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SANDY — Real Salt Lake's unbeaten streak ended after 15 matches with a 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy at America First Field on Saturday.
The bigger loss might be a head injury to MVP candidate and MLS golden boot leader Chicho Arango, however, resulting in his exit from the match in the 21st minute.
The Galaxy — tied with crosstown rival LAFC for second in the West coming into the night — handed RSL its first loss since March 9 as the home team struggled to put shots on frame and looked fatigued after three matches in eight days, including two on the road and one in Canada.
"It was a long week of travel," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said when asked about the team's fatigue. "I think tonight we just weren't sharp with the ball."
Pablo Mastroeni talks about fatigue playing a part in tonight's loss after three games in 8 days and talks about the Chicho injury and other absences. #RSLpic.twitter.com/24IZAuAmjT
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) June 23, 2024
Arango's injury came on an aerial collision with Galaxy defender Martin Caceres in the 16th minute. The star striker exited several minutes later with a towel covering the right side of his face and received 20 stitches due to a "large v-shaped gash."
Anderson Julio entered the match for Arango in the 21st minute on what was deemed a "concussion substitution," but the team said after the match initial evaluations did not diagnose a concussion for the 29-year-old Colombian.
RSL still managed to dominate possession and offensive chances for the remainder of the match, but just four of its 14 shots made it on frame in what Mastroeni described as a "toothless" attack.
LA took advantage of the missed opportunities with a distance shot in the 74th minute from Gabriel Pec that smashed through Zac MacMath's hands and into the back of the net for the game-winner.
"This felt like a game where the team that made a play was more likely to get the result," Mastroeni said. "And (LA) made a play."
The Claret and Cobalt now sit at 10-3-7 (Win-Loss-Tie) in a three-way tie for first in the West with the two LA teams and have a bye week before another home match against the Houston Dynamo on July 3 at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
