Real Salt Lake are not only still alive in Leagues Cup 2026, they're thriving.
The Claret-and-Cobalt produced their second straight blowout victory during Tuesday's Phase One finale, topping FC Juárez, 3-0, at America First Field.
The impressive result gave RSL seven points in three matches behind a 2W-0L-1D record, putting them in the thick of the race for one of MLS's four quarterfinal spots.
“There's a lot of positives to take away from this game,” said head coach Pablo Mastroeni. “We're just different when we're not just focusing on one aspect of the game, but when we're playing free, we're playing for each other.”
Another blowout win
Three days after their 4-0 rout of Atlante FC, Real Salt Lake once again flexed their offensive muscle, this time against a previously unbeaten Juárez side.
DP striker Morgan Guilavogui’s 29th-minute penalty-kick goal put the hosts ahead, and they never looked back.
RSL's dynamic young players led the way in the second half, with Sergi Solans lofting a classy chip over goalkeeper Sebastián Jurado for his second consecutive Leagues Cup goal before Lineker Rodrigues, newly signed from MLS NEXT Pro affiliate Real Monarchs, sealed the result in the 68th minute.
“Our job as coaches is to take the pressure off of players, so that young players can perform at their highest level,” said Mastroeni.
“That’s something that we’ve done a really good job with, given the track record we have with younger players developing."
Solans shines
Solans, who has 7g/3a in 17 league appearances, has quickly established himself as a go-to attacking force alongside Diego Luna in his debut season.
“The Serge goal was world class,” Mastroeni said of the 23-year-old Spanish striker, selected by RSL in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.
“On so many different levels, Sergi has continued to beat his former self. He’s a growth mindset guy. This is special when you have a growth mindset and the talent that Sergi has.”
Leagues Cup future
Salt Lake will now have to wait until the final Phase One fixtures to see if their seven points can see them through to the knockout stage.
In the meantime, they'll look to carry their positive Leagues Cup form into the MLS regular season when they host Minnesota United FC on Saturday (8:30 pm ET | Apple TV).
“We’ve got Minnesota at the weekend, so all attention goes to Minnesota and prep for that game,” Mastroeni said. “I think it’s like any other game. And we talk about results all the time, you’ve gotta do your job and control what you can, and the rest of it you leave to fate and chance.
“Hopefully a little bit of luck, and we’ll find ourselves through to the next phase.”
