Chicho Magic: Arango's early header helps RSL take 1-1 draw from Minnesota

Eight games into the 2024 MLS regular season, Arango sits atop the Golden Boot standings with New York’s Lewis Morgan.

Just like last year, Real Salt Lake took a point off its trip to the Twin Cities.

Chicho Arango scored a goal in the first half, and RSL earned a 1-1 draw with Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The goal was Arango’s sixth consecutive match with a goal-contribution, and ties him for the league lead with six goals on the season for an RSL that is now 3-2-2 for 11 points and third place in the Western Conference.

Eight games into the 2024 MLS regular season, Arango sits atop the Golden Boot standings with New York’s Lewis Morgan. That’s in addition to RSL’s Diego Luna, who leads MLS with five assists.

So it’s fitting that Arango sealed the road point for Salt Lake with his sixth consecutive game with a goal contribution.

His rate of goal scoring is impressing figures around the league — as well as his own coaches and teammates.

“That’s why great players decide games. They just have an intuition, a knack,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “Obviously we work on the final-third phase. But as the play is developing and Andrés is in the wide area, he knows a cross is coming. He’s constantly scanning what area to attack, and Andrés put in a great ball. Mucho, Chicho, the best strikers in our league have a knack of being in the right place at the right time — and that’s what makes them great players.”

Zac MacMath made seven saves in facing 21 shots from the Loon, who finished with 58% of possession.

But RSL got on the scoresheet early when Arango rose up to head home Andrés Gómez’s short cross from the corner of the penalty box and give Salt Lake a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.

Justen Glad won the ball back in midfield, rising high in the air to win a 50-50 ball that fell to Gómez, and the Colombian winger sprung toward the box before caroming his chance off Arango’s forward and inside the near post off the balance.

“If we want to press higher up the field, we want center backs that are going to step up and make plays,” Mastroeni said. “He has to make that play there, or we don’t spring the attack and go forward.”

Credit, too, goes to Brayan Vera — the other RSL center back who stepped in with fellow central defender Marcelo Silva goin down with a long-term hamstring injury in training — for filling in the defensive gaps and allow Glad to get upfield to win the ball and initiative the attack.

“We knew they would be left in some 1-v-1 situations, with the way we wanted to press them,” MacMath said. “They both did a really good job stepping high into those spaces where it is a bit hairy sometimes, and being physical to win battles and making it hard for the offensive player. Really, the back line did a great job of handling a very offensive attack in Minnesota and hopefully we’ll be better for it going forward.”

The Loons out-shot RSL 8-5 before the break, and held 51.7% of possession. But Zac MacMath made three saves before the break, and Salt Lake converted three of their five attempts with a shot on goal to take the 1-0 advantage into the locker room.

MacMath kept Minnesota at bay through the second half. But moments after late substitution Tani Oluwaseyi entered the pitch, the 23-year-old Nigerian striker finished a touch from Robin Lod to equalize in the 87th minute.

As the Loons pushed for a go-ahead goal in the 89th minute, Joseph Rosales was shown a second yellow card and Minnesota finished the five minutes of stoppage time down a man as RSL took a point from the road.

A point gained, or two lost? There are arguments for both, after conceding a late goal, MacMath said. But …

“Definitely points lost. But it’s a good opportunity to learn and to deal with some adversity,” he added. “Any time you have a lead late, home or away, you feel like you lost points.”