Real Salt Lake’s foray on Saturday into a three-man back line was, I think, overstated — not because they played a classic four, though at times that was the case. No, it’s because what we saw was actually a distinctly conservative positioning from RSL’s two ‘wing backs’, and I’d venture that both players in those positions played more conservatively than necessary, and that had significant knock-on effects on RSL’s ability to impact attacking play.
We needn’t look further than Zavier Gozo to see a player struggling. After a break-out season in a straightforward attacking role on the right wing, Gozo no longer has a position in which he fits naturally. The result is almost a little startling: Gozo has been tasked with playing in a nominally right wing back role, but if we look closely (or even from a surface perspective), Gozo is playing as an right back, not even a right wing back. He’s being tasked with more defensive responsibility than in 2025, and he’s given less license to roam in attack. Those things appear undoubtedly true.
Of course, this is all after just one game, but Vancouver didn’t look like a strong attacking side that were swashbuckling down the wing; they looked like a side still getting their feet underneath them, just like we’d expect from most MLS sides. I don’t think this a case of RSL playing a decidedly defensive system to counter a major attacking threat on the wings; if so, it was ill-planned at best. Vancouver didn’t look neutralized, and RSL didn’t achieve their goals, unless their goals specifically focused on not giving up too many goals. That would be a slightly sad goal to start with, even if the starting lineup is majorly hit and miss.
Gozo’s starting at right wing back was, I think, the plan all along. Those in the know had Gozo at RWB in their depth reports. There are no truly natural options in the position, save for maybe Dominik Marczuk, who was on the bench for this one and came in. While it’s certainly possible that he’s not quite fit enough to start and is the presumptive nominee for the position, it looks more and more to me like Gozo was planned for the position all along. (I lied, if slightly, above. There is one natural option in that position, and that’s DeAndre Yedlin. It feels pretty clear that the intention is to start him at wide center back.)
And if I’m just overreacting to one match, I guess you can tell me so, but that doesn’t change my mind on how firmly these plans seem to have been made.
There are two major problems with this.
First, all of this removes Zavier Gozo — arguably RSL’s second-best attacking player last year — from important attacking positions. The one player with significant pace is kept further away from the goal. We saw Gozo attempt to get forward on occasion, but his starting position was far enough back that he was just trailing play. Great attacking players are hard to come by in any league, and it’s not as if RSL has a glut of great attacking talent with which to work. There were absences to contend with, certainly, but that doesn’t negate the concern.
Second, this puts Zavier Gozo in a position he simply shouldn’t be in. If right wing back is an attack-minded defensive role, it demands a player who can play the defensive side of the game. If that’s Zavier Gozo, he didn’t show it. He certainly put in effort; this is not to slight the player trying to do something. Gozo has always put in intense amounts of effort, and it’s one of his best qualities. It might be what convinced Pablo Mastroeni to play him at right wing back — we know the coach appreciates effort more than any other quality in players.
Effort doesn’t make up for experience. Gozo played a somewhat miserable game at right wing back, and it’s illustrated best from this chart from MLS Analytics on BlueSky.
This shows a very clear image: Zavier Gozo at RWB has essentially the same average position as DeAndre Yedlin at RCB. That's not a small problem — especially because we didn't see Yedlin making any attacking efforts throughout. I'd like to dive in with more charts. First up, these are the positions from which Gozo passed, attacking from right to left.
Zavier Gozo's passing positions until the 70th minute, attacking to the left. Credit: WhoScored
Taking a look at these positions, we see Gozo essentially stopping at the final third. For a player who excelled in final-third actions in 2025, this is a shame. Take a look at his passing charts from 2025 — this is a player who got into the attack and made a difference. It also shows a player who's young as you get into the advanced metrics.
Gozo's 2025 season passing chart. Credit: American Soccer Analysis
One final chart from this match: These are Zavier Gozo's defensive actions against Vancouver Whitecaps. This further shows his defensive responsibilities, and it shows that he was involved very deep.
Gozo's defensive actions against Vancouver. Credit: American Soccer Analysis
Until Pablo Mastroeni figures out how to use Zavier Gozo, I fear he'll be stuck in this defensive position. I'm sure he'll learn some defensive capabilities there, but I think it comes at the cost of an improved attack. And to use one of your best attacking players — one multiple big sides in Europe are yearning for, if rumors are to be believed — as a defensive player? I think that's a major misstep, and I think Real Salt Lake are worse for it.
Wasatch Soccer Sentinel
