Real Salt Lake gets much-needed boost from Saborio

SANDY — Amongst other things, Real Salt Lake hoped international striker Alvaro Saborio would shine in big games when the club acquired him between the end of last season and the start of this one.

On the stage of three CONCACAF Champions League matches, Saborio has done precisely that.

And then some.

Exuding confidence and ability, Saborio — as has also been the case against MLS opponents — has quite simply been a handful for Champions League competition.

In a crucial home match against Toronto FC on Wednesday in the Champions League, Saborio scored the game-clinching goal midway through the second half via the penalty spot to help his club emerge with an eventual 4-1 come-from-behind victory inside Rio Tinto Stadium.

Saborio has now scored in all three Champions League matches and is second in the tournament with five goals.

"He's been really, really instrumental to our success in this tournament so far," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "He's also been instrumental to our success in the league. I feel like he's playing his best soccer right now and has been in the past couple of weeks.

"So we'll hope that he can continue this role for him because obviously it's important for us."

Indeed.

Saborio has scored eight league goals to lead RSL, and his production in the Champions League has been even higher, though his goal total of five in the competition is a long way off topping the Champions League scoring chart.

That honor currently goes to Cruz Azul's Javier Orozco, who torched RSL for four goals in one game last month. He leads with a whopping 10 goals, with Saborio in second with five.

As far as Saborio is concerned, though, the big thing Wednesday was simply helping his team get three points against Toronto.

"I think it was very important," he said of winning. "You have to win every game at home."

ANOTHER ONE GOES DOWN: RSL lost another key player to injury Wednesday, as fullback Robbie Russell left after sustaining a concussion in the 26th minute.

It doesn't appear he'll be available for RSL's match on Saturday against Chicago.

"He has a concussion and it seems like a pretty serious one," said Kreis. "The doc already told me at halftime that it was pretty serious and it would probably put him in great jeopardy for him to be available Saturday."