New York City FC 4, Real Salt Lake 0 | 2018 MLS Match Recap

Alicia Rodriguez

New York City FC opened the doors to Yankee Stadium on Wednesday in MLS regular season play and came away with three points, after defeating Real Salt Lake 4-0.

While this game was smooth sailing for the hosts, it was the first time NYCFC has beaten RSL, after the Utah side won the first three meetings all-time between the clubs.

NYCFC opened the scoring 12 minutes in. After pushing hard in the early minutes, a nice period of build-up from the hosts was rewarded by Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, who scored his fourth goal of the season with a nice finish from the edge of the 18-yard box.

They extended their lead 30 minutes in, as Maxi Moralez drew a penalty from RSL defender Justen Glad. The Argentine stepped up and converted the spot kick, placing it well above RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando's reach. Shortly before halftime, forward Jo Inge Berget opened his NYCFC account with a play up the middle that left RSL unable to do much more than watch.

While RSL came out with more urgency in the second half, they still struggled to create good chances, and NYCFC added to their misery when Ebenezer Ofori scored his first goal for the club on a tap-in in the 70th minute to make it 4-0.

Goals

12' – NYC – Ismael Tajouri-Shradi | WATCH
30' – NYC – Maxi Moralez (PK) | WATCH
41' – NYC – Jo Inge Berget | WATCH
70' – NYC – Ebenezer Ofori | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: Midweek league fixtures can often be unpredictable, but this game followed form. NYCFC continued their unbeaten start to the season, looking fabulous even with a somewhat-rotated lineup, and spreading the goals around is a good sign. For RSL, the inconsistency they've dealt with all year reared its ugly head again, and a struggling defense and overmatched attack found no traction in Yankee Stadium.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: Once NYCFC notched their first goal, it was off to the races, and Tajouri-Shradi's goal to open proceedings was a beauty, too.

Him again!

Tajouri puts @NYCFC ahead. #NYCvRSL https://t.co/lbuVkN6VYn
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 11, 2018

MAN OF THE MATCH: There were multiple candidates from NYCFC on the night, but Moralez gets the edge. In addition to earning and converting the penalty, he had an assist and sprayed passes into the final third all night to set up even more chances for the home side.