By Erick De La Rosa
Real Salt Lake delivered a statement performance at America First Field, cruising to a dominant 4-0 victory over Liga MX side Atlante to keep its Leagues Cup 2026 hopes alive.
Sergi Solans opened the scoring in the first half before RSL took complete control after the break. Zach Booth doubled the advantage in the 50th minute, and Lukas Engel added a third just four minutes later to put the match firmly out of reach. Pablo Ruíz capped off the emphatic victory with a fourth goal in the 90th minute.
With the convincing win, Pablo Mastroeni’s side moves to four points in the tournament and remains firmly in the hunt for a place in the quarterfinals heading into its final Phase One match.
For Miguel Herrera’s Atlante, the defeat significantly complicates the path forward. Los Potros will now face a must-win situation against Minnesota United FC and will also need favorable results elsewhere involving Liga MX contenders such as América, Cruz Azul, Monterrey and Toluca to keep their hopes of advancing alive.
REACTIONS
- Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
- "Today we defended really, really well and that's an underrated part of the game. Since we came back from the World Cup break, that's where we've put our efforts. I give credit to the coaching staff and the players for the momentum we've built."
- "Today we defended really, really well and that's an underrated part of the game. Since we came back from the World Cup break, that's where we've put our efforts. I give credit to the coaching staff and the players for the momentum we've built."
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
- Real Salt Lake
- Diego Luna displayed talent and determination in key moments finishing the night with two assists. His excellent run down the end line led to Real Salt Lake's first goal and he consistently troubled the Atlante defense.
GAME NOTES
- Convincing win for Salt Lake over a team that came from beating Vancouver Whitecaps on Matchday 1. Real Salt Lake didn't look bad against Tigres either, but fell in penalties and left a valuable point on the table.
- Atlante no longer controls its own destiny. The Mexican side will have to beat Minnesota on the final matchday and wait for other results to see if it can advance as one of the top four Liga MX clubs.
- With Diego Luna in form, plus the versatility of Sergi Solans and the good impressions left by Booth and Guilavogui, this is a team to keep an eye on.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards:
- Real Salt Lake: Diego Luna (79'), Alexandros Katranis (85')
- Atlante: Eugenio Pizzuto (36'), Edgar Jiménez (79')
LOOKING AHEAD
- Real Salt Lake: Aug. 11 vs. Juárez
- Atlante: Aug. 11 vs. Minnesota
