Chicho Arango Brace Propels RSL To Big Win Over Chicago Fire FC

CHICAGO – Real Salt Lake picked up its first win of the month in convincing fashion as they blew out the Chicago Fire FC, 4-0, at Soldier Field.

Chicho Arango led the charge with a first-half brace. Andres Gomez and Diego Luna also got in on the fun.

Arango leads the MLS in goals so far this season with eight.

A unFOURgettable dub #CHIvRSL | @SelectHealth pic.twitter.com/oFw5enLWdU

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 21, 2024

First Half

RSL dominated possession early in the game but it was all defense from both sides regardless.

The first shot attempt came in the 10th minute from Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers but it was off to the right.

Arango won a free-kick with the ball placed just outside the box in the 12th minute. He tried to go quickly to catch the goalkeeper off guard but missed wide left.

After a Chicago yellow card in the 15th, Arango had a shot blocked from the center of the box.

On the counterattack, Fire forward Chris Mueller fired a shot on goal but RSL goalie Gavin Beavers made the easy save in front of goal.

Mueller tested Beavers again in the 21st minute but got the same result.

Just a few minutes later, Gomez broke the seal with a shot from the top of the box into the lower right corner.

RELATED: Andres Gomez Gives RSL First-Half Lead Against Chicago Fire FC

Special delivery from Andrés 💥 pic.twitter.com/MYfd2TfquC

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 21, 2024

Real Salt Lake, and specifically Arango, showed the Windy City that when it rains, it pours.

After some back and forth over the next ten minutes, Arango doubled RSL’s lead in the 33rd minute following an errant pass from the Fire.

In the 37th, Bryan Oviedo gave a beautiful cross out of the right corner and Arango simply tapped it in on the left side.

RELATED: Chicho Arango Scores Two Goals In Five Minutes, Gives RSL 3-0 Lead

Chicho Arango again! pic.twitter.com/DEgZmZ2BGE

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 21, 2024

Three minutes of stoppage time was added to the first half.

Arango went for a first-half hat trick in the 47th minute but his shot sailed over the net.

Real Salt Lake looked primed to pick up their first win of April with a 3-0 lead at the break.

How fun is this 😏#CHIvRSL | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/FzURh1qwpf

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 21, 2024

Second Half

Coming out of the half, all the momentum was still with RSL.

Gomez went for his own brace in the 49th but Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady made a tough save in the bottom right corner.

Just a few minutes later, Fidel Barajas found some open space and attempted to catch Brady on a bad line but missed to the left.

Chicago was finally able to apply some pressure to RSL in the attacking third following Barajas’ miss.

Kellyn Acosta had a shot blocked in the 54th and Beavers made a fourth save in the 58th on a chip attempt from Hugo Cuypers.

In between the attempts, Real subbed Luna in for Gomez. Luna stepped in on the right side, moving Barajas to the left.

56′ | Moon boy comes in

0-3 | @SJ_Utah pic.twitter.com/6AwsZUWkW2

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 21, 2024

Chicago began to get more aggressive with challenges and it worked in their favor.

RSL struggled to push through the pressure and lost possession on multiple occasions. They were stuck on their own half for a solid stretch early in the second half.

Following the 60th minute, Arango nearly picked up an assist on back-to-back possessions.

First, he found Luna on the right side of the box but the shot missed to the right. About a minute later, Arango put Barajas in a similar spot and his shot was saved.

Chicago forward Tom Barlow took a shot on goal in the 67th but Beavers got to the bottom right once again for a fifth save.

Philip Quinton and Nelson Palacio subbed in for Alexandros Katranis and Braian Ojeda in the 74th minute.

RELATED: Real Salt Lake Trades For Columbus Crew Defender Philip Quinton

74′ | Philip makes his RSL debut

0-3 | @SJ_Utah pic.twitter.com/4dfe18CXAe

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 21, 2024

The final stretch saw mostly defense from both sides.

Chicago nearly broke the seal in the 87th minute but the score was called back with Georgios Koutsias caught offside.

Anderson Julio took two shots after subbing in. The first was saved and the second missed to the right.

In the 93rd minute, Diego Luna put a cherry on top of the win with his first goal of the season to increase the lead to 4-0.

Real Salt Lake improved to 4-2-3 with the big win in Chicago.

How To Watch Real Salt Lake

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

All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2024 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.

Are you on Threads yet? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports. 

Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

Take us with you, wherever you go.

Download the new & improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. You can stream live radio, video and stay up to date on all of your favorite teams.