Real Salt Lake had no trouble finding the back of the net in the Wednesday evening friendly against EFL Championship side Burnley F.C., earning a 4-1 win in front of a lively home crowd of 16,766 fans at America First Field.
RSL secures three second-half goals
Entering the mid-week friendly, Uruguayan wing-back, JuanMa Sanabria was featured in Head coach Pablo Mastroeni’s starting lineup, stepping onto the pitch with RSL for the first time since representing his country at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Just six minutes in, Burnley was awarded a shot from the spot but Rafael Cabral showcased his presence between the posts, making the penalty save to keep the match scoreless. Just before halftime, MLS rookie Sergi Solans was able to break through the defense for the 1-0 lead. After conceding a goal in the 55th minute, the home side responded just seven minutes later with a beautiful one touch shot by RSL’s young star Zavier Gozo assisted by Solans. Recently acquired Georgian MF Saba Lobjanidze entered the pitch in the 70th minute making his unofficial debut in an RSL kit. Solans secured a brace in the 73rd minute and just nine minutes later, RSL starlet Diego Luna converted a penalty, lifting the home side to a 4-1 victory against the English side.
Quotable:
“The benchmark is every intrasquad, or friendly, you know we played Nashville and Minnesota and for me, my benchmark in these matches is to learn from all these games and what I always want overall is the competitiveness, the fight is a non-negotiable for me,” Mastroeni said. “To come out and play hard and fight for your fans is necessary, and tonight the guys came out and did that tonight.”
Game summary
After finding multiple scoring opportunities throughout the first half, Real Salt Lake was able to break through in stoppage time, after Morgan Guilavogui received the ball. The French FW took a touch before splitting the defense with a perfectly weighted ball for Solans who secured the finish into the bottom corner of the net. In the 55th minute, the visitors were able to equalize following an attempt by RSL to clear the ball from its box. After Gozo’s goal to regain the lead, Greek DF Alex Katranis subbed on in the 68th minute wasting no time to make an impact, assisting Solans in his second goal of the evening with a pass through the middle in the 73rd minute. Solans ended the evening with two goals an assist, and the penalty by Luna helped to further secure the win for RSL.
Up next
Real Salt Lake returns to MLS regular season play for the first time in almost two months next Wednesday, July 22nd against LAFC. The Claret-and-Cobalt will open up the second half of its season on the road at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Kickoff for the matchup is slated for 8:30 p.m. MDT and will be streaming on FOX Sports One and AppleTV+.
