The opening half-hour of Real Salt Lake’s international friendly against Manchester United at Rio Tinto Stadium on Monday showed this was going to be vastly different from Manchester United’s 5-2 rout of the LA Galaxy on Saturday night. Real Salt Lake flipped the script and countered the English Premier League giants, reaping the rewards through Luis Silva’s goal in the 23rd minute. Though Mike Petke’s side ultimately fell 2-1 at Rio Tinto Stadium, the first 30 minutes of 1-1 soccer proved RSL’s first XI could hang with one of the biggest clubs in the world. The performance earned praise from one of the best managers in the world, too.
“The team that played the first 35 minutes was well coached,” United boss Jose Mourinho said. “They have good ideas. They have a good understanding of the game, playing in relation to the quality of the players. Two fast wingers, a good midfield moving the ball. I really liked the way they played. I just feel sorry that they have a game on Wednesday.”
RSL Head Coach Mike Petke agreed with his counterpart and prioritized the league match against the Portland Timbers on Wednesday by shuffling players in hockey-like shifts. Still, RSL’s head man was effusive in his praise postgame.
“If you break it down into the substitution brackets that we had the first 30 minutes I was very impressed….To come out against a team like Man United, and go up one-nothing and be explosive going forward and definitely balanced going forward as well I am thrilled. I am thrilled for the guys,” Petke said.
The Claret-and-Cobalt weren’t overwhelmed by the moment. Albert Rusnák began his career with Manchester City’s youth squad, battling against the rival Red Devils. Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando have experience with the US Men’s National Team at the 2014 World Cup. They set the tone and the rest followed suit.
RSL passed confidently through United’s press. Joao Plata nearly broke through on two occasions before the opening goal. Plata and Silva combined at the edge of the penalty area and beat Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof for opportunities on frame. The chance creation left the first group wanting more.
“I would’ve loved to play go with our starts a little bit longer, give it a good go and try to win this but it will be a good experience for some of the younger players,” Kyle Beckerman explained. “It will give our fans a look at the younger players and to see where the team is.”
The starting XI displayed just what this team can do with all of the pieces on the field at the same time. In Petke’s ensuing substitutions, the mentality displayed by RSL 1.0 carried over. The soccer was smooth, and the experience was invaluable.
“It’s funny because before the game a lot of guys like our coaching staff and a lot of the messages were about, ‘go enjoy.’ I think when I came back from warm-ups, the mentality was ‘Hey, let’s go out and win this,’” Beckerman continued. “We might never play Manchester United here again so it’s a big opportunity to get a win or have a good performance over a world-class team.”
