Real Salt Lake Suffers 3-1 Setback at LAFC in MLS Return

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Wed., July 22, 2026) – Real Salt Lake (8-2-5, 26 points, 4th West,) fell away at LAFC (9-3-5, 30 points, 3rd West) in a 3-1 defeat on Wednesday night in the Utah side’s highly-anticipated return to MLS play post-World Cup.

Georgian international Saba Lobjanidze made his RSL debut, coming on for Diego Luna in the second half. Lobjanidze made an immediate impact, earning an assist in his Club debut after crossing a corner to DF Lukas Engel, who notched the lone RSL goal. Lobjanidze becomes RSL’s all-time 237th player in RSL’s 22-year history.

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni made no changes to the lineup from the Club’s 4-1 win over Burnley FC in a friendly on July 15, just the third occasion this year to roll out the same XI in back-to-back contests. RSL began the match with aggression, creating multiple shots on goal in the early minutes of the match. In the fifth minute, Diego Luna made an attempt on goal with a left-footed shot that was blocked by LAFC. Just seconds later, French-international Morgan Guilavogui blistered a shot on target that was saved by the keeper.

Unfortunately, LAFC converted its chance in the 11th minute, when Korean superstar Son Heung-Min broke away, scoring with a left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net, giving the home side a 1-0 lead. 

The Claret-and-Cobalt squad was not deterred, with multiple players continuing to make attempts on goal. In the 25th minute, Noel Caliskan took a shot that was blocked by LAFC before rebounding and finding Stijn Spierings, who unleashed an effort from the right side of the box that just narrowly missed. Caliskan made subsequent attempts on goal in the 36th minute, both saved by LAFC’s global star goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris.

In the 40th minute, Denis Bouanga made a transition up the field with RSL’s DeAndre Yedlin trailing.  Bouanga then squared off against Cabral, rocketing a shot into the left side of the net that the RSL keeper couldn’t save, doubling LAFC’s lead to 2-0 prior to halftime. 

Returning from the break, Cabral made a crucial save in the 49th minute, when Son blasted a shot from the center of the box, RSL’s perennial “Iron Man” preventing further deficit.

RSL struggled to find the net, but not for a lack of effort. In another set of attempts, Guilavogui curled an effort that leaned just right in the 54th minute, before sending another cross towards the net in the 60th that was deflected by LAFC’s keeper.

In the 68th minute, LAFC’s attack transitioned up the left side of the field, before crossing to the middle. In an attempt to defend, Yedlin slid to deflect the ball, inadvertently sending it into the net past Cabral, charged with an own goal to give LAFC a 3-0 lead. 

In the 78th minute, Lobjanidze came on for Luna, making his debut for the Club. Just minutes later, the attacker made an impact, taking a corner that found Lukas Engel, who scored on a shot that found the back of the net in the 86th minute. The goal marked Engel’s first for the Club since his January arrival, giving Salt Lake an opportunity to open its account late in the game. The final whistle blew with the Club conceding to LAFC in a 3-1 defeat. 

Real Salt Lake now matriculates to Portland Saturday, remaining on the West Coast prior to next week’s MLS All-Star Game. RSL then travels to St. Louis on August 1 before returning home to host the trio of Liga MX opponents in Leagues Cup. The home opener of the tournament, and first of five home matches in 15 days at America First Field, is Liga MX power Tigres UANL. The match will take place on Tuesday, August 4 at 8:00p MT, with tickets available at www.RSL.com/tickets.

GOAL SCORING SUMMARY: RSL 1:3 LAFC

LAFC: Son Heung-Min: 11’: Son broke away, transitioning up the field, and scoring with a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net, giving the opponents a 1-0 lead. 

LAFC: Denis Bouanga: 40’: Bouanga made a transition up the field, facing off against Cabral, rocketing a shot into the left side of the net that the RSL keeper couldn’t get to in time, doubling LAFC’s lead to 2-0 before heading into halftime. 

LAFC: DeAndre Yedlin (OG): 68’: LAFC’s attack transitioned up the left side of the field, before crossing to the middle. In an attempt to defend, Yedline slid in to deflect the ball, inadvertently sending it into the net, scoring an own goal and giving LAFC a 3-0 lead over the Claret-and Cobalt. 

RSL: Lukas Engel: 86’: Lobjanidze took a corner that found Lukas Engel, who redirected the ball with a shot that found the back of the net in the 86th minute. The goal marked his first for the Club, and gave RSL an opportunity to open its account late in the game.

NOTES FROM RSL 1:3 LAFC

• Saba Lobjanidze made his RSL debut, becoming the 237th all-time player for the Club, becoming a rare player to assist in his team debut

• RSL falls to 4-16-1 (W-L-T) all-time against LAFC across all competitions 

• Tonight’s match was Pablo Mastroeni’s 200th all-time as RSL manager, recording an 83-71-46 (W-L-T) record in MLS, Playoffs, Leagues Cup, Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions Cup and exhibition matches since August 2021

• In those 200 matches, RSL has suffered back-to-back losses just 19 times during the Mastroeni era, the Clib looking to again display its grit and resilience with a result Saturday at Portland

LINEUPS:

Real Salt Lake (3-5-2): Rafael Cabral ©; DeAndre Yedlin, Philip Quinton, Lukas Engel; Noel Caliskan, Stijn Spierings (Victor Olatunji, 64’), Zavier Gozo, JuanMa Sanabria (Alex Katranis, 85’); Morgan Guilavogui (Griffon Dillon, 78’), Diego Luna (Saba Lobjanidze, 78’), Sergi Solans (Zach Booth, 78’)

Subs not used: Mason Stajduhar, Sam Juanqua, Juan Jose Arias, Pablo Ruiz, Linekar Rodrigues dos Santos 

Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni

LAFC (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris ©; Ryan Porteous, Yevhen Cheberko, Ryan Hollingshead (Kenneth Nielsen, 84’), Nkosi Tafar; Eddie Segura, Mark Delgado, Mathieu Choiniere (Jude Terry, 64’); Heung Min Son, Denis Bouanga (Tyler Boyd, 84’), Jacob Shaafelburg

Subs not used: Thomas Hasal, Jeremy Ebobisse, Ryan Raposo, David Martinez, Aaron Long, Sebastian Nava

Head Coach: Marc Dos Santos

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:

Zero (0) yellow cards and zero (0) red cards for either team.