Real Salt Lake Catches Fire In Second Half, Downs Atlanta United FC
Jul 6, 2024, 9:37 PM | Updated: Jul 8, 2024, 3:18 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake had one of its best halves of the season to secure a big 5-2 win over the Atlanta United FC on Saturday.
After going into the half tied at 1-1, four different RSL players found the back of the net in the second half.
Real Salt Lake will hit the road for its next match against the Portland Timbers on Saturday, July 13.
THE VIBES ARE HIGH#RSLvATL | @SelectHealth pic.twitter.com/7FamCKDRDJ
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 7, 2024
Real Salt Lake Atlanta United
RSL had some leftover fireworks from Independence Day early in the match against Atlanta.
Before the first minute of the match passed, Diego Luna got out on a promising attack.
Luna drew in the defense and sent a cross in front of the goal to Matt Crooks for an easy tap-in.
RELATED: Matt Crooks Connects, Scores Goal In Opening Minute Of RSL-Atlanta Match
DIDNT EVEN TAKE 60 SECONDS 🤯#RSLvATL #RSL #MLS @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 7, 2024
Real didnt let up there.
Andres Gomez created another great look in the 5th minute but missed to the right.
RSL completely dominated out of the gates. But, the pressure they were applying on Atlanta early nearly came back to bite them.
Following the 10th minute, the United got three good shots off in succession. Two of the shots came off of avoidable mistakes from RSL.
As the 20th minute passed, both sides had settled into the game and cleaned up most of the mistakes.
After the early chaos at AFF, the speed of play has come back down to earth as Atlanta looks for an equalizer and RSL looks to extend the lead.
25′#RSLvATL #RSL #MLS pic.twitter.com/FW0rYvpODg
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 7, 2024
But, Atlanta’s hunt for an equalizer waged on.
In the 31st minute, the United got exactly what they asked for.
Set up by Bartosz Slisz, Saba Lobjanidze lost his defender with some misdirection at the top of the box. As soon as he had enough room, Lobjanidze let it fly and found the right side of the goal.
Atlanta finds the first-half equalizer.#RSLvATL #RSL #MLS
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 7, 2024
RSL and Atlanta went back and forth leading into halftime with neither side able to put together anything promising.
The first half came to an end with both teams tied at 1.
All tied up #RSLvATL | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/n06kCEQTba
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 7, 2024
The second half got out to a slow start for everyone but one man.
In the 55th minute, Braian Ojeda nearly scored one of the best goals of the season for RSL. He loaded up from the left side of the box and looked to curl it inside the right post. The shot was mere inches away from being perfect but it bounced off the woodwork.
Less than five minutes later, Ojeda got redemption for his miss to give Real Salt Lake a 2-1 lead.
RELATED: RSL’s Braian Ojeda Buries Shots Amid Chaos In Box Vs. Atlanta United FC
Ojeda puts @realsaltlake back on top!#RSLvATL #RSL #RSLonKSL @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 7, 2024
Once RSL got a little bit of wind in its sails, they took off.
It took less than ten minutes for Real to add to its lead. Out of a set piece, Luna found Chicho Arango in the middle.
Arango perfectly placed his header into the bottom corner out of the goalkeeper’s reach to give RSL a two-goal lead.
RELATED: Chicho Arango Ties Real Salt Lake Record With Goal Against Atlanta
Who else but Chicho 😜✌️#RSLvATL #RSL #RSLonKSL @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 7, 2024
The floodgates were wide open following Arango’s MLS-leading 17th goal of the season.
In the 78th minute, Alexandros Katranis got in on the fun with a goal of his own. Luna set up Katranis’ goal for his third assist of the match.
Luna is currently third in the MLS in assists.
When it rains, it pours ☔️#RSLvATL #RSL #RSLonKSL @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 7, 2024
After Atlanta was able to sneak in another goal, it was back to regularly scheduled programming for Real Salt Lake.
Luna added a cherry on top of his three assists and a dominant second half with a goal off a pass from Maikel Chang.
Luna tied his goal total from last year with the 84th-minute score.
MOON BOY CAN’T BE STOPPED 🌙 pic.twitter.com/ucqAkNUr3Z
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 7, 2024
Anderson Julio got a couple of good looks on goal before the final whistle but none made it past Atlanta’s keeper.
Real Salt Lake picks up three points in a big 5-2 win over the Atlanta United FC.
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.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
