America First Field, Sandy, UT – Liga MX side Atlas visited America First Field tonight in our first 2024 Leagues Cup fixture for RSL and the affair was contested up until the end of stoppage with RSL coming out on top. Atlas scored first with a shot from Luis Reyes and it took the rest of the first half for Anderson Julio to level the score. It was Nelson Palacio fresh off the bench with a screaming outside shot to put the matter to rest and notch one for the home team.
Real Salt Lake held on to the ball most of the first half but lagged behind Atlas in early shooting and that was enough for Luis Reyes to put the home club on their heels with a goal in the 26th minute. With a number of chances in the half we had to wait for the last seconds of stoppage time before Anderson Julio put in a diving header in the 45’+2′. At the break it was all level at 1 goal a piece.
Neither club made changes when they returned to the pitch and things picked up exactly were they left off. Both clubs had their share of chances and the shooting and shots on goal were almost identical, it was the subs that made all the difference tonight when Nelson Palacio relieved Braian Ojeda in the 78th minute and put in a banger from beyond the box just one minute later with what ended up being the game winner in the 2024 Leagues Cup group stage.
RSL was shorthanded tonight with Chicho still serving out his 4 game suspension. The Claret and Cobalt travel to Shell Energy Stadium for a MLS Season match against the Houston Dynamo on Monday August 5th and they return home on Saturday August 24th against the San Jose Earthquakes who are currently last in the west.
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 1 2
Atlas 1 0 1
Scoring Summary
ATS – Luis Reyes – 26′
RSL – Anderson Julio – 45’+2′
RSL – Nelson Palacio – 79′
Misconduct Summary
RSL – Bode Hidalgo – 34′ – foul
ATS – Victor Rios – 88′ – foul
Officials
Referee: Jon Freemon
Assistant Referee: Nick Uranga
Assistant Referee: Henri Pupiro
4th Official: Alyssa Nichols
Video Assistant Referee: Ricardo Montero
Attendence: XXX
Lineups
Real Salt Lake: Gavin Beavers; Alex Katranis; Brayan Vera; Justen Glad; Bode Hidalgo; Braian Ojeda (Nelson Palacio, 78′); Eneka Eneli; Diego Luna (Maikel Chang, 85′); Matt Crooks; Andres Gomez (Andrew Brody, 90′); Anderson Julio (Benji Michel, 78′)
Substitutes Not Used: Zac MacMath; Brian Oviedo; Philip Quinton; Noel Caliskan
Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni
Atlas: Camilo Vargas; Edgar Zaldivar; Hugo Nervo; Adrian Mora; Luis Reyes; Victor Rios; Aldo Rocha (Abraham Bass, 84′); Jhon Murillo (Idekel Dominguez, 84′); Jeremy Marquez (Mateo Garcia, 73′); Brian Lozano (Raymundo Fulgencio, 86′); Eduardo Aquirre (Maura Manotas, 73′)
Substitutes Not Used: Doria; Gaddi Aguirre; Antonio Sanchez; Uros Durdevic; Jose Hernadez; Carlos Cruz; Isreal Larios
Head Coach: Benat San Jose