Real Salt Lake got off to a slow start on Wednesday night, but quickly rebounded and showed off its championship qualities.
After surrendering an early goal to Toronto FC, RSL responded with four unanswered goals to post a 4-1 CONCACAF Champions League victory at Rio Tinto on Wednesday night.
Nick Dasovic's debut as Toronto FC interim head coach got off to a good start when Maicon delivered an early goal to give Toronto the lead, but RSL responded quickly with goals from Kyle Beckerman and Jamison Olave. RSL blew the game open after a Spanish striker Mista was sent off for Toronto. The hosts rattled off three more goals to move into a tie for first place in its Champions League group.
Here are some other stories to get your Thursday going:
Earthquakes edge Union
Chris Wondolowski delivered his latest game-winning goal and Jon Busch posted another strong performance to give the San Jose Earthquakes an important 1-0 victory against the Philadelphia Union at Buck Shaw Stadium in San Jose on Wednesday night.
Red Bulls trade for Talley
The New York Red Bulls added veteran defender Carey Talley on Wednesday, acquiring him from D.C. United in exchange for a conditional 2011 second round draft pick.
Talley is capable of playing in central defense and right back, where he should provide cover for fellow veteran Chris Albright. Talley is a former long-time teammate of Red Bulls assistant Richie Williams.
Portugal wants Mourinho to coach national team
The Portuguese national team is in need of a head coach after firing Carlos Queiroz and they have their sights set on the most famous Portuguese coach in the world.
The Portuguese federation wants Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho to take on the national team head coaching job on a temporary basis in October, when Portugal will play a pair of European qualifiers against Denmark and Iceland.
Paulo Bento had been rumored as Queiroz's replacement, but he has denied agreeing to any deal.
Valencia operation deemed a success
Manchester United midfielder Antonio Valencia is on the road to recover from his gruesome ankle injury after surgery on the injury was deemed a success.
Valencia could still return for some part of the current season despite having suffered a broken and dislocated left ankle during Manchester United's UEFA Champions League match against Rangers on Tuesday.
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What do you think of last night's results? Impressed with RSL? Think Toronto FC is doomed to fail this year? Starting to take San Jose seriously?
Share your thoughts below.
If it was a close game I would understand the Toronto complaints. However RSL completely dismantled Toronto, and probably would have won no matter how much the refs effected it.
The reffing was “good”??
-A blatant hand ball in the box by RSL was not called
-The 2nd RSL goal was clearly offside.
-The penalty was outside the box
-The referee red carded Mista even though his back was completely turned and then turned around see the rasta wannabe Beckerman rolling around as if he got shot.
The officiating in the RSL game was a joke. RSL’s second goal was clearly offside on the replay, the third goal was arguably a freekick (again, the replay zoomed right in and the point of contact was right on the line, not full in the box) and the calls were 17-4 against Toronto.
That’s a total joke. And Beckerman is a diving hippy wuss. Tough as nails? You must be joking.
I have to agree. I thought the ref last night was excellent, which is something you will rarely hear from me.
I just need to know, where did you see this? The one replay from 50+ yards last night during the game?
Too bad NYRB couldn’t have pulled this deal off a couple of days ago. They may need Talley in the playoffs. Gotta hand it to Soler and Backe . . . . they’re not messing around.
hoping to see how ballochy works with henry and angel. I have a feeling rsl can win the concacaf
Talley was terrible for DC…….looks like United may have something next year, getting rid of dead weight and older high cost players, good young ballers and top draft picks may put them back in playoff scenarios.
The FO should invest in a defensive DP and dump Perkins in the off season.
That Quakes/Union game was one of the worst matches I’ve seen this year. Neither team could string more than two passes together. The Quakes will probably make the playoffs but……
Dive really?…Beckerman is not a cheat and never has been. Tough hard-nosed player and if he went down it was legitimate (which it was). FWIW the ref last night was from Mexico and I thought did an excellent job as he does week in and week out in the Mexican La Liga. Trust me he knows what diving is in that league (I watch it weekly) where it is all part of the admission…:)
So yeah this ref stood out for a no-nonsense game and I thought did a great job.
After seeing Valencia’s injury, seeing him come back this season would be absolutely miraculous to me. Love his qualities and humility as a professional baller, the Anti-CRonaldo. Hope he makes it back even stronger than before.
Far as Talley, sure seems like my squad are doing everything they can to reinforce for a title run THIS season. 2 months ago I couldn’t even grasp the thought, let alone a year ago. Not sure the worst to champion precedent has been done in MLS before, but I’ll be there cheering my loudest for what would be another miracle.
Great dive by beckerman and an awesome red card given to Mista by the ref. Concacaf officials stand out once again.