Minnesota United, with two goals from Tani Oluwaseyi, wins a cold, wet one over Real Salt Lake

The Land of 10,000 Lakes gained another Saturday night, this one running from one penalty spot to the center circle at Allianz Field. But not even a new body of water, the driving rain or near-freezing temperatures could slow down Tani Oluwaseyi.

The Canadian striker, who had two goals in his last game for the Loons and one more for Canada during the international break, scored a goal on either side of halftime, and Minnesota beat Real Salt Lake 2-0.

It was a dominating performance for Minnesota, which probably should have scored more times in a first half that saw RSL go without a shot on target. The visitors didn’t manage to test Loons keeper Dayne St. Clair until they were already losing by two goals.

“I felt like in the first half it was one of our most complete performances so far,” manager Eric Ramsay said. “I felt like we were really good, really dominant, everything we expected us to be at home.”

It was the first time in the past seven meetings of the teams that the game wasn’t tied at the final whistle.

Minnesota entered the night with eight points in the standings — and the sinking feeling it should have been 12. The Loons blew leads in both of their previous games, including a three-goal collapse against Sporting Kansas City and a 90th-minute-goal allowed against the LA Galaxy.

Advanced stats have pointed to Minnesota being among the league’s best teams so far this season, with only those late collapses held against them. That the Loons were able to close out the win Saturday and take all three points will be an early-season shot of confidence — and the reversal of an ugly trend.

Oluwaseyi’s first-half goal came after a nifty set of one-touch passes that began in the Loons’ defensive half. Jefferson Diaz, the right center back, and Bongokuhle Hlongwane, the right wingback, had lots of room to roam in this game. RSL’s Diego Luna, nominally the left midfielder, has license to roam all over the field — which put him on the wrong side of the center circle. Hlongwane and an overlapping Diaz combined with Robin Lod to move the ball down the field, then Diaz placed a pinpoint cross onto the forehead of Oluwaseyi. The striker headed it home, and goalkeeper Rafael Cabral didn’t even have time to move.

MLS standings

“As a striker when you’re scoring goals, everything is good, the sun’s a little brighter, everything’s good,” Oluwaseyi said. “But I think the most important thing is that we saw the game out. The past two games we haven’t been able to.”

Real Salt Lake didn’t have a shot on target by halftime, having settled almost entirely for wayward free kicks in the offensive half. By the time the teams hit the tunnel, the Loons had racked up 1.91 expected goals and were unlucky to have only one goal; RSL, in contrast, had 0.1 expected goals.

Oluwaseyi, with his two goals, was the hero, but it was probably the best game midfielder Joaquin Pereyra has played in a Minnesota uniform. He provided the assist on Oluwaseyi’s second goal, hitting a 50-yard pass from the middle of his own defensive half that spun perfectly for Oluwaseyi to run onto the ball behind the RSL defense.

Lod has been the Loons’ midfield maestro for years, but if Pereyra can continue settling in for the Loons, they’ll have a playmaker on either side of the field — and two goal-scoring forwards ahead of them.

Minnesota heads to the Bronx for a Sunday afternoon tilt at Yankee Stadium — which would be better if the Twins were visiting the Yankees, not the Loons visiting the Pigeons. NYCFC is planning to open a new stadium in 2027, but for now they remain in the oddly shaped confines of Yankee Stadium, which boasts the narrowest field in the league — perhaps a good thing for Minnesota’s compact defensive system.