Joao Plata Back Playing For Real Salt Lake

In total, Plata leads his side with seven goals this season and is fourth on the team in assists with four despite essentially two months on the bench.

Platas recent run, dating back to that Minnesota game, has accounted for six of his sides last seven goals, but that uptick in form has only once translated to a win, as RSL dropped that first game and went 1-0-3 in the following four games.

If RSL lose to LAFC, they fall four points behind the expansion side with one more game played and would drop nearly level with Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders on points per game.

That was the last goal Plata scored before the two-goal performance off the bench in July, as back and hamstring injuries limited to just 143 over 10 games between May 12 and his return to the scoresheet against Minnesota.

Joao is one of 10 or 12 players that we get called about, not that we call teams about, we get called about on a weekly basis.