Chivas USA blanks RSL

CARSON, Calif. — In a weird way, Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger foresaw the possibility of what happened in Sunday's season opener.

Following the team's final preseason practice Saturday, he said, "(Juan Francisco) Palencia and Ante Razov can score goals if given opportunities, so they can't be allowed to have any space."

Well, RSL gave Razov that precious space too often, and he made Salt Lake pay. The Chivas USA newcomer scored twice, while Juan Pablo Garcia added another, as Chivas opened the season with a convincing 3-0 victory over Real in front of 20,739 at the Home Depot Center.

"We just came out a little slower than Chivas today," said RSL midfielder Andy Williams.

Both teams were coming off horrible expansion seasons, but one game into the 2006 season Chivas appears to a little sharper.

Salt Lake looked a little sluggish throughout, particularly when it came to winning second balls and delivering crisp passes. Perhaps the two-month preseason, most of which was spent away from Utah, finally took its toll.

"Story of the game was how many times can we turn the ball over in the midfield and created bad situations for ourselves defensively," said Ellinger.

Those breakdowns happened throughout the game, and if it wasn't for several Scott Garlick saves, the outcome could've been much worse for RSL.

Chivas' first opportunistic strike came in the 21st minute. Claudio Suarez sent a free kick upfield to an awaiting Jesse Marsh, but Marsh and Pope fell down after getting tangled about 30 yards from goal. The ball bounced over both players, enabling Ante Razov to run harmlessly onto the ball and bang home the 15-yarder.

RSL's coaching staff believed there was a foul on the play, but the referee let it play on.

Four minutes later, Chivas went ahead 2-0 on a legitimate Real breakdown. As Pope stepped up to try and win a ball about 25 yards from goal, Chivas rookie Sacha Kljestan knocked the ball wide to Garcia. He took advantage of the vacated space Pope's teammates were slow to cover and chipped it over Garlick and into the upper left-hand corner of the net.

"I don't think he'll score that type of the goal the rest of the year," said Ellinger.

Salt Lake appeared to settle down after halftime, but that didn't stop Chivas from going ahead 3-0 in the 66th minute.