- Real Salt Lake lost 2-1 to New York Red Bulls in a chaotic match.
- Zavier Gozo scored early for RSL, but Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting equalized.
- Controversial officiating decisions, including VAR reviews, influenced the game's dramatic outcome.
HARRISON, N.J. — There was no shortage of excitement in Real Salt Lake's first trip to face the New York Red Bulls since 2019.
The road team got the scoring started early with a quick build-up from Diego Luna to William Agada, who then found Zavier Gozo sprinting into the box for the finish and a 1-0 lead for RSL in the third minute.
"Diego played a good pass to Willy (Agada) through, and I'm just running to give Willy support," Gozo said. "He slips me the ball, and I put it through the keeper's legs."
It was the third goal of the MLS season for Gozo, tying him with Diogo Goncalves for second on the team behind Luna's eight.
New York fired back almost as quickly to start the second half, however, as Emil Forsberg found Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in the 52nd minute to tie things up at 1-1.
The real drama was saved for the final 10 minutes, however, as Choupo-Moting went down in the box on a challenge from Brayan Vera and earned a penalty kick, only to launch a soft lob right into the hands of Rafael Cabral in the 84th minute.
Seconds later, a grapple between Luna and New York's Kyle Duncan that brought both players to the ground resulted in a second yellow for Luna and an ejection from the match in the 85th minute.
Now a second yellow here on Diego Luna and he's sent off in the 85th minute pic.twitter.com/IMKET4EBXB
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) August 10, 2025
Referee Ricardo Fierro then went to the video monitor and issued Duncan a straight red card for "violent conduct" during the takedown of Luna, casting doubt on the initial card given to Luna. Second yellow cards, as in the case of Luna's ejection, are not reviewable by the referee under current rules.
"I was so confused," Cabral said of the cards given out. "I think the foul was for us, and he gave the red card to Diego."
The officiating wasn't finished, though, as Fierro stopped the game, once again, in the eighth and final minute of stoppage time to give Choupo-Moting another penalty, this time called on Justen Glad.
There appeared to be a possible handball on Choupo-Moting in the lead-up, but Fierro told players he did not have a conclusive camera angle on yet another VAR review.
The 36-year-old German-born striker proceeded to convert his second opportunity from the spot to give New York the 2-1 win in the final seconds of Sunday's showdown at Sports Illustrated Stadium. RSL has not won a road game against the Red Bulls since 2012, drawing once and losing four times in that stretch.
"The longer that I experience VAR, the further I am from understanding what it is," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "They only have certain camera angles from certain parts of the field, so your guess is as good as mine. The last 15 minutes of that game was craziness."
RSL stays on the road for its next MLS matchup, going to Charlotte, North Carolina, next Saturday for the first time to face Charlotte FC for just the second time in its four-year history, following an initial 2023 tilt in Sandy.
