Real Salt Lake Drops Third Straight In Home Loss To Minnesota United FC

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake allowed three goals, dropping its third straight match with Minnesota United at America First Field on Saturday.

The tone was unfortunately set early for RSL, as a 6th-minute own goal put Real in a hole. Victor Olatunji scored his first goal with the club shortly after, but Minnesota was able to regain the lead before the first half came to a close.

United’s Joaquín Pereyra doubled the lead in the second half, and they held strong from there to secure the 3-1 victory.

Final#RSLvMIN | @SelectHealth pic.twitter.com/llqR4f8azm

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 24, 2025

First Half

The opening minutes of the match were hectic, to say the least.

There were two fouls and two offside calls in the first five minutes. The chaos was wrapped up with a Brayan Vera own goal off of a Minnesota corner kick in the 6th.

Brayan Vera own goal 7th minute

0-1 #RSL

— RSL Show on KSL 🎙️⚡️ (@rslshow) August 24, 2025

RSL quickly bounced back from the misstep. They fought off a few threatening attacks before capitalizing on one of their first chances of the match.

In the 13th minute, Olatunji and Rwan Cruz forced back-to-back saves from Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair. Olatunji got his revenge a minute later on a fresh RSL attack.

Samuel Junqua served him up with a cross, and he finished the play from inside the six-yard box.

RELATED: Victor Olatunji Scores First RSL Goal To Equalize Against Minnesota

Made an immediate impact in his home debut 🔥 pic.twitter.com/2WktyZf8fQ

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 24, 2025

That opening score gave Real the energy boost they needed.

All of the next seven shot attempts came from the claret-and-cobalt. However, the Minnesota defensive third remained air-tight, bending but not breaking and leaving the score tied at 1-1.

In the 36th minute, their defensive efforts paid off as Robin Lod put them back out in front following a series of deflections and short passes in the box.

If that goal was a type of salt, what would it be? pic.twitter.com/dnIxIUyiNN

— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) August 24, 2025

Through the final ten minutes of the half and five minutes of stoppage time, neither team was able to piece together any promising attacks.

The first half came to a close with RSL trailing 2-1.

Despite trailing, Real held the advantage in nearly every stat at the break. They had eight more shot attempts, four more shot attempts on goal, and also led in possession at 64 percent.

Down but not out#RSLvMIN | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/8pl6z8kdaf

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 24, 2025

Second Half

Similar to the first half, the tone was set early after the break.

Emeka Eneli looked to even the score in the 48th minute, but his attempt was blocked. Just after that, Minnesota was able to double its lead.

After forcing Rafael Cabral off his spot, Lod passed back to Pereyra, who finished the job.

forced an own goal
scored his own goal pic.twitter.com/HYYQRz2rWZ

— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) August 24, 2025

Through the first 25 minutes of the half, RSL had no shots on goal, five fouls committed, and a yellow card.

Olatunji nearly scored a brace with a header in the 71st, but St. Clair made the save. That attempt ended up being Real’s last shot on frame in the match.

The lopsided stats from the first half continued to play out that way in the second. RSL finished with 27 shot attempts (six on goal) and six corner kicks. The real difference was just one save compared to five from Minnesota.

Ultimately, the final whistle was blown after seven minutes of extra time, and Real Salt Lake dropped its third straight match since the Leagues Cup’s conclusion.

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.

For more Real Salt Lake coverage and analysis, subscribe to The RSL Show and follow them on Instagram. 

You can find KSL Sports coverage of Real Salt Lake here.

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 X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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