Real Salt Lake Falls At Home In Friendly Against Atlas F.C.

SANDY – Real Salt Lake suffered a loss at home to Atlas F.C. of Liga MX., a match that was a friendly and part of the Leagues Cup Showcase.

RSL hosted Atlas at America First Field on Thursday, September 22.

Atlas F.C. defeated Real Salt Lake, 2-1.

🔚 Full time at Salt Lake City!@realsaltlake 1️⃣-2️⃣ @AtlasFC

What a match between these two sides! 👏

¡Qué partido entre esos equipos! 👏#LeaguesCupShowcase2022 pic.twitter.com/3xvXO4uaMg

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) September 23, 2022

Real Salt Lake’s only goal of the match came during the 17th minute of action when Aaron Herrera spotted that Atlas goalkeeper José Hernández was off his line and drilled a strike from more than 60 yards away. The defender’s shot sailed into the empty net. Herrera’s rocket of a shot gave Real Salt Lake a 1-0 lead.

FROM DISTANCE 🤯 @aaronherrera_22 gives @realsaltlake an early lead over @AtlasFC. #RSL #RSLvATL https://t.co/gidobmcy3P

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 23, 2022

In the 36th minute, the match changed for RSL after Justin Meram received a red card and was disqualified from the rest of the game.

A few minutes later, the impact of Meram’s departure was felt. Edgar Zaldivar scored an equalizer of a goal in the 41st minute.

At halftime, the score stood at 1-1.

Despite playing down a man, Real Salt Lake held its own for much of the second half. However, in the 71st minute, Atlas scored the eventual game-winning goal courtesy of Lucas Rodríguez.

RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni looked to inject some energy onto the field and substituted some younger players into the match. Atlas was able to hold onto the one-goal margin and steal a win away from the home club.

And that’s the game pic.twitter.com/ERUtGtQIVY

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 23, 2022

Atlas finished the night having owned the time of possession for 64 percent of the match. RSL was outshot by Atlas 16-12, including 8-2 in shots on target.

RSL is currently in eighth place in the Western Conference standings. The top seven clubs earn playoffs berths and a shot at the MLS Cup.

Real Salt Lake’s next match is against the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday, October 1 at 8:30 p.m. (MDT). It’s the club’s second-to-last match of the regular season. The Galaxy currently sit one spot ahead of RSL in the standings.

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