Pablo Mastroeni has urged Real Salt Lake to "control the controllables" after they suffered a frustrating 1-0 loss to Toronto FC last weekend.

RSL were pegged back from the off as Theo Corbeanu scored the only goal in the ninth minute at America First Field, snapping Toronto’s eight-game winless streak.

But matters went from bad to worse for Salt Lake, who were forced to play out the final 30 minutes with 10 men when Diego Luna was controversially shown a straight red card for violent conduct.

Luna had his legs tangled with Toronto’s Raoul Petretta, and both players ended up on the ground, though Petretta had wrapped his arms around Luna’s neck in the initial foul.

The red card has since been rescinded, making Luna available to face San Diego this weekend.

Speaking about the game and the result, Mastroeni gave a measured response.

He said: “To me, it’s just about controlling the controllables, you know?

“And so, when I look at that game, I’m thinking about what we could have done better when we had a good run of attacking opportunities. Or how can we get more numbers in the box and be more goal-dangerous?

“I think we had 20 to 25 shots, five of them on goal, and I think we need to be killers in the box and get numbers in there.”

Speaking on his team’s defensive solidity, he added: “I think [Toronto] had one shot on goal. So, when you lose a game when they have one shot on goal, to me that says tactically, the guys played the game the right way.”

Real Salt Lake now find themselves 11th in the Western Conference standings, with three wins and six losses from their nine matches this season.

Meanwhile, Mikey Varas’ San Diego team were swept aside comfortably by Charlotte FC last week, with Liel Abada, Patrick Agyemang and Andrew Privett finding the net in a 3-0 victory for the Crown.

San Diego also had to play out a large portion of the match with 10 men, as Andres Reyes was sent off following his second yellow card for a reckless foul two minutes before the break.

The loss also saw San Diego’s six-game MLS scoring streak come to an end, with the hosts having scored in every game since their draw against St. Louis City at the start of March. They currently sit sixth in the Western Conference standings.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

San Diego FC – Paddy McNair

McNair has been a crucial part of the San Diego defence this season. He completed 110 of 113 pass attempts against Charlotte last Saturday, his third match with 100 or more successful passes in 2025. The defender is the only player with three such matches this season.

Out of the 13 times that a player has completed 100 or more passes this season, San Diego’s players have done it six times.

Real Salt Lake – Diego Luna

Luna, now available for selection for this weekend’s clash, has led the scoring charts for Real Salt Lake this season.

The American has scored three goals in eight games this term, while providing two assists as well.

MATCH PREDICTION: SAN DIEGO WIN

San Diego are heavy favourites to take all three points from this clash, though they have wavered in recent weeks.

After losing only one of their first seven MLS matches, San Diego have now lost two straight, conceding three goals in each match.

But they remain unbeaten at home this season (W2 D2), including winning their last two matches at Snapdragon Stadium.

Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, have lost six of their first nine matches of a season for the first time in club history. RSL’s nine points are their second fewest at this stage of a season since 2009 (eight points in 2017).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

San Diego FC – 47.7%

Draw – 26.1%

Real Salt Lake – 26.2%