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• Real Salt Lake v FC Dallas: Mastroeni says hosts must go 'into the fire'

  Pablo Mastroeni believes the best way for his Real Salt Lake side to improve is by "going into the fire" as the playoff battle heats up ahead of Wednesday's clash with FC Dallas.

  Real Salt Lake have been among the Western Conference pacesetters all season, but they have lost two of their three games since returning from the Leagues Cup break, including a 4-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

  They remain fourth in the West but just three points separate them from Houston in seventh, while their cushion to the wild-card spots stands at seven points.

  "There are things we're working out, and it's one thing doing it in practice and another doing it when there are so many variables on the line," Mastroeni said this week.

  "The only way we build real cohesion is by just going into the fire, playing these games, then going back to review them.

  "With time, you expect that the guys will get a really clear understanding. You can make changes on gameday, you can tweak, but also you have to affect games with mentality.

  "It's about mindset. I would rather make errors of effort than errors of overthinking."

  Dallas are currently one place, but five points, outside the playoff picture, with a tough stretch seeing them face Los Angeles FC and Orlando City after their visit to RSL.

  Interim boss Peter Luccin, though, feels the identity of their opponents is not important, saying: "Right now, for us playing versus a team in the top five or the top 10 is the same thing... the only thing we have to do is win.

  "If we want to fight for the playoffs, which is the least the club deserves, we have to do that. One thing is for sure, we will fight until the end."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH 

  Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango 

  Arango has scored six goals in 407 minutes over five career regular-season matches against Dallas. 

  His rate of 1.33 goals per 90 minutes in those games is the highest of any player that has played at least 300 minutes against Dallas in MLS history.

  FC Dallas – Jesus Ferreira 

  Ferreira has scored seven times in 10 regular-season meetings with Real Salt Lake, more than he's scored against any other opponent in his MLS career. 

  The Dallas forward has also scored in four of his five matches at America First Field, including the last three in a row.

  MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN

  Dallas have won at Real Salt Lake in each of the last two seasons, their first consecutive wins at RSL in regular-season play. Only two teams have won on three straight regular-season trips to Utah (LAFC – four straight from 2020-23, Portland – three straight from 2014-15).

  They are also unbeaten in three straight regular-season away matches (one win, two draws). Dallas had lost eight of their first 11 away from home (three draws) in 2024.

  They face a daunting task on Wednesday, though, against a Real Salt Lake side with 10 home wins already this season, reaching that mark for the first time since 2019 (13 home wins). 

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Real Salt Lake – 52.4%

  FC Dallas – 23.3%

  Draw – 24.3%

• Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb: Record-breaking Kane scores four in demolition

  Harry Kane produced a remarkable four-goal haul to make English history as Bayern Munich demolished visitors Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in their record-breaking Champions League opener.

  Kane, who scored a hat-trick in their Bundesliga win over Holstein Kiel on Saturday, converted a 19th-minute penalty before goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Michael Olise in the first half on Tuesday.

  Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara led a fightback early in the second half, with Dinamo hoping to find a way back, but Bayern responded through goals from Kane and Olise.

  Kane netted his third and fourth with penalties shortly after, helping him onto 33 strikes in the competition and comfortably past Wayne Rooney's 30-goal record among English players in the Champions League.

  Leroy Sane added another in the 85th before fellow substitute Leon Goretzka headed in the hosts' record-breaking ninth finish, the most by one team in a single match since the Champions League was introduced.

  Data Debrief: Penalty perfection for Kane

  Deadly finisher Kane accumulated 3.76 expected goals (xG) of Bayern's total 6.27 tally for the match, with the 31-year-old finding the target with six of his eight attempts in what proved to be a total domination.

  Kane is the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a European Cup/Champions League match, and the first Englishman to score four in a match in the competition since Alan Smith for Arsenal against FK Austria Wien in 1991.

  There was history elsewhere, however, as Thomas Muller appeared in his 152nd Champions League match for Bayern, breaking Xavi's record for the most matches with one club in the competition (151 for Barcelona).

  Vincent Kompany will be looking forward to the rest of this European term, too, after Bayern started a 21st straight campaign in the competition with victory, with their last such defeat coming against Deportivo de La Coruna back in 2002-03.

• Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley: Rampant Rashford nets twice in EFL Cup rout

  Marcus Rashford was on target again with a double as Manchester United demolished third-tier Barnsley 7-0 at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup third round.

  Rashford had scored his first goal since mid-March in Saturday's Premier League victory at Southampton, after which Erik ten Hag predicted more would follow.

  And the United manager was quickly proven right as Rashford grabbed the first and fifth goals on Tuesday, helping to fire the Red Devils into the last 16 of the EFL Cup.

  Rashford, who netted in United's final victory over Newcastle United in this competition two seasons ago, appeared full of confidence after 16 minutes as he brought down Alejandro Garnacho's crossfield pass, skipped past Marc Roberts and blasted into the top corner.

  The exiled England international was not alone among United's under-fire forwards in enjoying a productive game in front of goal either, with Antony getting his first of the season by winning and converting a penalty.

  It was three on the stroke of half-time as Garnacho prodded in after Rashford was tackled in the area, and the excellent Argentina winger scored again shortly after the restart.

  Rashford raced onto another Garnacho pass and finished coolly just before the hour mark, before Christian Eriksen added a late brace of his own.

  Data Debrief: He shoots, he scores

  It was hard to foresee Rashford's three-goal week prior to the Southampton match – primarily because the United number 10 was not shooting, let alone scoring.

  Rashford appeared in United's first three Premier League matches of the season without even attempting a shot, but Barnsley's goal was subjected to target practice on Tuesday as his confidence returned.

  Those two Rashford goals came from six attempts, including five from inside the box as he thrived in a central striking role after so often toiling on the left wing.