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CHICAGO — Chicho Arango announced his arrival in Utah in July with a 4-0 win. He announced his return to the forefront of the MVP discussions Saturday with another 4-0 win.
RSL took the field in Chicago without six of its players, including the two starting center-backs, but Arango channeled the adage, "the best defense is a good offense" with two goals in four minutes sandwiched between a pair of goals from rising stars Andres Gomez and Diego Luna to secure the victory.
"I just think goals change games," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "When you score goals, one team gains confidence, gains momentum, and the team that concedes is paddling up the river a little bit."
Gomez started off the action with a goal in the 24th minute, and Arango caught the Chicago defense sleeping twice, in the 33rd and 37th minutes, to give RSL a 3-0 lead in a 13-minute span.
One just wasn't enough for Chicho pic.twitter.com/HkR5hvbPkK
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 21, 2024
Luna came on for Gomez in the second half and put the nail in the coffin with an impressive strike during stoppage time at the end of the statement victory.
"Andres had a great first goal, and then Diego ended the game — they were just massive tonight," goalkeeper Gavin Beavers said. "Everybody had good reactions working hard for each other. I think we're just a bunch of dogs that are put together, and we're willing to go out there for 90-plus minutes every game."
The win moves RSL into a tie in points with the LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids at the top of the Western Conference, but a tiebreaker lead in goal differential at plus-7 for RSL puts the club officially in first place.
Friday's trade acquisition, Philip Quinton, made his RSL debut Saturday, coming on for Alex Katranis late in the win.
