepared for a tough match ahead.
“San Diego is a strong team,” he noted. “They might be struggling right now, but they have players who can change the game. I expect a competitive match.”
Last weekend, Salt Lake secured a 3-1 win against Sporting Kansas City, with goals from Diego Luna, Sergi Solans, and Zavier Gozo.
San Diego FC, with a record of 3 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses (11 points), has not won in their last four matches (0-2-2). They suffered losses of 3-0 to San Jose Earthquakes and 2-1 to Minnesota United in their latest games.
“Even though we lost to Minnesota, we took positive steps forward,” said San Diego coach Mikey Varas. “We believe we are on the right path.”
San Diego was affected in their last game when defender Chris McVey received a red card early in the second half, leaving them at a disadvantage. He will be unavailable for the match against Salt Lake.
Luca Bombino scored the lone goal for San Diego against Minnesota. He is optimistic about returning to their previous season’s performance when they topped the Western Conference.
“It’s frustrating because we know what we’re capable of,” Bombino stated. “We believe we have the talent and dedication to achieve our goals.”
In their previous match, Marcus Ingvartsen and Anders Dreyer scored for San Diego, while Solans and Olatunji netted goals for RSL.