Real Salt Lake Drops In Leagues Cup After Second Half Collapse

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake lost to LAFC, 4-0, in the Leagues Cup round of 16 after giving up three goals in 10 minutes just after halftime.

Denis Bouanga recorded a brace, Nathan Ordaz scored the third goal, and Filip Yavorov Krastev capped off scoring for LAFC.

That ends our Leagues Cup journey. pic.twitter.com/t7XocJVQTO

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 9, 2023

Reactions To The Loss

In the postgame press conference, head coach Pablo Mastroeni gave his thoughts on LAFC, the loss, and Leagues Cup as a whole.

“I think LAFC is a very good team,” Mastroeni said. “When you shoot yourself in the foot, it will be difficult to win in (BMO Stadium).”

Despite coming off a loss, Mastroeni still had very good things to say about the Leagues Cup and RSL’s run.

“I think it’s been a very good tournament. It’s always great to see where you’re at,” Mastroeni said. “We were in a tough group and the guys did well. There are a lot of positives to take from the games we played. Experiences like this are important to learn from. Overall, the tournament was also fun to watch as a fan of the game.”

⏭️ @LAFC roll into the quarterfinals!#LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/Hu9kLGxn3o

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 9, 2023

Real Salt Lake Bounced Out Of Leagues Cup By LAFC

First Half

LAFC nearly got on the board first but narrowly missed on two shots in the 8th and 9th minutes.

Pablo Ruiz went down with an apparent leg injury on the other end. After laying in discomfort while the staff responded, he was helped off the field and replaced by Nelson Palacio.

Details of Ruiz’s injury have yet to be released. He was on the sideline with a leg brace and crutches in the second half.

Pablo Ruiz is subbed off following an injury – fingers crossed it isn’t anything serious. #RSL | @kslsports pic.twitter.com/MuAWt8AuBX

— RSL Show on KSL (@rslshow) August 9, 2023

LAFC continued to push the pace in the first half. Stipe Biuk and Dénis Bouanga both got good looks off but Zac MacMath was able to make the save.

Real Salt Lake nearly broke the draw in the 26th minute. Jefferson Savarino gave Andrés Gómez a great look with a perfect cross but Gómez’s header soared over the goal.

After his assist didn’t end in a score, Savarino attempted to take matters into his own hands. He got a great look from just outside the box but his shot barely missed to the right.

17′ | Ball stoppah

0-0 | #LAFCvRSL | #LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/9cPbr6DoKz

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 9, 2023

LAFC’s Aaron Long received an excellent cross following a corner but his header missed high.

Giorgio Chiellini was shown a yellow card for a foul in the 38th minute.

LAFC ended the half with 7 shots (3 on goal) to Real Salt Lake’s 5 shots (0 on goal). RSL did create quality looks but the shots continued to miss the target.

Tied at 0-0, advancing to the quarterfinals would come down to the second half.

Second half coming up after this commercial break#LAFCvRSL | #LeaguesCup2023 pic.twitter.com/BvBM52ITFu

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 9, 2023

Second Half

Things started to go south for RSL in the second half.

Dénis Bouanga, who scored three goals in the round of 32, put LAFC on the board in the 52nd after breaking through the defense.

Just minutes later, Bouanga did it again. He made Justen Glad pay for hesitating in the box by stealing the ball and scoring right away.

Sadly for RSL, the barrage didn’t stop there. In the 62nd minute, Nathan Ordaz scored a third goal for LAFC in just ten minutes.

3 goals in less than 10 minutes…

LAFC goes on a hot streak to pull away in the @LeaguesCup Round of 16 matchup. Nathan Ordaz was the third goal scorer for #LAFC @realsaltlake 0@LAFC 3#RSL #LAFCvRSL

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 9, 2023

Chicho Arango and Savarino both attempted to spark a comeback for RSL with shots from outside the box but neither found the mark.

In the 84th minute, LAFC put the nail in the coffin. Filip Yavorov Krastev scored to put Real Salt Lake down by four.

Real Salt Lake had no shots on goal in the match. Multiple shots were very close or blocked, but RSL needed to improve on performance in front of the goal.

A less-than-ideal ending for RSL will send them home until their next matchup against the LA Galaxy on August 20.

How To Watch Real Salt Lake

All Major League Soccer and Leagues Cup games are broadcasted on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.

All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2023 season and beyond will be carried on various KSL radio signals. KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) are both stations under the Bonneville International umbrella.

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Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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