LAFC scores 4 second-half goals to eliminate RSL from Leagues Cup
LAFC scores 4 second-half goals to eliminate RSL from Leagues Cup
Denis Bouanga had two goals and an assist, and Mateusz Bogusz added two assists as LAFC pulled away from Real Salt Lake with four second-half goals, 4-0.
Real Salt Lake’s loss to LAFC in the Round of 16 of the Leagues Cup may not have been the worst loss the visitors suffered Tuesday night at BMO Stadium.
Denis Bouanga had two goals and an assist, and Mateusz Bogusz added two assists as LAFC pulled away from Real Salt Lake with four second-half goals, 4-0.
Nathan Ordaz and Filip Krastev each added a goal for LAFC, which were held scoreless in the first half before sprinting to the finish line.
“RSL’s a tough team to break down, a team that is quite confident at the moment,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “I was quite happy with the way we remained patient.
“It was fun to watch.”
But a bigger loss may face RSL in the coming days.
Just 10 minutes into the match, the collective grown of Salt Lake fans from Los Angeles to Salt Lake could be heard as midfielder Pablo Ruiz collapsed in a heap.
The Argentine with four goals and six assists in 17 games in league play this season — plus a handful of second assist-like setups during Leagues Cup — groaned as he grabbed his knee in apparent pain.
Ruiz had to be helped by both athletic training staffs from the pitch, and he only returned to watch the second half of his team’s loss with the aid of crutches.
RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni didn’t have an update on Ruiz’s status after the match, but the club said the midfielder was scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday.
As for the match: Well, eventually, RSL simply repeated history its own history in Los Angeles.
The club had 16 wins, seven draws and five losses in the past 27 matches across all competitions. But BMO Stadium had become a death trap for RSL, with just two wins in now 14 matches against at LAFC.
Bouanga opened the second half scoring two goals four minutes apart, and LAFC turned a strong first half with no goals into a 2-0 lead by the 56th minute.
The hosts opened the scoring off the counter, when Mateusz Bogusz found Bouanga with a through ball that the Gabon international calmly slotted past the defense on the fast break in the 52nd minute.
Bouanga doubled his tally just four minutes later, taking advantage of an ill-advised back pass from Justen Glad to give LAFC the 2-0 lead.
Real Salt Lake was already struggling to contain LAFC on the counter; the club “played underneath” against the Angelenos’ high press, and didn’t attack the host’s back line enough, RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said.
Glad’s giveaway didn’t help either, of course, in leading to RSL’s first loss in 11 consecutive road matches across MLS play, U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Cup — a streak that stretched back to a 3-1 win over Las Vegas Lights in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on April 26.
"I think when you shoot yourself in the foot like that, it's gonna be very difficult to win here," Mastroeni said. "I thought we played well in the first half and created some really good opportunities. And again, the game of football is about moments and capitalizing on those moments. We didn't do that in the first half and they did do that in the second half."
Nathan Ordaz made it 3-0 in the 62nd minute, right-footing a one-touch shot from Diego Palacios inside the near post as the home side took a commanding lead with his second goal in as many games.
Not long after Mastroeni had pulled off Chicho Arango, Danny Musovski and a number of his starters, Bogusz added a second assist as Filip Krastev made it 4-0 for LAFC with an 84th minute stunner off another fast break.
“It’s very hard to play as the visiting team in this league,” Mastroeni said in Spanish. “I can only imagine how hard it would be to play as the visiting team in another country.
“It’s very difficult for an MLS team, as it would be for any MLS team playing away at one of the Liga MX ‘Grandes,’ too.”
LAFC advanced to host Rayados de Monterrey on Friday in the Rose Bowl. RSL has a dozen days off until resuming MLS play Sunday, Aug. 20 against the LA Galaxy at Stubhub Center in Carson, California.