Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

I hope you’ll forgive a bit of negativity this Monday morning. Real Salt Lake kicked off their 21st MLS campaign with their worst-ever season opener, conceding a staggering four goals to San Jose Earthquakes. The closest in goal difference it’s come is a 3-0 loss to Chivas USA in 2006. It was a performance not to forget, but one we should remember and avoid in the future.

It was, in a way, an extension of Wednesday’s match against SC Herediano in another San Jose. That match defined forgettable; it was a drab 0-0 draw with opportunities few and far between. The lineup between these two matches changed considerably, with something approaching first-choice found between the two showings.

Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Herediano saw little in the way of attacking thrust, with some small bright spots provided by youngster Zavier Gozo. Diego Luna, who is easily RSL’s most lethal attacking threat, didn’t feature in that match, and it certainly didn’t add to the excitement to have the midfielder out of the mix. I am not particularly bothered by that fact, though, with the return leg in Sandy almost certain to feature Luna. That match, on home soil, should be a considerable step up against opposition that ought prove a bit less than a test.

In that way, I am not worried about this coming Wednesday. The two-legged tournament play means a 0-0 draw is not world-ending, and I should expect RSL to be playing at full-strength when that match comes. If the team is not at something approaching full-strength, especially with Diego Luna in starting line-up, my confidence will take a well-earned dip.

As we talk about both of these matches, we can focus on one of the members of both starting lineups, Forster Ajago. It is not entirely fair that I am talking about him. He’s a player that, by all accounts, is not at an MLS level, and it is not his fault that he’s Real Salt Lake’s only fit striker. The competition for the position is not tough, and it feels clear that Ajago is the obvious choice.

The striker situation is somewhat dire. Matthew Bell is out with a hamstring injury suffered in preseason, but he’s played just 19 minutes of first-team action since joining in the MLS Draft last year. Ariath Piol is also injured, and he has played some 400 minutes of first-team action in the Australian top flight. Jesus Barea has not made the bench after being drafted. Axel Kei played just 42 minutes for Real Monarchs in 2024.

The player who was likely to be RSL’s starting striker, Elias Manoel, didn’t even report to the club after a trade with New York Red Bulls, a fact the club openly admits. They now claim to have “likely sold” the player to Botafogo, though the details of that move have not been publicly forthcoming. (An interesting wrinkle here — Botafogo is owned by John Textor, Real Salt Lake is co-owned by David Blitzer, and Textor is the majority owner of Crystal Palace alongside Blitzer and his investment partner Josh Harris. I’m not saying there’s something here, but it smells weird.) Even Manoel oughtn’t have been an immediate lock for the starting spot, having not registered more than 1,666 minutes (this is not a bit — he played that many minutes in 2023) in successive MLS campaigns. At any rate, he’s gone, and that’s not entirely Real Salt Lake’s fault. (I do think all parties — RBNY, RSL, Manoel, Major League Soccer — shoulder some share of the blame in this, but RSL will be the most disrupted.)

For a team that knew well in advance that Chicho Arango asked to leave and didn’t properly replace him, who sold Andres Gomez for a club-record sum, who let Matt Crooks return to England, and who traded Anderson Julio for a left back and allocation money, the signings have been woefully underwhelming. More may come, but they are not here, and I can’t be asked to evaluate a team on what might happen.

All of that is a long-winded way of saying that It’s not Forster Ajago’s fault that he’s the starting striker. During the offseason, Real Salt Lake traded Chicho Arango (thankfully, after his disreputable and shameful actions that led to his suspension) and Anderson Julio, both of whom played that center forward spot for the club. There was a gaping maw left at the position, and Ajago is the only option. (We’ll talk about one alternative that’s been tried — I am not optimistic about that one.)

It is clear that Forster Ajago is well out of his depth in a starting position. He showed some flashes of MLS-level ability against Herediano, particularly with a strong counterattacking run in which he tamely put the ball at the goalkeeper. He didn’t show anything of the sort against San Jose. Despite somehow becoming RSL’s target forward, he had a grand total of zero duels won. Remarkably, despite never winning one, the team kept putting the ball at him from distance: Ajago contested more duels than any player in the match.

As stated, Ajago is the only realistic option at center forward for this team, and he’s not a particularly good option. In both matches over the last week, he was replaced up top by Diogo Goncalves, who we might generously describe as a false nine. If that is indeed his role, he may be the falsest of nines, with his performance being highly suspect. Against San Jose playing roughly 20 minutes, he had just seven touches; two of those came as the player conducting kickoff after San Jose goals. He managed one touch in the penalty area — just one less than Ajago, at least — and he received just three passes. The last statistic there is a hint at what’s going on, though. The problem here is not just at the body playing in the striker position. There is a fundamental mismatch in the way this team is playing in the midfield, and it’s not serving a center forward, especially one playing out of position.

All of that might be fine if this wasn’t a team designed to play with a skilled center forward. While it may be in some ways that the generational talent of Diego Luna has dictated the way this team plays — that’s something we’ll discuss — all of that is fairly meaningless without someone resembling a traditional striker playing with the quality of an MLS player. Would I rather somebody better than the average MLS striker? Obviously. Arango was at that level, playing at an MVP level for the first half of the season, and it made all of the team work more effectively.

Consider how Diego Luna informs the way the team is set up. I have, in the past, accused Pablo Mastroeni of playing without a substantial tactical identity for the team, and I think the team has changed substantially in that regard. Whether it’s Mastroeni or his coaching staff, that accusation no longer holds water.

When Luna is in the side, he tends to play very differently than how you’d expect a traditional winger to play. He even plays marginally differently than you’d expect a now-commonplace inverted winger, preferring to come central rather than exist in that pocket between the center backs and the full backs. In the attack, this tends to work quite well, though it requires a left wing back willing to come forward to provide any attacking width to allow Luna space to operate. However, for Luna to provide the most value to the team, he cannot be the only attacking player that’s actively goal-dangerous. This would usually come from a center forward, and indeed, Diego Luna didn’t record a single assist after week 22 in 2024 after the Chicho Arango-induced collapse. A traditional center forward can open space for Luna to operate, pulling defenders out of position. Importantly, that should be accompanied by a goal-dangerous quality — both to force opposing players to think twice, and to give Luna a reason to execute dangerous passes into the box. They are high-risk, high-reward passes, and at current, there is no reward in sight.

But the impact goes beyond the goals provided by a forward: Luna is a player that combines superbly, and that’s a primary part of his game. Without a center forward with whom to combine, he’s left with only wingers and attacking midfielders. This can sometimes lead to good results, and we saw some glimmers of that against San Jose. It is inherently limited without a progressive option, and as such, Luna’s impact becomes limited. A knock-on effect here can lead to shots taken from distance. It’s a fine addition to an arsenal, but as a single option, it’s easily defensible.

It is difficult to see Real Salt Lake improving without a substantial investment at forward. The team has gone into the 2025 season without an MLS-level player in the position, much less a player who will score regularly. While fan reaction is split between “it’s awful” and “don’t overreact,” I think it’s important that we have examined this closely. It is clear that this team is lacking an important piece; it is hard to see the system the team employs producing significant positive results without a center forward.

I can’t overlook the fact that this is Real Salt Lake’s worst-ever season opener. For a team that has prided themselves on being good in these matches, this was embarrassing. Under no conditions should see a four-goal loss and simply think “well, that’s a good start.” Good teams don’t lose 4-0 — not typically, at least. And maybe this is a good team, but they’re going to have to prove it.

If seeing RSL as lacking an absolutely crucial piece, if being upset at a four-goal loss to start the season — if that’s overreacting — well, count me among the panicking masses. I don’t think I’m panicking, though. I think this is just realistic. Until we see changes, we’re not going to see prolonged, sustained improvement.

Ah, well. Two more matches this week. Should be something worth watching. I still think we’ve got a great chance against Herediano, whether we have a worthwhile striker or not. (We won’t, of course. These things don’t change in the course of three days when a signing hasn’t been announced.) The team’s quality should see them through without any issue.

Against Seattle Sounders? Well, let’s just get through Wednesday. I don’t want to think about that one.

Have a good week, all. See you in the player ratings.

This week

• Wednesday: Real Salt Lake vs. Herediano in Sandy, Utah; 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday: Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders in Sandy, Utah; 2:30 p.m.