Real Salt Lake 0-1 Chicago Fire
Soldier Field; Chicago, Illinois
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Interim Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On the up and down performances:
“I think playing away from home in this league is very difficult. I think when you play against teams that don’t have playoff implications, they don’t have any nerves.They are playing free with nothing to lose. Much like when you are getting beat 3-0 in a game, there is nothing on the table, so it’s a difficult psychological game to go up against. I think Chicago is a very good team, they have a lot of great individual players. You’ve got to credit the opposing team as well, it’s not just about us not playing to our level in the first half. In the second half the guys came out and really showed their true selves by threatening the goal, putting balls into dangerous areas and pressing and winning the ball higher up the field. That’s the team we need to be if we want a chance to qualify for the playoffs.”
On the field conditions playing a role in the result:
“I’d like to say that was the case, we talked about that before the game. There’s going to be moments where you can’t play the same game that you are accustomed to playing at Rio Tinto Stadium given the grass being tall and patchy, to put it nicely. I think at the end of the day the second half for us was the team that has had a bit of success this year. The mentality was right, the way we threatened the box was right. When you look at both halves, if it was the field I think it would be similar, but they were complete opposites. We have to be able to go and play under any conditions and understand what the field is asking, what our opponents are asking and make better choices. Too often in the first half I felt like we were a bit more passive and didn’t show our teeth.”
On the difficulty of playing on the road:
“Having played in this league for many years, there is a psychological advantage when you wake up at home and you know you are going to play in front of your fans, it’s that simple. It’s not one thing. It’s not the hotel, it's not the travel, it’s the whole thing. You know you are going to another team’s stadium with their fans, their field that they are comfortable with and the surroundings. Then historically, you know that it’s also difficult to win on the road and you factor in all of those things and it kind of manifests itself into reality. That’s not to say you can’t win on the road, it’s just a lot more difficult than waking up in your own bed and playing in front of your fans at Rio Tinto.”
Midfielder Albert Rusnák
On the team’s comfort level in the 3-5-2 formation:
“I think the first half was bad from us, but I think in the second half we were all over them. We created chances, we had set pieces. In the second half we created more chances than we probably usually do. The 3-5-2 is nothing new, we didn’t play it for the first time, we’ve played it ever since Pablo [Mastroeni] became the Head Coach, so it has nothing to do with adjusting to the system or something. We were asleep for the first half, we let them take the lead and then 45 minutes of good football wasn’t enough today. I would say they dominated the first half, we dominated the second half, but we didn’t put the ball in the back of the net. I do think we created good chances. I had a couple, Chang’s was saved from the corner on the line. Anderson [Julio] had a shot at the end as well and he had another one on the breakaway, but unfortunately we didn’t score.”
Defender Justen Glad
On what Chicago did to make it difficult going forward:
“In the first half they pinned us back. It was tough to get out once we were in our own half, Rubio [Rubin] was kind of on an island by himself. I thought we did better in the second half. It opened up a little bit more, but we didn’t get it done.”
On David Ochoa:
“He’s an amazing young talent. His confidence keeps getting higher and higher. The sky's the limit for him.”
On the upcoming match in Dallas:
“I thought the effort was there tonight, but we fell short. It just puts more emphasis on the next one, it makes this next game more important. At this point the last four are must-wins. It sucks being out of the playoff race right now, but our destiny is still in our own hands.”
