“My name is Devon Sandoval, prepare to die.”
The Inigo Montoya-lookalike and Real Salt Lake striker might as well have said that at kickoff of RSL’s match against the LA Galaxy on Saturday night.
Between Sandoval’s finishing and Burrito Martinez’s hustle, Real managed a 3-0 victory over the suddenly-slumping Galaxy and giving the team some real hope at a playoff slot. The result put RSL within striking distance of the playoff places after Portland and San Jose both struggled over the weekend.
That was virtually unthinkable just last month, when a struggling Real side dropped four league matches in August and found itself bounced out of the US Open Cup as well. Since the beginning of September, however, RSL has looked like a totally different group — the players are brimming with confidence, attacking with creativity and making far fewer mistakes on the pitch.
Although the scoreline didn’t necessarily belie the number of chances LA had, primarily in the first half, Real’s performance against the Galaxy was exceptional for the majority of the match.
On a tactical note, Jeff Cassar had his players pressing up high early on, forcing LA to make mistakes and getting the jump on the visitors. That paid off on Sandoval’s first goal, as the Galaxy couldn’t play the ball out of the back as easily as they would have liked and RSL was able to capitalize, with Aaron Maund sending the ball toward goal and Sandoval finishing with flair.
With that many quality players on the pitch, however, LA was able to find its chances to equalize in the first half, but the Galaxy seemed out-of-sync and couldn’t put many of them on goal. Nick Rimando was called upon several times, making one particularly notable save that kept Real on the front foot.
Martinez, who’s had his hands in nearly every goal-scoring play that RSL has had since his arrival, earned the penalty for RSL’s second goal. In the second half, his individual play created the opportunity that Sandoval neatly headed home for the third goal of the match, which effectively cut the heart out of the Galaxy and stifled any comeback hopes they might have had.
Clearly, Martinez has had a fantastic impact immediately in Salt Lake — from the scoring opportunities to the plethora of Taco Bell jokes on Twitter, he’s become a fan favorite. His teammates have waxed poetically about him in post-match press conferences. Burrito seems to be the real deal.
But is Real’s resurgence all down to him? It’s a relevant question, given the history of foreign DPs in MLS. Undoubtedly, Martinez’s presence has improved the side immensely. There are a few other factors to consider, though:
- The trade that sent Alvaro Saborio to DC for Luis Silva: Saborio was never able to make things quite work in the 4-3-3, looking far better paired with Sandoval in a 4-4-2 than he ever did in the former setup. He also seemed rather unhappy this season, culminating in the airport drama that immediately preceded the trade. Might the team chemistry, particularly on the field, have been affected? Should the RSL FO — anticipating that Saborio wouldn’t be with the team much longer and moving toward a formation that didn’t suit him well — have offloaded him before the season?
- The return of Jamison Olave to the starting lineup: Olave gets a lot of flack (and often deservedly so) for his physicality and some of his decisions. But after a summer of a constantly-changing cast of characters in the back four, his presence has seemed to have a calming effect in the back. RSL will need him to stay healthy for the remainder of the season, given that Chris Schuler won’t be back.
- Finding the magic 3 in midfield: Much like the back four, the midfield has undergone multiple permutations over the course of the season. However, in the case of the midfield, it’s largely been more about form and formation than fielding the only ones left standing. Luke Mulholland’s work rate and ability to adapt to the needs of the team was a bright spot during the summer. Meanwhile, Cassar has stopped trying to make Luis Gil happen and kept him out of contention even when healthy on multiple occasions.
Regardless of how the team got to its current form, the fact of the matter is that the players are currently clicking, having fun, and getting results. If things continue to fall RSL’s way, the playoffs are an actual possibility.
The next seven days will be quite telling. Real has a CONCACAF Champions League match on Thursday — a win would put the team through to the next round even with another home fixture to play — and then a must-win at San Jose on Sunday.
RSL will need its own Inigo Montoya to maintain his killer instinct, and El Burrito to keep serving up deliciousness to his teammates. If that happens, this team has some very bright days ahead of it.
