Real Salt Lake totally shut down FC Juarez on Tuesday, pulling off a clean 3-0 victory at America First Field to wrap up Phase One of their Leagues Cup run. The Utah side ended the night in second place in the MLS table with 7 points, and now they’re just waiting on other results from Wednesday and Thursday to see if they’ve punched their ticket to the quarterfinal stage. Talk about holding your breath!
These Forwards Are Straight Up Ballers
Seriously, the difference-makers in this match were RSL’s forwards. They brought the kind of poise in front of goal you love to see. The biggest headline? Lineker Rodrigues snagged his first-ever RSL goal, sealing the deal with the Claret-and-Cobalt’s third score of the night. This dude only recently signed his MLS deal, and he’s been tearing it up for Real Monarchs in MLS NEXT Pro. Before Tuesday, he’d logged just 53 minutes with the first team, but a starting nod against Juarez? He made it count big time.
But Rodrigues wasn’t alone. Morgan Guilavogui and Sergi Solans also lit up the scoreboard, both making the most of their 45 minutes on the pitch. Guilavogui buried a penalty in the 29th minute, his first goal since way back on April 18 against San Diego. That French-born Guinean international now has a goal contribution in four straight games, coming off assists against Atlante FC, Tigres UANL, and the Portland Timbers. Then Solans came in for Guilavogui in the second half, chipping the keeper with pure class in the 53rd minute. This Spanish rookie is just plain amazing, racking up 11 goals across all competitions this season, including three in his four August matches! What a run!
“We Defended With the Lead”: A Game-Changer Mentality
The team’s head coach, Pablo Mastroeni, dropped some real talk after the game, saying the biggest positive was how they defended with the lead. That’s apparently been their Achilles’ heel, but he sees a “big change” in the group’s mentality. Forward Lineker Rodrigues echoed that, explaining that after tying Tigres at home, the goal was simple: win the next two to have a chance to qualify. They went into Tuesday’s match with a pure “we need to win at home” mindset.
That mentality showed from the jump. RSL came out flying, creating chances early. JuanMa Sanabria won a penalty in the 29th minute when his cross got handballed in the box, and Guilavogui stepped up and blasted it to the top right corner for the 1-0 lead. Solans came on for Guilavogui after the break and wasted no time, taking a pass from Sanabria, turning his defender with a slick right foot, and then chipping the keeper with his left for the 2-0 cushion in the 53rd. Just minutes later in the 68th, Rodrigues found the near-post off a DeAndre Yedlin cross for the third goal. Juarez never had a prayer after that.
So, RSL finished Phase One in second place with 7 points. Now, they’re on pins and needles, waiting to see what happens Wednesday and Thursday. Will it be enough to get them into the quarterfinal? We’ll find out soon enough if this hot streak keeps rolling!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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