Saturday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps got the better of visiting Real Salt Lake by a score of 2-1, as they continue a historic run to start the 2025 season.
It was perhaps one of Vancouver’s better tests of the season in MLS play, as Salt Lake played a tough road game and gave Vancouver a good challenge, with a couple of contentious decisions that could have gone either way. Despite that, though, there was little doubt who the better team was in their best moments, as Vancouver had two spells that simply left RSL without any answers, and each of those led to Vancouver goals.
Alright, without further delay, on to the player ratings we go:
Yohei Takaoka – 7.0
Yohei was not super busy, and obviously, you are not going to nitpick a keeper for a penalty goal. As has become custom this year, his distribution was exceptional in this match, and really helped Vancouver stay on the front foot.
Tate Johnson – 6.5
It’s a bit funny that a match where Tate doesn’t stand out feels like a bit of a down performance. In general, RSL did a decent job attacking down the flanks, and I thought Johnson could have closed quicker to block crosses on occasion.
Bjorn Inge Utvik – 7.5
The Norwegian did a great job replacing Ranko, who rarely gets a match off. He kept things uneventful in his own area, and I thought that his passing under pressure (normally a real weak point of his game) was actually quite good in this one.
Tristan Blackmon – 8.0
First and foremost, what a strike! Beyond that though, Blackmon’s mix of set piece value, passing, and aggressive defensive intervention has looked so much better under Sørensen, and he’s worthy of the praise he’s getting league-wide at the moment.
Edier Ocampo – 6.5
Ocampo won a penalty for Vancouver and was bright in attack, but RSL definitely picked on him with back-post crosses, and perhaps were unlucky not to get a goal from it. Part of this was tactical, with Ocampo pushing forward and Vite cutting inside, he had a lot of work to get back and cover defensively. That said, part of it is also individual, and I think it’s fair to say that defensive positioning is probably the weakest part of Edier’s game.
Andres Cubas – 7.0
Tackles and defensive recoveries galore for Cubas, as per usual. He also had three shots, which was a bit of a welcome surprise.
Ralph Priso – 8.0
I thought Priso was fantastic, especially in the first half. He won a number of duels and was a bit more ambitious with his passing than usual, creating two chances. He also attempted a shot, which is very rare.
JC Ngando – 6.5
I felt like Salt Lake’s midfield gave JC some problems physically, as he was muscled off the ball on a number of occasions. That said, he was still very good with the ball at his feet and always adds fluidity to Vancouver’s possession play.
Pedro Vite – 7.5
Vite really came alive in the second half, and there were moments in that time where it felt like he was constantly picking out 30 and 40 yard cross-field passes. He has the kind of quality to be the best player on the pitch in an MLS match, and he’s been showing that recently.
Daniel Rios – 6.0
Yes, Rios missed the penalty and also whiffed on another good chance, but I still think he’s the perfect depth striker for this team. He’s a smart player who pops up in the right areas, and while the finishing touch can be streaky, he has more than enough quality to play the role.
Jayden Nelson – 8.0
Vancouver opened the match flying down the left side, and it all was because of Nelson. It felt like only a matter of time before the young Canadian created a goal, and he scored on a wonderful individual effort. It’s clear that Nelson knows the importance of securing a role with so much competition for those wide attacking positions on the horizon.
Substitutes – 7.0
Vancouver was able to bring a lot of quality off the bench, and that had an instant impact, with Ahmed providing pace and Berhalter’s passing vision leading to the Whitecaps’ second goal. The sample size was smaller for Adekugbe and Sabbi, so not much to add there.
Alright, those were my thoughts from the home win against Real Salt Lake. Let me know yours in the comments!
if Brian White does get injured, would Jesper consider Tristan Blackmon as his replacement ? Tristan’s last 2 goals have been special and his movement inside the opponent’s box says he has a goal scorer’s instinct- Utvik or Halbouni could replace him at CB- he would do better than Rios
just saying…
That would be very surprising if he decided to try that.
But what’s happened with Halbouni, has he even come on as a sub in any of the last games?? I would’ve expected him to get more time given the recent high number of games
POTM– no doubt about this- Tristan Blackmon- such a solid and dominant leader- he does everything and more in the CB position and inside the opponent’s box
Pedro Vite didnt do too much in the first half, but OMG, some of his passes in the second were elite European and worth the price of admission- he slices like a hot knife through butter
Shocker of the Game- i actually saw true value having Ralph Priso as a sub – while he will never be a starter outside of injury or fatique, he was steady throughout the game and made some nice passes- its called the JESPER EFFECT
Daniel Rios- just when you think he is an answer to spell off Brian White, he falls back to being generally anonymous and then takes and misses another PK … hopefully his last– gotta keep White healthy
Tate Johnson and Edier Ocampo have a great mentor in Sam Adekugbe- they will learn from Sam’s experience
your ratings are spot-on, although i would give Tristan a 8.5- he is one of the elite CBs in MLS and he and Ranko are the best CB duo in MLS
Salty