Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake

I hope you all enjoyed whatever festivities you took part in for the Fourth of July 4, and that the rest of your short week has gone well. Another Friday means another Orlando City game on the horizon. The games are coming thick and fast for the Lions as OCSC will be hitting the road and taking on Real Salt Lake for the club’s third game in the last seven days.

A showdown with RSL means I spoke to Lucas Muller, the deputy editor over at Wasatch Soccer Sentinel. Like us, the folks over at Wasatch Soccer Sentinel have taken their site independent, and they’re continuing to do great work covering all things RSL, Utah Royals, Real Monarchs, and Utah soccer in general. Make sure you go check them out!

Talk me through RSL’s transfer business during last off-season. Who have been the notable arrivals and departures?

Lucas Muller: RSL’s winter transfer window started with some key players leaving. The team saw forward Bobby Wood move to New England and Sergio Cordova land with the Whitecaps after his loan expired. RSL struggled to score in 2022 (and the start of 2023), and it seemed neither Wood nor Cordova were what the team needed. The strangest loss was that of right back Aaron Herrera, who they did get some allocation money for ($500k in GAM), but he’s been difficult to replace.

They brought in big signings in Colombian winger Andres Gomez (20 years old) and Colombian defender Brayan Vera (24 years old) for a good amount of money. Both have been important to the team this season, though Gomez was more of a surprise since another winger wasn’t really a huge need. Justin Meram left for Charlotte early in 2023, and Gomez became more involved with the team. He’s certainly a very talented young player.

RSL also picked up Emeka Eneli, Bertin Jacquesson, and Ilijah Paul in the draft. Eneli has been a standout player for the team. He’s a midfielder who has largely played at right back, but can easily slot into the middle when needed.

In this window, RSL broke their previous transfer record (Gomez) to bring in Chicho Arango from Pachuca. The former LAFC center forward fills a massive hole in RSL’s squad. Real has needed a consistent goal scorer since Alvaro Saborio left in 2015. This is a move that shows real ambition from RSL’s new ownership. He’s expected to play against Orlando this weekend.

They have also signed Nelson Palacio from Atlético Nacional in Colombia. He’s the fourth Colombian the team has signed in the last year. Palacio is a 22-year-old defensive midfielder who fills another need on RSL’s roster. He’s not expected to start on Saturday.

RSL is enjoying a good year so far, and is currently fourth in the Western Conference. What has the team been doing well that’s helped get it to that spot in the standings?

LM: Despite winning their first game of 2023, RSL went on to lose their next four and things looked pretty bleak. The team had lost their top scorer from 2022, team captain Damir Kreilach was still recovering from a major back injury, and their new signings were all untested in MLS. But things started to slowly come together. They began to figure out goal scoring — a major part of that being the shift from lofting crosses into the box, to the wingers carrying the ball in and making low passes to feet, generally Danny Musovski or Kreilach. Pablo Ruiz has also had a few incredible goals this season.

Potential spots of worry are RSL’s goal difference of -5 and 31 goals against, both of which are the highest numbers of any Western Conference team placed ninth or higher. Is the defense a concern, or do those numbers not tell the full story?

LM: Defense is a major concern for RSL. They lost their best outside back in Herrera last off-season and he’s been difficult to replace. Marcelo Silva and Justen Glad are a strong center back pairing, but we’ve seen some real breakdowns with the outside backs this season. The midfield has been missing a more defensive-minded player, which is why Palacio was brought into the team.

The outside backs are generally improving, and with the addition of Palacio they should be stronger, but having suffered a few 4-0 losses, that really tanked the team’s goal difference.

Are there any players who will be unavailable due to injury, suspension, call-ups, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

LM: Of the starters, Rubio Rubin is still with Guatemala for the Gold Cup, and Pablo Ruiz is probable with a foot issue, but he should at least see minutes as a sub.

Gavin Beavers; Andrew Brody, Marcelo Silva, Justen Glad, Emeka Eneli; Jefferson Savarino, Pablo Ruiz, Braian Ojeda, Andres Gomez; Cristian Arango, Damir Kreilach.

RSL has been very poor at home this season, despite being the best road team in the league. They haven’t won at home since April 22 (in the league, they did have an Open Cup game mixed in there). With Orlando looking pretty dangerous at the moment, I think a 2-2 draw would make sense.

Thank you to Lucas for helping us get up to speed on Real Salt Lake. Vamos Orlando!