Real Salt Lake 3 vs. 0 Minnesota United FC
August 31, 2022; Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Real Salt Lake (11-8-9, 42 points); Minnesota United FC (13-10-5, 44 points)
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On tonight’s win:
“Down the stretch, the goal for our group is pretty basic–you want to win your home games and you want to get results on the road, whatever they look like. We’ve piggybacked this result on top of three good results, and that, for me, is what really builds the chemistry and the belief. At this point of the season, it couldn’t come at a better time.”
On the home field advantage:
“Prioritizing home [games] is really important to us. We have a unique home field advantage with both the fans and the altitude and we’re really trying to exploit that. Then we’ll go to LA[FC] and you can’t make any decisions until you see how the guys recover, and we have a great training staff, medical staff, and the players have a place where they can be honest about how they feel. If you ask everyone, they’ll more than likely say, ‘I’m ready to go,’ but the guys have been really communicative and dialed in, understanding that the team is always the most important. So as we look towards the weekend, we’re going to wait until Friday just to have an idea as to how they feel, and then Saturday, we’ll probably make a decision. There’ll probably be three or four or maybe even five new players to start the game.”
On “peaking” towards the end of the season:
“It’s really important. One of the struggles we’ve had is losing some pretty important players throughout the season and integrating some newer players, even [Jefferson] Savarino into the group, and then changing the shape a little bit. There’s been this acclimation phase where we’ve struggled a little bit to get results, but I feel like everyone has grasped and understands their roles and responsibilities and tonight, it was on full display. Defensively, as a group, we made it really difficult for them to find any really clear chances, and offensively, we created a ton [of chances] in our structured offense but really transitioned as well. So when all those things start coming together and you’re getting results, that’s when you feel the belief in the group. Because what we’re doing is working and obviously we have a huge challenge ahead of us on the weekend, but if we can do those things that we did tonight, regardless of who’s on the field, we’ll put ourselves in a good position to get a result for sure.”
Forward Jefferson Savarino
On his connection with Sergio Cordova:
“It’s about the communication both on and off the field that has really helped us a lot. The nice thing is that we’re both humble enough to pass each other the ball on the field. Hopefully we’ll be able to continue to do that and continue to improve as the season goes on and strengthen that connection even more.”
On settling back into the team:
“I feel a lot more peace and confidence than where I was at. A lot of the teammates already knew me, so it was just about regaining that chemistry with the team. But I’m really happy to be here, and I’m hoping to be here for a while with Real Salt Lake.”
On the language barrier:
“I feel like the adjustment has been pretty easy. I congratulate both Sergio [Cordova] and Anderson [Julio] on their goals today. It’s been nice to be back with the team and I feel like I can continue to grow and progress as the time goes on.”
Forward Sergio Cordova
On his confidence now that he’s scoring goals:
“Confidence is huge for any player no matter where you are on the field. Thanks to God, everything has been going well and I've been picking up more confidence. Personally, it’s helped me a ton and will help any player on the field do better. Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep going. I’ve just had to stay calm and stay humble throughout it all.”
On the teddy bear toss after he scored his goal in the 6th minute:
“It was very beautiful. I wasn’t really expecting it, but it was a very cool moment for the players on the field as well as everyone in the stadium.”
On if he’s playing his preferred style of play:
“The confidence that I have earned has helped me play a lot better and return to what I do best. It really helps that I have the permission to play loose and to make mistakes without having severe consequences, so I continue to grow. All of the players and coaches have been supportive of me and it’s helped me to become a lot better. “
On the language barrier:
“I don’t feel like the language barrier is much of a problem since a lot of the players speak Spanish as well. One of my goals is to learn English like I learned German. Luckily for us, Pablo [Mastroeni] speaks Spanish perfectly and that helps a lot. In soccer, you don’t really need to know the language to understand each other on the field.”
