By. Carson Lantz
Real Salt Lake returned to action once again, this time visiting Carson, California to face Western Conference foe the Los Angeles Galaxy. The last time these two sides met was on October 14, 2023, when the game ended in a 2-2 deadlock. A fun fact to point out is that the all-time leading goal scorer for this matchup is none other than MLS legend Landon Donovan, who accumulated 13 goals against Real Salt Lake. The second-highest goal scorers are Javier
Morales and Robbie Keane, both tied at 7 goals. This time around, the Galaxy and Salt Lake are battling it out for the top spot in the West, with both sides having a great start to their 2024 season.
Real Salt Lake: (6-3-2)
Pablo Mastroeni’s starting eleven: Zac MacMath in goal, Bode Hidalgo and Alexandros Katranis as the outside backs, Philip Quinton and Justen Glad as the center-backs, Braian Ojeda and Emeka Eneli as the midfield pair, Diego Luna and Andrés Gómez as the wingers, Matt Crooks returns as the attacking midfielder, and lastly, Captain Chicho Arango as the striker.
Subs: Gavin Beavers, Andrew Brody, Tommy Silva, Nelson Palacio, Maikel Chang, Bertin Jacquesson, Fidel Barajas, and Anderson Julio.
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni makes a handful of changes to his starting eleven after losing last time out to USL side New Mexico United in the U.S. Open Cup. Notably, Justen Glad, Chicho Arango, and Andrés Gómez returned to the starting lineup. Mastroeni sticks with his preferred formation of 4-2-3-1, which has succeeded this 2024 MLS season.
Los Angeles Galaxy: (5-4-2)
Greg Vanney’s starting eleven: John McCarthy in goal, Miki Yamane and Juli Aude as the outside backs, Jalen Neal and captain Maya Yoshida as the center-backs, Marco Delgado, Gastón Brugman, and Riqui Puig are the midfield three, Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil are the wingers, and Dejan Joveljić as the lone striker.
Subs: Novak Mićović, Mauricio Cuevas, John Nelson, Martín Cáceres, Daniel Aguirre, Diego Fagúndez, Edwin Cerrillo, Jonathan Pérez, and Miguel Berry.
Head Coach Greg Vanney has his team lined up in a classic 4-3-3 formation, which has them battling for the top spot in the Western Conference. Vanney also made several changes to his starting lineup, with Riqui Puig and Dejan Joveljić returning.
The Game:
In the first half the Galaxy wasted no time making their presence known to Salt Lake, taking shots from all over Zac MacMath's goal. Los Angeles was dominating, and their pressure was visibly disjointing Salt Lake as a team. However, Salt Lake quickly got their act together, soaking up the pressure and calmly counterattacking, getting just as many opportunities as the Galaxy.
In the 20th minute, after calmly building up and keeping possession, Alexandros Katranis found the ball at his feet and whipped in a beautiful cross to Chicho Arango. Arango beat defender Maya Yoshida in the air to head the ball past John McCarthy, giving Real Salt Lake a one-goal
advantage over the Los Angeles Galaxy to make it 1-0. The Claret and Cobalt were off and running as their patient play paid off in the first 20 minutes at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Shortly after, in the 29th minute, Chicho intercepted a pass from Riqui Puig to set off a 2v1 counterattack with teammate Andrés Gómez joining him. Chicho laid off the ball to Gómez, who took a left-footed shot, trying to curl it into the top left corner. However, he was denied by an outstanding save from LA Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy. McCarthy’s save kept the score at 1-0. Despite McCarthy's efforts to keep his team in the game, he conceded again, with Chicho Arango scoring once more. This goal resulted from a beautiful, fast one-two build-up by Matt Crooks and Andrés Gómez. Crooks played a through ball to Gómez, who beat his defender and slotted the ball to Chicho just above the six-yard box, where Chicho comfortably placed the ball past McCarthy and the Galaxy defense.
That would be it for the first half, as Real Salt Lake headed to the locker rooms with a commanding 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Pablo Masteroni on the build up to the second goal scored by Chicho “The space behind backlines is where Andres (Gomez) really thrives, and what makes that goal special to me is the decision making, to not have a go at goal but to find his teammate and again Chicho ghosting in and making a play was fantastic.”
The second half got off to a quick start, and it didn’t take long for the Galaxy to get back into the game. The goal was set up by star player Riqui Puig, who played the ball to winger Gabriel Pec. Pec’s shot was almost saved by Zac MacMath but luckily snuck past him, making the score 2-1 in the 54th minute. Visually and statistically, the Galaxy dominated the second half, and Pablo Mastroeni's men didn’t seem to have a counter to Greg Vanney’s side. The second half was practically raining LA Galaxy shots, and Salt Lake was just hoping they wouldn’t concede again. Unfortunately for the Claret and Cobalt, luck wasn’t on their side. In the 94th minute, with 10
seconds of play left, Riqui Puig floated a cross into Salt Lake’s box. Goalkeeper Zac MacMath came out to challenge for the ball, shouting “keeper,” but he didn’t see Miguel Berry. The substitute striker, eager to beat MacMath to the ball, managed to get the slightest touch to redirect the ball past MacMath, leveling the game at 2-2. The Los Angeles Galaxy came from behind by two goals, scoring twice and breaking Real Salt Lake’s hopes of escaping Carson with all three points. After Miguel Berry’s equalizing goal, the referee blew the whistle to end the game at 2-2, with both teams sharing the points.
What’s Next For Real Salt Lake:
After having two matches last week, Real Salt Lake will be looking at another week with two matches. In their next match, they will return home to America First Field to welcome another Western Conference foe, the Seattle Sounders. The Sounders are currently struggling, while Salt Lake is absolutely thriving this season. However, just because Seattle has been having some bad luck this season, never count them out.
After the Seattle game, Real Salt Lake will stay home for the weekend as the Colorado Rapids come into town for the second time this season. Real Salt Lake is out for revenge, as the Rapids had two calls go their way in the last match, eventually beating Salt Lake 2-1.
