Nine losers and no winners from RSL’s 5-0 loss to Colorado Rapids

Well.

Huh.

That was a disaster, wasn’t it?

Let’s just get to this.

Loser: Everton Luiz

I am not happy about this. Everton Luiz is an absolutely brilliant player. Tonight, I suspect he has been replaced by a Changeling. That was a disaster of a performance from Luiz. He was a step slow, he was poor in his positioning, and he was poor in his passing. He gave up on a run into the box, and a Colorado player scored their third goal of the night. It was the nail in the coffin. The others were just ... extra nails.

It is fair to say that this was an uncharacteristic performance — but it does make one wonder if Pablo Ruiz’s move into the starting lineup has been for more reasons than I’d thought.

Loser: Corey Baird

Corey Baird has become a liability on the wing, giving up on runs, making poor decisions, and generally not supporting his full back. It is not the first time this has happened, and I am troubled that it is becoming a pattern.

Loser: Albert Rusnak

Albert Rusnak appeared to be wearing the captain’s armband, as he has in recent weeks when Kyle Beckerman isn’t on the field. What we saw from him was so far short of a captain’s performance that it’s shocking. If the captain’s armband matters, it’s symbolically, and Rusnak’s performance was symbolic.

Loser: Donny Toia

While you must consider that Toia was hung out to dry repeatedly — as he often has been when Corey Baird plays on his side — Toia was simply not good enough when tested.

Loser: Justen Glad

I have come to expect great things from Justen Glad with the occasional mistake. There were no great things tonight. He holds direct responsibility for the second goal, losing an aerial duel to Diego Rubio by not actually challenging, getting caught out of position afterward.

Loser: Andrew Putna

Eight shots on target, five goals conceded. Need I say more? (Actually, while I think he holds direct responsibility for the way the first one was given up, what with the flapping at the ball, but was extremely hung out to dry on the others. Still, I want to see him organizing defenders better.)

Loser: Douglas Martinez

One would hope that at this point in his career, Douglas Martinez understands that putting his hands on another player’s head during a breakaway is a sending off. I don’t think Martinez cost us the match (quite obviously, actually), but it didn’t make anything better, and it did make the match unsalvageable. (Although, to be fair, we were down four goals at that point.)

Loser: Sam Johnson

In 28 minutes of play, Sam Johnson had just two touches on the ball. His position at Real Salt Lake is now untenable as a designated player. He has had one good match in 2020, and it is extremely difficult to see reason to give him more minutes at this point. (Except, well, our other forward just got a red card, and our other-other forward is an extreme liability.)

Loser: Damir Kreilach

Being partnered with Everton Luiz meant that one of the two should have taken a bit of a ‘stay at home’ role in the midfield, but instead, there was a real lack of coordination between the two of them. They felt a bit like two players who happened to be playing next to each other.