Upon heading back to Sandy, they played to a 2–2 draw against Seattle, with Álvaro Saborío scoring the equalizer in second half stoppage time, in front of a full stadium with a crowd over 20,000.

A week later, they headed to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy, the team they had defeated on penalty kicks to win MLS Cup 2009.

Despite losing 2–1, Real became the first team to score on the Galaxy in the 2010 Season, as Los Angeles had shut out their first three opponents.

Going on the road to Los Angeles to face expansion partners Chivas USA, RSL found victory when Fabián Espíndola scored in the 89th minute for the game-winner in the 2–1 win.

RSL headed back to Rio Tinto Stadium to face its 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals nemesis Columbus.

RSL defeated Panamanian champions Árabe Unido in Sandy by a score of 2–1 in a wild match that featured over eight minutes of second-half stoppage time.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

[12] By winning the 2009 MLS Cup championship against Los Angeles, Real Salt Lake qualified directly into Group Stage for the 2010–11 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Salt Lake was paired with 2009 Panamanian champions Árabe Unido as well as the Mexican Professional League's, Cruz Azul and fellow MLS-opponent Toronto FC who qualified for the competition by winning the 2010 Canadian Championship.

Salt Lake's opening game took place on August 18, hosting Árabe Unido in which they won 2–1 thanks to a pair of goals from Álvaro Saborío.

One week later, the Royals would travel to Panama City to take on Arabe Unido for their home fixture of pool play.

With the victory, RSL became only the sixth MLS club to win a meaningful competition against a Central American opponent on their home turf.

On September 28, Salt Lake qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament with a 1–1 draw against Toronto FC at BMO Field.

Tied with Cruz Azul with 3–1–1 records apiece, a victory would give Salt Lake first place in their group.

Because of the late season push for the Supporters' Shield, Kries fielded primarily a second-tier squad against Cruz Azul.