Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni says his team are aiming to be champions and are looking to continue their impressive form against LA Galaxy on Saturday.
RSL sit top of the Western Conference on 37 points, having lost just two matches so far this season while putting together an astounding 15-game unbeaten run in the league.
Mastroeni knows exactly where his side are in the table, and he has embraced the challenge that comes with being the leader.
"It's about connecting to the big picture - we want to be champs," said Mastroeni. "There's all these sayings in sport for a reason, the one I go by is offence will win you games, but defence will win you championships.
"It always goes back to what we want to achieve as a team. It's about fine-tuning some things and having a real understanding that we're now the hunted and need to get everyone's best game."
The Galaxy are one of those chasing Salt Lake down, sitting just three points below them in third, having lost just one of their last nine matches.
Having won their last two games, head coach Greg Vanney was particularly pleased with how his side defended in those two victories.
"When we're following through on our responsibilities and making the games as predictable as we possibly can, then it helps the group to deal with situations a lot easier and cleaner," Vanney said.
"We've done a nice job of that in the last two games, and it helps us to defend better. It gives the group a lot of confidence in understanding that if we stick to what we want to do, we can be a lot more efficient, especially in defence."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Arango has scored six goals in six career MLS matches against the Galaxy (incl. playoffs), tied for his most against any opponent in MLS play (Austin, Dallas).
No player has scored more goals against the Galaxy since Arango joined MLS in August 2021.
LA Galaxy – Dejan Joveljic
Joveljic had both a goal and an assist in the Galaxy's win over New York City FC on Wednesday, his second straight game with one of each.
The only other Galaxy player to have three straight regular-season games with both a goal and an assist is Zlatan Ibrahimovic (September 2019).
MATCH PREDICTION: REAL SALT LAKE WIN
Salt Lake have lost only one of their last six regular-season matches against the Galaxy (W2 D3), though that defeat came in their last home league match against them in May 2023.
The Galaxy have won consecutive regular-season road games against RSL just once, doing so in 2012-13.
RSL are unbeaten in 15 straight regular-season matches (W9 D6), equaling the longest single-season streak since the Portland Timbers went 15 straight without defeat in 2018. There have only been three longer single-season streaks in MLS history, most recently a 16-match run by New York Red Bulls in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy have won four of their last five games (L1) with the last three of those wins coming by at least two goals. It is the first time the team have had three victories by multiple goals in a four-game span since doing so in September-October 2018.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake – 53.7%
Draw – 23.8%
LA Galaxy – 22.6%
PSV seek to bounce back from Ajax loss
PSV want to use Tuesday's Champions League clash against Girona as a chance to bounce back after losing their 100% record in domestic football.
They still lead the Eredivisie by 15 points but after winning 10 games on the trot, let a 2-1 lead slip and went down 3-2 to Ajax in Amsterdam on Saturday.
PSV have a good chance to get back on track when they host Girona in what will be the first meeting between the teams.
"Everyone who has played football has lost at some point," said PSV coach Peter Bosz on Monday.
"You go home with a bad feeling and wake up the next day with a bad feeling. But then you also know that the next match is coming up.
"When you play in Europe, there are two or three days in between. It is like that almost every week, so as a player or as a coach you have to learn to move on from your disappointment quickly. We discuss the game afterwards and then we draw a line under it and move on to the next one."
Girona have already taken on PSV's domestic rivals Feyenoord in the new-look Champions League this season, losing at the start of last month, though Bosz is expecting a stern test form last season's surprise package in LaLiga.
"A team that wants to dominate opponents," Bosz said of their Spanish opponents.
"Also against Feyenoord, more possession, 11 corners to Feyenoord's zero. They want to build from the back, play real football.
"They did a great job in Spain last year. If you finish third there, that's something very special. You need a lot of quality, otherwise you won't last a season. This year they're having a bit more trouble, also because of the extra matches in the Champions League."
PSV have yet to win in the group phase this season, while they have won just two out of 20 European Cup/Champions League games against Spanish teams (D9 L9).
However, the last Spanish side to win away at PSV in European competition was Granada in October 2020 in the Europa League (2-1), with each of the last three visiting sides failing to win there (D2 L1): Real Sociedad (D1) and Sevilla on two occasions (D1 L1).
Sporting want to show they 'don't need Amorim', says Hjulmand
Sporting CP captain Morten Hjulmand says the club are ready to show what they can do without Ruben Amorim.
The head coach is set to join Manchester United on November 11, having signed a deal that will keep him at Old Trafford until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Sporting have made a brilliant start to the season, currently sitting top of the league table, winning all 10 of their matches so far, and are also unbeaten in the Champions League.
Despite their impressive showing so far, Hjulmand says he is prepared for the challenge that lies ahead.
"It is a positive challenge [to not play under Amorim]," Hjulmand said ahead of their Champions League meeting with Manchester City on Tuesday.
"Winning the championship remains the goal. Life goes on, we now want to show that we don't need Ruben.
"It was difficult for me to know that he is leaving. I was sad. That he was going to leave me too. But in football, opportunities like these happen to players and coaches.
"It's part of football and I hope Ruben is proud to receive an offer of this kind."
During his four-and-a-half-year tenure at Sporting, Amorim guided them to two Primeira Liga titles and took charge of 156 league games, the most of any coach in the club's history (according to Opta's records).
He also boasts the best win ratio of any Sporting coach on record, winning 120 of those matches in the Portuguese top-flight (76.92%).
Hjulmand, who was signed by Amorim in August 2023 from Lecce, admitted he was sad to see him leave, but believes he can do a good job at United.
"Ruben was one of the reasons why I came to Sporting," he added. "When you are coached by him, you get a clear idea of the way he sees football and how he sees us being part of the team.
It's a very important image for the player, to know what his role is, what he can contribute to the team. It was very important when I joined Sporting.
"The way he sees the players, how he manages the team on and off the field... It's something I've never seen in my career. Manchester United will be in good hands with Ruben.
"We are resigned that Ruben will leave, we will have a good coach, in whom we believe.
"Everyone who works at Sporting made a good choice with this new coach. The fans also believe in the new coach. The championship is going on, and we have to win it."
Premier League MD10: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
We are now 10 games into the Premier League season and the table is beginning to take shape, but that does not mean there is no room for an upset or two.
On Saturday, both Manchester City and Arsenal fell to surprise defeats at Bournemouth and Newcastle United respectively.
It was only the third time since the start of 2017-18 that both of the previous season's top two teams had lost on the same day in the Premier League, after March 7, 2021 and January 14, 2023.
Pep Guardiola's champions could have few complaints about the result at the Vitality Stadium, where Andoni Iraola's Cherries won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.04 to 1.56.
But which other games featured a lucky winner or an unlucky loser? We delve into the Opta data to find out.
Unlucky losers: Arsenal
The weekend's action began with Arsenal travelling to St James' Park to face Newcastle, with Mikel Arteta's side chasing a victory to move within a point of leaders Liverpool.
However, they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat as Alexander Isak's early goal proved enough for Newcastle to make it three wins in their last four home league games against Arsenal (one loss).
The Gunners could count themselves unlucky to come away from Tyneside with nothing, however, after limiting Newcastle to a measly 0.53 xG – 0.25 of which came from the chance for Isak's goal.
Only West Ham, who played half of their defeat to Nottingham Forest with 10 men, created a lower figure across the nine games to take place this weekend, with 0.13 xG.
Arsenal were far from their free-flowing best, though, only recording 10 attempts worth 1.05 xG themselves. They have averaged just 7.4 shots per game in their away Premier League matches this season, with only Brentford (7.5) taking fewer.
Lucky winners: Southampton
Just two teams – Wolves and Ipswich Town – remain without a victory in the Premier League after Southampton finally got off the mark by beating Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.
Russell Martin's team accumulated just 0.74 xG to Everton's 1.56, but Adam Armstrong's strike five minutes from time handed them a huge three points in their fight for safety.
While Beto, who headed against the crossbar just 25 seconds before Armstrong's winner, and Jack Harrison spurned great chances for the Toffees, Southampton were also grateful for a late VAR intervention, as the former saw a potential leveller chalked off for a marginal offside call.
It was the first time Everton had failed to score against Southampton in the Premier League since February 2022, bringing their five-match unbeaten run in the competition to a halt.
Unlucky losers: Crystal Palace
Southampton ended the weekend in 19th, above winless Wolves after they were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Molineux.
Marc Guehi salvaged a draw for the Eagles, who were without star men Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze yet arguably still did enough to leave the West Midlands with all three points.
They racked up 19 shots totalling 2.51 xG to their hosts' 11, which had a total value of 1.51 xG. Palace's xG figure was the highest in the Premier League this weekend, but they were missing their shooting boots as Ismaila Sarr squandered two glorious chances when they were a goal to the good in the second half.
With both defences struggling, this was only the second Premier League game of the season to be goalless at half-time but see both sides score at least twice in the second half, after Everton 2-3 Bournemouth in August.
There could have been a fifth goal in stoppage time, too, as Jean-Phillipe Mateta saw a potential winner disallowed for a foul on Jose Sa in the build-up. Wolves – and their under-fire head coach Gary O'Neil – arguably got away with one.
Lucky winners: Chelsea
Sunday's late game saw Chelsea fight back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford, denying Ruud van Nistelrooy a first Premier League win as the Red Devils' interim head coach.
Moises Caicedo's well-taken volley cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' penalty and Chelsea arguably looked the more likely victors in the second half, but they only generated 1.1 xG from their 12 attempts – and just 0.29 from six after the interval.
United, meanwhile, had chances worth 1.98 xG, though Fernandes' spot-kick – with an xG value of 0.79 – was a major contributing factor.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho squandered decent opportunities for United, though, and incoming boss Ruben Amorim has plenty of work to do with their attackers.
United have scored just nine goals in 10 Premier League games this season – their worst record through 10 matches of any league campaign since 1973-74 (also nine).
Fans of a certain vintage will need no reminder of what happened at the end of that season – United were relegated from the First Division, their fate sealed by club legend Denis Law scoring against them with a nonchalant backheel, while representing rivals Man City.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
