The Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt lake, the two best teams in Major League Soccer, showed on Tuesday night just why they’re considered the class of the league and the best bets to lift silverware this year.
The Galaxy showed off impressive depth and a continued dominance over the Seattle Sounders with a 1-0 victory that came without standouts Juan Pablo Angel (sick), Omar Gonzalez (shoulder injury) and Donovan Ricketts (hamstring injury).
As Los Angeles celebrated another victory at Qwest Field, Real Salt Lake was busy putting the finishing touches on a thorough and comfortable 2-0 win against Deportivo Saprissa in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal series. RSL never struggled on a night that saw Fabian Espindola out-shine his more well-known teammates, and a night when star defender Jamison Olave had to leave the match at halftime because of an injury.
The Galaxy’s victory came in the first match of a 34-match regular season, but it still served to send a clear message that this Galaxy side is more substance than style, and more than just a collection of big names.
If anything, the Galaxy’s stars didn’t make the impacts normally expected of them. It was lesser known contributors like back-up goalkeeper Josh Saunders, and Brazilian midfielder Juninho, who scored the game’s only goal, who stepped up in place of LA’s missing starters.
David Beckham and Landon Donovan were relatively quiet on Tuesday, but their energy and defensive work were vital to an impressive defensive effort by a short-handed Galaxy defense.
Seattle did its part, playing the role of pretender yet again on a night when the Sounders could have signaled their intent to be taken seriously as an MLS power. Instead, Seattle was left ruing a missed opportunity to take points away from a team that has had the Sounders' number since they joined MLS.
The same issues that plagued Seattle in the past are back. After parting ways with a disgruntled Designated Player (Blaise N’Kufo, who was waived before the game), the Sounders watched Fredy Montero show flashes but disappoint, while the team as a whole struggled to put away chances. Sound familiar? It certainly does to Sounders fans.
Real Salt Lake fans were treated to a familiar sight on Tuesday as well, only it was one they were happy to see. RSL once again dominated at Rio Tinto Stadium, with the team’s unselfishness, creativity and poise outclassing an underwhelming, and oftentimes dirty, Deportivo Saprissa side.
Javier Morales and Alvaro Saborio are considered two of the best attacking players in the league, and while they did their part in the victory, it was Espindola who stole the show, with his pace, quality service and a vital finish on RSL’s second goal. A goal that could prove absolutely invaluable when Real Salt Lake travels to the cauldron that is Estadio Saprissa for the second leg of the series on April 5th.
As much as Tuesday night was a success for Los Angeles and Real Salt Lake, the biggest negative from Tuesday night was the fact that the two best teams in MLS had to share the spotlight at all. Tuesday was marketed as Major League Soccer’s opening night, and the first match of the regular season deserved to have its own night, but MLS and CONCACAF still couldn’t work out a way to not play these two important matches on the same night, at practically the exact same time.
Instead of two very important matches involving MLS teams being showcased separately, they were forced to fight for the same small audience of American soccer fans. It is a conflict that could have, and should have, been avoided, but instead we were left with two matches that didn’t get as much attention as they deserved.
As disappointing as it was that the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake had to share the spotlight, it is something they should get used to. While the New York Red Bulls boast a strong team, and FC Dallas carries the distinction of having beaten both of them in the 2010 playoffs, Los Angeles and Real Salt Lake showed on Tuesday why they’re regarded as the class of MLS, and why they stand a very good chance of sharing the spotlight on the final night of the 2011 MLS season the same way they shared it on Major League Soccer’s opening night.
Ives Galarcep is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering Major League Soccer and the U.S. national team.
