Real Salt Lake has won four of its five matches against Sporting Kansas City since the start of 2021 (L1), including a win in the 2021 playoffs. Real Salt Lake had won only four of its previous 13 meetings with Sporting Kansas City in all competitions from late 2016 through 2020.
Through the end of April, Sporting Kansas City had scored just three goals, an MLS-record low after 10 games of a season. Since May 1, however, Sporting Kansas City has scored 25 goals, more than any other team in the league.
Real Salt Lake is unbeaten in 10 straight away matches in all competitions (W8 D2), the third team in MLS history to record a double-figure unbeaten run on the road and the first to do so since the Portland Timbers went 11 straight without a loss on the road in 2012-2013.
Alan Pulido scored a third brace in his last six MLS matches in Sporting Kansas City’s draw with the Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday. Pulido is the third Sporting Kansas City player to record three multi-goal games in a span of six appearances after Eddie Johnson in 2007 and Digital Takawira in 1996.
It took Cristian Arango only 23 minutes to score on his Real Salt Lake debut on Saturday. Since joining MLS in August 2021, Arango has scored a goal every 123.3 minutes (31/3822), the best rate of any player to play 3000 minutes or more in that time.
