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RSL vs. Nashville: Player of the Match

RSL came up empty in a trip to Nashvegas

MLS: Real Salt Lake at Nashville SC Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

So, what went wrong in the Music City? So many things. Let’s start with energy. There was little. Let’s start with not having an identity in the middle of the field. Let’s start with all of our starting forwards combined for one shot. Marcelo Silva had three.

We really need Damir Kreilach back. We really need some offensive spark. We really need to be able to control the ball and have more possession with purpose. We really need a win this coming Saturday.

We had Anderson Julio return, but even the super sub couldn’t spark enough energy to help RSL come back from a deficit that only got worse in the stoppage time. And this is not really sound like a player of the match report.

So, let’s focus on what went well. Zac MacMath. Seriously, this guy stood on his head without the support he needed. Nashville took 21 shots, and had 10 on target and the final score was 2-0. There is not much even a great keeper can do in that situation. Zac MacMath is the player of the match again. It would have been even uglier had he not made all the saves he did.

Will Jefferson Savarino fix the team? No. Will he help? Yes. Will any of the other signings help the team? Possibly. We already know Pablo Mastroni’s style of play (see an earlier article on the Soapbox that explained it through Ruiz in the midfield) and the question is, will the new players fit that style of play? That style of play did not work against Nashville.