Palacio delivers again to lead RSL by Atlas in Leagues Cup opener
Palacio scored the match-winner a minute after his introduction, and Anderson Julio also scored a goal as Real Salt Lake opened the 2024 Leagues Cup with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Atlas FC.
Nelson Palacio is That Dude.
Palacio scored the match-winner a minute after his introduction, and Anderson Julio also scored a goal as Real Salt Lake opened the 2024 Leagues Cup with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Atlas FC in front of 20,956 fans in Sandy, Utah.
Atlas edged Salt Lake 14-13 in shots, but matched the hosts with six shots on target apiece. The visitors completed just 77% of their passes to RSL’s 87%, and apart from the early moments, controlled possession.
But Atlas struck first through Luis Reyes’ left-footed strike in the 26th minute, lifting the visitors to a 1-0 advantage that held up through first-half regulation.
But Julio wouldn’t let the RSL trail at halftime, rising up to connect with Andrés Gómez’s cross inside the box in the second minute of stoppage time for a 1-1 halftime stalemate.
Suddenly, the momentum shifted — almost in an instant, or at least through a trip to the locker room.
“The momentum shifted, because there was belief again,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “They (Atlas) did a really good job of taking the emotion out of the game … (with) gamesmanship that you encounter in international competitions. We’ve got to learn from that, but it was good momentum coming into the locker room and we could fix some of the tactics.”
Added Justen Glad, who assisted on the match-winner in a full 90-minute performance: “It was huge for us. Any time you can get a goal going into the half and get back on even terms, it’s a little different feeling. I think we felt the whole season that it doesn’t really matter if we go down early; we know the goals are coming. Tonight was no different.”
The Colombian midfielder was introduced to the crowd as a 78th-minute substitute for Braian Ojeda, and less than a minute later ripped a short pass from Glad into the upper 90 from distance for a golazo that put Salt Lake in front of the first time.
Did Glad take credit for the goal? Only in jest.
He probably wasn’t even telling him to shoot, he joked afterward.
“I was almost going to tell him not to shoot it, because he was 40 yards out,” Glad said. “But once he took that touch forward and put his head down, I knew he was going to shoot it.
“What a golazo that was; an incredible strike.”
Palacio doesn’t score much. But just like he did May 25 at FC Dallas to equalize 3-3, the reservist seems to only score bangers.
“I think in the last six weeks, Nelson’s really turned it up,” Mastroeni said. “He’s coming into form at a great time. He does shoot from distance, but that’s how those usually work from 40 — you’ve just got to get good contact and keep it under the bar. I’m super happy for him; it validates all of the work he’s doing.”
RSL will travel to Houston to face the Dynamo in a Leagues Cup finale for both clubs Monday at 7 p.m. MT (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). RSL will win the group with a win or draw.