RSL faces Houston at home; last-place Utah Royals reset

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Real Salt Lake cruised to a 3-2 home win over Houston. The Dynamo scored first but RSL’s relentless pressure forced numerous turnovers in dangerous areas and RSL created numerous chances. In the first half, Chicho Arango bounced his header off the ground, over the bar and hit the crossbar. In the second half, Andres Gomez had the ball cleared off the line, Emeka Eneli missed an open goal and Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark came off his line to stop Matt Crooks and Chicho in one-on-one situations right in front of the goal. In this edition of Talkin’ Real, head coach Pablo Mastroeni explains why creating chances was key to the win and the tactical adjustment that allowed Gomez to score the team’s first goal.

We’re also looking forward to the one thing RSL has to do to beat an Atlanta team that should be tired and likely needs to rotate its starting XI heavily.

The Utah Royals sit last in the NWSL with the fewest wins (tied with Seattle for 2), fewest goals (7) and fewest points (8). The Royals have been shut out 9 times in their first 15 games, so they are shaking things up. Team president Michelle Hyncik has been reassigned and head coach Amy Rodriguez has been relieved of her duties. The Royals held a press conference where general manager Kelly Cousins ​​answered several key questions, including: Did Amy Rodriguez have any say in the selection of players and was there enough talent on the roster to win? More importantly, is there enough elite offensive talent to score goals? Cousins’ short answers are yes, she did, yes there is, and she believes so. Her longer answers are here in this edition of Talkin’ Real

The Utah Royals are back in action Sunday in Seattle. The Reign are in second-to-last place, just two points behind the Royals, so Utah got away with a win. Watch the game Sunday at 4 p.m. on KMYU.

Real Salt Lake will be back in action on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at home against Atlanta. This is the fifth meeting between the two clubs and RSL has a 1-3 record against Atlanta United and 1-1 at home.