Colorado Rapids humiliated Real Salt Lake in the closing game of Saturday’s MLS schedule. The guests from Commerce City went home with a 5-0 victory.
It was the first triumph for Colorado after three straight 1-1 draws, and what is more important, it came against the direct rivals for the playoff spot. Coming into this match, Real Salt Lake had four points more than the Rapids, who now cut that deficit to one, with a game in hand.
The visitors struck twice in the opening 10 minutes through Diego Rubio, who netted both goals. The Chilean international recorded the first hit after 3 minutes, with a header from nearby, shocking the hosts, who entered this clash as favorites.
The same player doubled the lead seven minutes following the opener, with a nice individual effort and a solid shot that beat Salt Lake’s goalie Andrew Putna.
It seems that the opening shock froze the hosts, who didn’t have a single shot towards the rivals’ net in the first 45 minutes. On the other side, Rapids were all over the place, being in the position to score at least once more.
The worst possible thing happened for the hosts after the break. Four minutes since the kickoff, Sam Vines added another goal for the guests, killing the morale of RSL. We need to mention that Younes Namli assisted to both Rubio and Vines for their hits.
Colorado didn’t stop there but continued to punish the dazzled hosts who were trying to pull themselves together but without any success.
Brian Gavilan raised the Rapids’ lead to 4-0, shortly after he stepped on the pitch. It was his first goal of the season, in which he played just 53 minutes, including last night’s performance.
RSL paying the price for some first-rate jumping the gun.
Rapids put a Nickel on Real Salt Lake in a 5-0 win to take the Rocky Mountain Cup back to Colorado.
Thought the Rapids played well vs. Houston at midweek. That clearly carried over to tonight's romp. https://t.co/rVPXjh4dKb
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) September 13, 2020
Two minutes before the end of the regulations, Cole Bassett sealed the game with a cool execution of Jeremy Kelly’s individual effort.
The game saw a lot of tension, and there were some unpleasant scenes in the Rio Tinto Stadium’s field. Douglas Martinez was brought in at the halftime, but he managed to end his participation in just 19 minutes, receiving a red card.
Also, after the final whistle, players of both teams had disputes on the pitch, which threatened to become physical. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
Real Salt Lake plays its next game at home, on September 19 against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Colorado visits FC Dallas three days earlier.