Real Salt Lake returns home as Leagues Cup opens with Tigres showdown

SANDY — Real Salt Lake spent three consecutive road matches learning how to suffer. Now it wants to remember how to attack.

RSL returns to America First Field for the first time since mid-May on Tuesday night, opening Leagues Cup against Liga MX power Tigres UANL. The match begins a stretch of five home games in 15 days, including three Phase One matches against Mexican opposition.

Real Salt Lake collected one road point from three matches since the FIFA World Cup break, following losses at LAFC and Portland and a 1-1 draw Saturday at St. Louis City SC.

Each match exposed a different problem. Against LAFC, RSL paid for defensive lapses in transition. In Portland, a first-half red card left it defending for nearly an hour before conceding twice from corners. Against St. Louis, the Claret-and-Cobalt rediscovered their defensive compactness but struggled to play their way back out.

“I think we had a great game defensively,” goalkeeper Rafael Cabral said after Monday’s training. “With the ball, we should be better. But defensively, we did a great job.”

Movement before the pass

Real Salt Lake entered Saturday’s match determined to avoid the defensive mistakes that had punished it in Los Angeles and Portland. 

St. Louis controlled 67% of possession and attempted 20 shots, but only four reached the target. RSL remained organized behind the ball, denied central penetration and patiently waited for its opportunity.

Newcomer Saba Lobjanidze helped create it, slipping a backheel through to Sergi Solans for the rookie’s team-leading seventh goal of the season.

“We were in a low block for too long in that game,” Mastroeni said Monday. “That’s definitely not who we want to be, but understanding that there’s going to be times in the game where you have to suffer, and you have to be calm in that moment where they have the better hand.”

A new era begins

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— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 4, 2026

For several weeks, Mastroeni has emphasized patience and collective discipline. He doesn’t want individual players abandoning the defensive structure to chase pressure they can’t affect.

That doesn’t mean he wants to sit deep for 90 minutes.

“We still want to be an aggressive team,” Mastroeni said. “We want to be a team that gets after the ball.”

Now RSL must connect those two phases.

Against St. Louis, the Claret-and-Cobalt frequently won possession only to surrender it again before they could expand their shape and play forward.

Mastroeni believes one of the qualities that defines top Liga MX sides is also where RSL has its greatest room for growth.

When possession changes hands, LigaMX attacking players immediately create space ahead of the ball to open a passing lane. 

A forward might take a quick step toward his opponent’s goal, drawing a defender with him, before darting diagonally back toward the ball. That movement creates the angle for the first forward pass, breaks the opponent’s press and allows the team either to attack immediately or simply establish possession.

“The quicker the actions are ahead of the ball, the more dynamic the movement is ahead of the ball, the clearer the option for the player who’s just won the ball is,” Mastroeni said.

Those actions also demand another burst from players who may have just spent 30 or 40 seconds defending. But if they’re willing to make that extra run, one diagonal movement and one forward pass can be enough to escape pressure, step on the ball and begin building the next attack. 

Tuesday’s meeting with Tigres provides an immediate test against attackers who have mastered that movement.

“We’ve got to find a better blend of being able to put pressure on the ball so that we can express ourselves in the best way,” Mastroeni said.

Depth tested immediately

Griffin Dillon fractured his fifth metatarsal in St. Louis and is expected to undergo surgery. With Dillon sidelined and a packed schedule ahead, RSL’s midfield suddenly looks a lot thinner than it did a week ago.

Justen Glad and Emeka Eneli remain unavailable, while Zavier Gozo is questionable after suffering a hip strain during last week’s MLS All-Star Game.

Mastroeni also said after Saturday’s match that Noel Caliskan was “running on fumes” following the three-game road trip.

“You have Juan Arias who is going to get an opportunity tomorrow, which will be exciting,” Mastroeni said after training on Monday. “Pablo Ruiz will get a shot tomorrow as well, which will be really exciting.”

RSL will also draw from the Real Monarchs for additional midfield depth. Mastroeni said either Luca Moisa or Omar Márquez will join the first-team group and could be required to play.

“With Griffin being out, either Omar or Luca is coming into the group for the game,” Mastroeni said. “One of those two will definitely be in the group.”

Rather than filling the lineup with inexperienced players simultaneously, Mastroeni plans to place them alongside established starters who can provide structure and protection.

“The way I look at it is, how do we protect these players that haven’t had a lot of minutes and surround them with guys that have been week in and week out in games?” he said.

Morgan Guilavogui also returns after serving his one-match suspension in St. Louis. Mastroeni said Guilavogui’s strength holding up the ball and Gozo’s speed were both conspicuously absent against CITY SC’s man-to-man pressure.

Gozo was a full participant in Monday’s training, though Mastroeni stopped short of confirming his availability against Tigres.

A familiar continental power

Tigres arrives as one of the region’s most recognizable clubs, but not necessarily one in peak form.

The Monterrey-based side enters Tuesday winless in its last five matches across all competitions. Tigres opened the Liga MX Apertura with a 3-1 loss at Tijuana, drew Atlético San Luis 2-2 and fell 3-2 at Querétaro on Saturday.

Its reputation remains formidable.

“They have a storied history, and I think all that adds to the mystique of this team,” Mastroeni said. “Some of their actions are so high level. They have difference-makers on the offensive end. They have big-time defensive players. They’re just a solid team.”

Cabral, who played in myriad international tournaments in Brazil and Europe, believes the competitive gap between Liga MX and MLS has narrowed significantly.

“Maybe years ago, the difference between Liga MX and MLS was bigger,” Cabral said. “I think now every team can beat anyone. We’ve got to be at our top to win the game. We can beat them, but if we are not at our top, they can beat us.”

Tuesday will mark the fifth meeting between RSL and Tigres.

Real Salt Lake won the first, a 2008 friendly at Rice-Eccles Stadium, but Tigres eliminated RSL from the 2016 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals and earned a 1-0 Leagues Cup victory in Sandy in 2019.

The 2019 meeting became memorable for reasons extending well beyond the result. Brooks Lennon was sent off, Joao Plata struck the post on a breakaway, Nick Rimando repeatedly kept RSL alive, and a cat ran onto the field late in the match, eluding capture as agonized fans watched the clock wind down.

The cat was eventually caught and adopted by then-assistant coach Freddy Juarez. The defeat became Mike Petke’s final match as RSL manager, with Juarez taking over shortly afterward.

This time around, RSL enters with an imposing home record.

The Claret-and-Cobalt are 8-1-0 on Utah soil across all competitions this season, outscoring opponents 22-9. They have also posted a 16-4-2 home record since June 2025.

“Playing at home should give us a certain level of comfort where we’ve performed well all year long,” Mastroeni said.

How Phase 1 works

Leagues Cup features 36 clubs, all 18 Liga MX teams and 18 MLS qualifiers.

Each team plays three Phase One matches against opponents from the other league. RSL will host Tigres on Tuesday, Atlante on Saturday and FC Juárez on Aug. 11.

There are no draws. A regulation victory earns three points. If the match is tied after 90 minutes, it goes directly to a penalty shootout, with the winner receiving two points and the loser one.

The clubs are measured in league-specific tables rather than traditional four-team groups. The top four MLS clubs and top four Liga MX clubs advance directly to the quarterfinals.

Only eight of the 36 participants advance, leaving little margin for dropped points.

The tournament’s top three finishers qualify for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, with the Leagues Cup champion advancing directly to the Round of 16.

For Cabral, the three guaranteed international matches offer the possibility of something he craves: another trophy.

“These three games are so important because three games can become six, seven, eight games to be champion,” he said. “That is exciting.”

How to watch

Who: Real Salt Lake vs. Tigres UANL

When: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 8 p.m. MDT

Where: America First Field, Sandy

TV/Streaming: Apple TV; FOX Sports; Univision

Radio: KSL Sports Zone, 97.5 FM / 1280 AM

Spanish radio: KBMG Latino 106.3 FM