Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Taylor Booth is revelling in the feeling of being back at his boyhood club, Real Salt Lake, after joining them on loan.
Booth, who will join brother Zach in the RSL squad, came through the club’s academy before joining Bayern Munich’s youth team, but he has now returned on loan from FC Twente through the 2027 MLS Sprint Season with a purchase option.
He joins an RSL side who are struggling for form at the moment, with their winless run stretching back 10 matches and before the World Cup break.
But Booth is happy to be back at the club where he grew up and is looking forward to getting out on the pitch for them.
“It’s been a very busy few days,” Booth, who has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, told KSL Sports. “But to finally be here, first time on the pitch, it’s an amazing feeling.
“It feels surreal to be back. I couldn’t be happier.
“It’s an opportunity that I had to take at this point in my career. To be back home and to be back with RSL is a special feeling for me.
“I kind of lost a little bit of the love for the game. This opportunity came up, and it was the perfect opportunity for me to come back, to enjoy football again, to play with a smile on my face, and have so many good people around me. But getting back to playing is the most important thing.”
RSL sit 10th in the Western Conference, just one point behind San Diego FC in the final playoff place, and they are looking to boost their post-season chances against New York City FC.
Like their hosts, NYCFC are on a torrid run of form, having failed to win any of their last seven games in MLS.
They are just holding onto a playoff place, though, as they are ninth in the Eastern Conference, though the teams below them are closing in.
Welcome home, Taylor! pic.twitter.com/OWiSt6q3MI
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 2, 2026
Lobjanidze came off the bench to score Real Salt Lake’s lone goal on Wednesday, in a 2-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo.
It was Lobjanidze’s fourth goal contribution off the bench this season, all since joining RSL in the summer (one goal, three assists), with only three players (Tyrese Spice seven, Tom Barlow six, Bruno Caicedo five) recording more in MLS all season.
Luighi has scored three of NYCFC’s last five goals, including his 71st-minute tally on Wednesday, as they lost 2-1 to the New England Revolution.
The goal ended a stretch of nine straight NYCFC regular-season goals coming in the first half of matches.
MATCH PREDICTION: REAL SALT LAKE WIN
Real Salt Lake are unbeaten in four home matches against New York City (W3 D1), though NYCFC did earn a point in their last visit to Sandy in June 2023.
The only away win in the seven all-time meetings between the sides was a 3-2 RSL victory in June 2016.
However, RSL’s regular-season winless run extended to 10 matches (D4 L6) following their 2-1 loss at Houston. Their only longer single-season winless runs came in the club’s first three MLS seasons (12 straight in 2005, 11 straight in 2007).
But NYCFC are also struggling as their winless streak across all competitions reached eight matches (D3 L5) with their 2-1 home loss to New England. It is the club’s longest run without a victory since a 12-match drought from April to June 2023.
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