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Ejections, penalty kicks, frantic defending and plenty of goals.

Real Salt Lake's 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution Wednesday night in Tucson, Ariz., undoubtedly had a Champions League tinge to it. In one of the final tune-ups for RSL's return to the CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage on Feb. 24 at Tigres UANL in Monterrey, Mexico, RSL had to claw its way back.

Despite going down 2-0 in the 48th minute and being cut down to 10 men after center back Aaron Maund was sent off for a handball in the box, RSL slowly inched into the match. Javier Morales converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute after New England defender Darrius Barnes fouled RSL forward Joao Plata in the penalty area. In typical Morales fashion, he waited for Revolution goalkeeper Brad Knighton to choose which post he'd pick. Once Knighton tipped his hand, Morales went to his right and scored.

Morales helped RSL pull even in the 68th minute when his cross delivered into the box was headed down and in by defender Jamison Olave. Nine minutes later, substitute Olmes Garcia — who replaced Yura Movsisyan after the striker played 69 minutes — put RSL ahead in the 77th minute. Garcia curled in a right-footed shot a yard inside the box after substitute Justen Glad played a loose ball back to the RSL forward.

As wild of a night it was in the Desert Diamond Cup opener, the lead was destined to be short-lived. And indeed it was. Directly following Landon Woodberry's ejection for being shown a second yellow card, Revolution forward Charlie Davies equalized, pulling New England even at 3-3.

Davies put the Revolution up 2-0 on the penalty attempt following Maund's red card early in the second half. New England's Michael Gamble gave his team the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute, nailing a left-footed shot by Nick Rimando at the near post.

Rimando was busy Wednesday. Probably too busy for his liking. The RSL goalkeeper was forced into action on a few occasions, including a leaping save on a 25-yard free-kick attempt by New England midfielder Lee Nguyen in the 24th minute. In the seventh minute, Rimando also denied forward Juan Agudelo as well.

RSL's defensive woes of 2015 seem to be hanging around for the time being. For the third time this preseason, RSL conceded a first-half goal and has now conceded twice within the first 15 minutes against the last two MLS clubs its faced in Tucson. The entire first portion of the preseason in Oceanside, Calif., was dedicated to further fortifying the defensive shape and identity in this 4-3-3 formation. At times, it's been decent, but others — such as Wednesday night against the Revolution — not so much.

And with the defending Liga MX champs looming now less than a week away, it's becoming increasingly evident that much of RSL's success in Champions League and in the 2016 MLS season will be predicated on solving the defensive problems.

Of note: Ghanian center back trialist Jerry Akaminko did not see time against New England. The 27-year-old is currently in contract negotiations with RSL, per general manager Craig Waibel. New central midfielder Sunday Stephen Obayan got the start next to Kyle Beckerman for the second time in the last three games ahead of Luke Mulholland.

RSL is now 2-2-1 in its preseason outings. Next up: The Columbus Crew on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 5:30 p.m.

-Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani