"By The Numbers" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Sporting Kansas City takes on rivals Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sunday night as they wrap up three straight matches on the road. Sporting picked up a well-deserved draw in Minnesota on Wednesday after earning 2-1 a comeback win at Montreal on Saturday. RSL’s most recent outing ended in a 2-1 defeat at Atlanta United.
Earlier in 2022, Sporting hosted Real Salt Lake and defeated them 1-0 thanks to a late Johnny Russell match-winner. Sunday marks the conclusion of the 2022 rivalry after the two sides met on three occasions in 2021. RSL took all three of those meetings as Sporting is out for revenge.
Here is a statical preview of Sporting Kansas City’s Sunday showdown at Real Salt Lake.
Head-to-Head
- SKC vs. RSL rivalry recap:
- 2021: RSL won all three meetings, including the abovementioned playoff match.
- 2020: Sporting won both regular season meetings by a 2-0 scoreline.
- 2019: RSL won both regular season meetings, 2-0 at home and 2-1 on the road.
- 2018: Sporting eliminated RSL from the MLS Cup Playoffs and U.S. Open Cup while also taking a draw and a loss to RSL in regular season play.
- 2013: Sporting defeated RSL in the 2013 MLS Cup in a 10-round penalty kick shootout.
- Sporting are 12-15-8 against RSL in the regular season series, including a 4-10-5 mark in the last 19 regular season meetings since 2014.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2022 MLS record: 5-11-5, 20 points (14th in Western Conference)
- 2022 MLS road record: 2-7-3, 9 points (11 GF, 26 GA)
- 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: Lost to Real Salt Lake in Western Conference Semifinals
- All-time Honors: Two MLS Cups (2000, 2013), four Open Cups (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017), one Supporters' Shield (2000).
- Sporting are 2-1-1 in their last four regular season away matches and 3-2-1 in their last six matches across all competitions.
- In a 1-1 draw at Minnesota United FC on Wednesday, Sporting started five Homegrown Players in an MLS match (John Pulskamp, Kayden Pierre, Felipe Hernandez, Cam Duke and Daniel Salloi) for the first time in club history.
- Sporting rank third in MLS with 25.9 team presses per game.
- Sporting are 4-0-1 this season in midweek matches across all competitions, outscoring opponents 15-5.
- After visiting Real Salt Lake on Sunday, Sporting will host eight of their next 11 MLS fixtures at Children’s Mercy Park between July 23 and Oct. 2.
- Forward Johnny Russell leads Sporting with eight goals in all competitions, while fellow winger Daniel Salloi ranks second with six.
- Russell has become the first player in Sporting history to score six goals in five straight regular seasons.
- Midfielder Felipe Hernandez leads Sporting with four assists in all competitions and has appeared in all 20 regular season matches.
- Midfielder Remi Walter leads MLS in distance covered (141.7 miles) and ranks third among field players in recoveries (168). His three goals are a career-high for a single league season dating back to 2013.
- In the 1-1 draw at Minnesota on Wednesday, 19-year-old defender Kayden Pierre became the second youngest player in Sporting history to record a primary assist in an MLS match.
Real Salt Lake
- 2022 MLS record: 8-6-6, 30 points (4th in Western Conference)
- 2022 MLS home record: 6-0-3, 21 points (15 GF, 6 GA)
- 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: Lost to the Portland Timbers in Western Conference Finals
- All-time Honors: One MLS Cup (2009)
- RSL are unbeaten at home with a 6-0-3 regular season record at Rio Tinto Stadium, where they have outscored opponents 15-6.
- RSL have not lost at Rio Tinto Stadium since November 3, 2021, when they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Portland Timbers.
- RSL are winless in their last four matches, taking two points since beating San Jose by a 2-0 scoreline on June 18.
- RSL have scored 17 of their 25 regular season goals in the second half.
- Six of RSL’s eight regular season wins have come by a single goal.
- Five players are tied for the RSL team lead with three regular season goals: Sergio Cordova, Justin Glad, Justin Meram, Jefferson Savarino and Bobby Wood.
- Forward Maikel Chang and midfielder Pablo Ruiz are tied for the RSL team lead with five assists each in the regular season.
- Chang is tied for second in MLS with four match-winning assists.
- Ruiz is seventh in MLS with 33 tackles won and 10th with nine successful through balls. He also ranks fourth among MLS field players with 92 successful long passes.
- Goalkeeper Zac MacMath is second in MLS with 71 saves and tied for fourth with seven shutouts.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Khiry Shelton is one shy of his 100th appearance for Sporting in all competitions.
- Midfielder Remi Walter is one shy of his 50th regular season appearance for Sporting.
- Forward Johnny Russell ranks third in club history with 46 regular season goals and fourth with 51 goals in all competitions, one shy of tying Davy Arnaud for third.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 12 career game-winning goals in the regular season, one shy of tying the club record held by Preki and Dom Dwyer.
