LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake : Rating David Beckham's Performance

It would be easy for me to say that David Beckham had a terrible game on Saturday night against Real Salt Lake only because the offense couldn't finish and the defense could stop Real Salt Lake from leaving it late.

Indeed, the set piece slot machine, which I refer Beckham's series of set piece chances per match as, did not pay very well, and it reflected in the tenacious defense the RSL backline exhibited at the Home Depot Center en route to a 3-1 victory for the visitors.

But there is a silver lining to this: He did get his first assist of the season, in the 71st minute on a great ball to Edson Buddle, who headed it home. This shows that the man has not lost his touch, and if the slot machine decides to pay the man, out goes the money.

When asked of manager Bruce Arena taking responsibility for the humiliating display of football, Beckham disagreed.

“It’s not down to the coach once the players are on the field," Beckham told reporters. "He picked the team that he feels is a strong team and is ready to play and then it’s down to the players. It’s down to us collectively.”

The comeback reduced what could have been a great game for Beckham into another average performance bordering on below-average. I believe Beckham could have done more in breaking up possession by Real Salt Lake because the visitors were dictating a majority of the possession, and this is not the way you want to perform against Toronto FC, who will have clearly see this performance and use it to their advantage.

Beckham will have to work on finding his targets on Wednesday. Just another average performance from No. 23.

Rating: 6/10