Real Salt Lake has been a headache for the Seattle Sounders basically forever. That’s been even more acute in recent years with the Sounders dropping four straight against RSL, including a penalty-shootout loss in the 2021 playoffs. But the 2023 season is a clean slate, and the Sounders are flying high after a big win at home. Let’s look at how both teams set themselves up in week one, and how Seattle might turn the tide of poor results against RSL.

Sussing Out Seattle

On Sunday night, the Colorado Rapids fell victim to one of the classic blunders — the most famous of which is to never man-mark the Sounders for 90 minutes — but only slightly less well-known is this: Never give the Sounders time to find Morris and Roldan while playing a high line.