Monterrey at Real Salt Lake: Tactical analysis

Monterrey at Real Salt Lake game stats

SANDY — There is a saying in Mexico when it comes to soccer. You are the sons of the results.

Wednesday, Real Salt Lake played 70 minutes like the son a parent beams about with pride, but for 20 minutes RSL played like the son a parent can't get off the couch. Too bad the latter lost the game for home team.

Real’s tactics tell the tale.

High-pressure attack

Real came out like a cannonball. It played flawless attacking soccer. From the opening whistle Real dominated play winning every ball in the midfield and forcing Monterrey back on its heels. The Rayados bent, but Real couldn't break through, and the energy required to mount such an attack may have led to its undoing. Play slowed just enough in the last 15 minutes of the first half to let Humberto Suazo through for a nearly identical goal from the one Aldo de Nigris scored in Game 1 on April 20.

Midfield possession

For 65 minutes, Real owned the midfield with sharp, short passes on the offensive end and high pressure challenges on the defensive one. When midfield possession was strong, Real owned the field, but when Monterrey dropped a striker and played a 4-5-1 defensive formation, it was too much and RSL was forced outside.

"The movement in the midfield wasn't good enough from the 30th to the 45th minute," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. RSL wasn't great in the opening minutes of the second half either. Real began to see success down the sides and seemed to abandon the midfield altogether the final 20 minutes of the game.

Defensive shape

Kreis said that the key to the game was the defensive shape. A compact defensive midfield and tight formation on the back line to keep Monterrey from slipping through the space between the outside backs and the center backs. Monterrey's goal was scored when RSL let up for a split second in the waning minutes of the first half and Sergio Santana cleared enough space in exactly the spot Kreis was worried about — between the backs — to get a hard shot on frame that broke them down even further leaving Suazo to put the ball in the back of the net.

Point of attack