I'm flabbergasted, honestly, I mean is it just a matter of being "up" for MU? I just.....what?!?! 1-0 RSL. And it's not a fluke, rsl has legitimately been the better team here.
I liked what I saw from the starters. If that RSL doesn't show up this season I'll be pretty pissed. Also looks like new Silva is playing now. I was hoping they would've paired him up with Glad.
Like the foul many years ago by Atiba Harris in the Real Madrid match. Who's on the field for RSL now? Any starters at all?
Luke is probably the closest, Schuler has ********ed up about 4 plays in a row since he's come on, other than that...buncha nobodies at this point....who are probably star struck at the idea of even being on the field in a semi-competitive match with ManU
Well that probably couldn't have gone any better for RSL, save for a miraculous tie or win. The starters went 30 minutes, enough to get the blood pumping and shake the 2 week break cobwebs, and they looked the better team in that 30 minutes. Something a bit more than intra-squad scrimmage you'd often find a few days before a game, given the way the guys played in that 30 minutes you'd expect them to be full of confidence Wednesday night against Portland. The 2nd and 3rd string guys weren't horrible either (save for Schuler who was BY FAR the worst player in an RSL jersey to step on the field tonight), only gave up the 1 goal and had moments of their own to tie it up. I think Luke will be having nightmares about missing that shot that would have leveled the match.
I marked this game as the one where I would hope/expect to see the team with some Petke ideas. It's been a long enough stretch (especially with the break the team was just on) to get a change of ideology in more than x's and o's. I was impressed I'll be honest, I'm still pinching myself that I got to see MANCHESTER UNITED play at the RioT last night. It was something else. The last few years have been rough as a fan, but I'd be lying if I said this game didn't (at least for me) help with a lot of those wounds. I paid $80/ticket, and it was worth every penny. Lets all take a step back and realize that United arrived in SLC just hours before the start of the game. They looked a bit heavy legged and like a team in preseason. That said, they are still top players in the profession. You could see that in their warmup alone. United was not at all ready for what Plata/Silva/Rusnak/Savarino were bringing. Those four worked spaces incredibly well and deserved so much more than the one goal. If not for a few well timed last ditch tackles, I think you see the first team for RSL leave up 2 goals or more. If we can get THAT Sunny the rest of the season, then this team will be able to put Luke back on the bench and not be so worried about a box to box middy. KB's days are dwindling, and you could see that in some of the decisions he made. I think he might have one more year in him so long as he gets rotation, but that's going to be a hard conversation in the off season. I'm still not sold on the defensive idea that Petke wants to play with the players we have. I love the idea of outside backs who bomb forward and stretch teams, but Tony Beltran just isn't a threat. The best thing he typically does on an attack is bang the ball off a defender for a corner. I was impressed with how well Glad played against the specimen that is Lukaku. I'm not saying Glad had a great game - he made a few bad mistakes - but against THAT type of player he looked decent enough. That's a huge plus for him. He's struggled with that a lot. Am I the only one who doesn't fully buy the "hip injury" thing with Yura? I really liked what I saw of Marcelo Silva. He looks calm on the ball and has good size to him and decent vision. I want him to get in the first team ASAP. Horst isn't the answer. And Maund and Schuler showed why they are 3rd string, at best, CB's in this one. In person, I didn't think the Valencia tackle warranted a red. It looked like a run of the mill yellow. After watching replays, though, I'm happy Chapman sent him off. Apparently he talked to Mourinho about not sending him off but making United sub him...? It was weird. It was weird when Petke walked down the sideline and said "hey, just put someone else on, it's a friendly". It was kind of sad to watch the game after the red card. RSL simply couldn't break United down and United just wanted to spring Rashford on 50 yard sprints. The creativity was drained from the game. Lennon at FW was something a lot of us have said we wanted to see. I wasn't overly impressed by it. He wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special. Honestly reminded me of playing Jordan Allen in a center mid spot. Sure, he CAN do it, but it's not what he's best at. Keep Brooks on the wing. Did anyone else notice how few players switched jerseys on the pitch after the game? A lot of the talk was about how many players were going for certain guys kits. What happened there? All in all, a really fun night. Beautiful weather after an initial scare of rain/wind. Good soccer, even if both teams played a bit reserved. Please oh please let those first 30 minutes be the RSL of the rest of this year and next. A player or two adjustment and that team could seriously contend or, at the very least, be fun to watch again.
It was clearly a statement tackle that doesn't belong in a friendly. I went back and watched the game again and it was actually Acosta that raked Mata's ankle, not Bofo. So Valencia didn't even exact vengeance on the right guy. But he clearly took him out and Chapman basically said he wanted Valencia off the field. But he wanted to avoid uneven teams in a friendly so he gave Mourinho the chance to sub him off. Mourinho didn't agree to those terms for whatever reason so Chapman showed Valencia the red. I think it was handled well, to be honest. I don't even blame Mourinho for refusing to sub.
So I hear Man U is quite the popular team. Guess I'll look into them and find out what league they play in and stuff. A Spanish club, are they?
I did not watch this game. Perfect weather to sit outside and read in the backyard (which I would have skipped for a league match).
we might suck ass in our domestic league, but damnit we showed up when the game meant nothing against a top euro team in preseason form.
I'm happy I was able to make this one. I had that worry in the back of my mind that my flight would be delayed and I'd miss seeing my favorite team. Glad none of that happened. Sucked that the merchandise lines moved at a snails pace, so I missed the first 10 minutes of the game. Fun game overall, and I'd be happy to see another top team come here and play in future years. Now, I get to wait to go to the Dr, because I decided it'd be a fantastic idea to come home sick. Nothing like having to make an appointment to get a note so you don't get in trouble for calling in sick right after vacation days off.
I tried that kind of humor when Everton lost to RSL in 2010... didn't work then either. RSL was in last place, Everton lost. So, I wrote a 'Everton announces an internal vote to relegate down a division due to the ignominy of losing to the last place team in the obviously deficient American MLS.' I was told it was inappropriate for the blog I was writing for at the time.
RSL's best attack right now is keeping the ball on the deck with Silva, Plata, Savarino and Rusnak. It just is.
This was a ton of fun. Great weather, excellent play, and an amazing atmosphere. Regarding RSL, I loved the spirited attack. These guys had energy and creativity and I hope this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the season. It was great to see Silva's defensive chops too. He has a great presence and hustled. Our Wednesday game limited how much time our first team got, but they showed well for themselves and it was great to see some of the guys fighting for time, and even some Monarchs, get such a great experience. Regarding Manchester, their second goal was a thing of beauty - the passing and runs that led up to were amazing. Murhino was really great with the fans before the game and took time with each of the kids that walked out with the players in the tunnel. He was also complimentary of our team, Petke, and the RioT. That team is stacked with talent, but I was especially impressed with Pogba. Not only was he all over the field, good in close space, and pinpoint with long passes, but he was pleasant and was the main player who stayed after and signed autographs.