A Moment Of Brilliance From Diogo Gonçalves Pushes Real Salt Lake Past Portland
Jul 16, 2025, 11:07 PM
Real Salt Lake midfielder Diogo Gonçalves (10) battles with Portland Timbers midfielder Cristhian Paredes (17) for the ball as they play at America First Field in Sandy on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sang the national anthem prior to the game.
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Despite a rough start to the MLS Season, Real Salt Lake have been on a hot streak as of late and are undefeated in their last four matches, dating back to June 14. They also just got a key piece back in their lineup with the return of forward Diego Luna from international duty.
Luna is returning to the Claret and Cobalt in fantastic form, having scored three goals in the knockout phase of the Gold Cup, which helped the USMNT greatly en route to a Gold Cup Final appearance.
While Luna was away, homegrown product Zavier Gozo and new additions Johnny Russell and Willy Agada have pushed Real offensively.
With a string of good showings behind them, Real Salt Lake is back in the mix in the Western Conference and was looking to continue the climb in the standings, taking on the Portland Timbers on the road in Oregon.
Views from the away pitch pic.twitter.com/5LeBCiPlXO
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 17, 2025
First Half
It was physical early between Real Salt Lake and Portland, with Santiago Moreno picking up the early foul for the home side, a pattern that would continue throughout the first half.
After the initial whistle on Moreno, referee Alexis Da Silva let the two sides go at each other freely in the early going, with several occasions of players going down to the pitch with no foul given.
As both teams settled into the match, Portland was clearly the more dangerous side in the first 15 minutes, but the back line of the Claret and Cobalt was able to hold strong, not allowing a shot on goal throughout the early going.
The game’s physicality took its toll in the early going when Justen Glad went down with an injury and was required to receive medical attention on the sideline, forcing Real Salt Lake to defend a dangerous Portland set piece with only ten men, a task that they managed.
Despite the strong defensive hold, Real Salt Lake was unable to clear the ball from Portland’s half, let alone hold any possession, but after some tense minutes, Diego Luna was able to create Real’s first real chance of the match as he carried the ball into the box with youngster Zavier Gozo by his side, but the pair was unable to convert.
It seemed there was a momentum shift as the game crested the 20-minute mark and RSL started to hold the ball in their offensive half more. In the 22nd minute, Real’s forward group passed the ball back and forth close to a dozen times at the top of the box, but they were unable to find a clean passing or shooting lane.
Real Salt Lake’s press was also working, as a turnover fell to the feet of Willy Agada, who nearly chipped the Portland keeper for the game’s first goal.
At the half-hour mark, the possession stood at exactly 50/50, and very little of it happened in the midfield, with a lot of bouncing back and forth between the two teams’ boxes.
In the 37th minute, Diogo Gonçalves sent a cross from left to right across the face of goal to the back post, but nobody was home for the Claret and Cobalt.
In the 40th minute, the first shot on goal of the match finally developed as Portland’s Kevin Kelsy sent a ball toward the net, but Rafael Cabral played it perfectly, coming off his line to make a kick save and keep the scoreline even.
The first booking of the night occurred just before halftime when Brayan Vera put his weight into a Portland attacker, sending them to the ground, earning a yellow card.
Despite the physical action in the Pacific Northwest, the teams went to the halftime locker room tied at zero.
scoreless at the break#PORvRSL | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/lrRnWoHymm
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 17, 2025
Second Half
The physicality continued out of the gates of the second half with Pablo Ruiz picking up a yellow card just seven minutes into the second, but the pace definitely slowed compared to the first half.
The two tired teams seemed to need a minute to settle into the second half, but there was finally a breakthrough for Real Salt Lake when Diego Luna found a hole in the defense and opened the field up for Zavier Gozo. He dribbled around his defender and into the box, but the golden chance quickly turned into a counterattack for Portland going the other way.
Ariel Lassiter looked to be close to scoring for the Timbers on the breakaway before Noel Caliskan made a risky challenge that very well could have drawn a penalty, but the whistle was ultimately not blown.
In the 68th minute, the Portland keeper was lazy with his ball ahead, which ended up being stolen by Diego Luna less than 30 yards from goal. Luna did well to find an opening in the near side of the box, but his left-footed strike sailed just over the crossbar.
In the 76th minute, Luna once again found himself in the center of the action when a solid strike from Diogo Gonçalves was saved by the diving Portland keeper, resulting in a rebound change, but Diego was in an offside position, with the flag going up after he had put the ball into the back of the net.
The physical nature of the match once again called Justen Glad’s number when he took an inadvertent elbow to the head on a Portland corner kick in the 77th minute, resulting in a steady stream of blood running down his face. The injury forced Glad off with Philip Quinton taking his place.
As the game entered its last ten minutes, Real Salt Lake and Portland Timbers seemed destined for yet another draw, but it only takes a moment to win a match, and Diogo Gonçalves found his.
The play started with a Portland turnover, and Diogo found the ball in the midfield as he was already running toward goal. He sent the ball up to Ari Piol at the top of the box and continued his run to the far side of the box. Piol put a pass behind the sleeping Portland defenders, finding Gonçalves, who sent a rocket, beating the keeper with pace on the near post, breaking the deadlock and giving Real Salt Lake the late lead.
The strike was good for Diogo’s second goal in the last three games and his third of the season.
Diogo Gonçalves scores his second goal in three matches and gives @realsaltlake a 1-0 lead late on the road #RSL | @kslsports pic.twitter.com/5aw9CaLqjO
— RSL Show on KSL 🎙️⚡️ (@rslshow) July 17, 2025
Real Salt Lake survived the seven minutes of stoppage time, snatching an important three points and notching their first win at Providence Park since 2017.
Chopped them downnnn#PORvRSL | @SelectHealth pic.twitter.com/xXWSCBRGoO
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 17, 2025
How To Watch Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake hops on a flight to Portland, Oregon, to take on the Portland Timbers on Wednesday, July 16. Kickoff at Providence Park is at 8:30 p.m. MT.
All Major League Soccer games are broadcast on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.
All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2024 season and beyond will be carried on various KSL radio signals. KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) are both stations under the Bonneville International umbrella.
For more Real Salt Lake coverage and analysis, subscribe to The RSL Show and follow them on Instagram.
You can find KSL Sports coverage of Real Salt Lake here.
