Player Spotlight: Magical Luna Steals the Show

Magical “Moon Boy” Luna the Star of the Show in Atlanta Demolition

Real Salt Lake 5 : 2 Atlanta United

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Real Salt Lake (12-3-7, 43 points, t-1st West); Atlanta United (6-10-6, 24 points, 10th East)

What Happened?

It was a veritable goal-fest at America First Field on Saturday night for the Western Conference’s early pacesetters. Real Salt Lake (12-3-7, 43 points, t-1st West) continued its red-hot start to the 2024 MLS campaign with a comprehensive 5-2 annihilation of Atlanta United in a seven-goal thriller before yet another standing-room-only crowd at America First Field.

On a night rife with exemplary performers, young playmaker **Diego Luna** emerged as the undisputed star of the show, with a goal and three assists, while Captain **Chicho Arango** netted a record-tying 17th league goal of the season as the Claret-and-Cobalt laid out a statement of intent to potential detractors and challengers for the Western Conference throne.

RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s charges once again put on a pure attacking clinic in the second half, and a lesson in efficient, clinical attacking football.

DF Alex Katranis and MF **Braian Ojeda** each netted their third and second goals of the season respectively, while MF **Matt Crooks** scored the opening goal of the contest after just 43 seconds in front of a raucous crowd of 20,396 at America First Field in a thrilling MLS blockbuster.

Player Spotlight: Magical Luna Steals the Show

Diego Angel Luna. The youngest elder.

How do you define “magical?” Well, a look at Luna’s performance here might be a good start. The 20-year-old, simply put, pieced together a performance that far supersedes literary description, one that really could only have been experienced to be properly felt and understood. Far beyond what mere words alone could ever properly encapsulate. A performance to entice the footballing gods themselves. You just had to be there.

Three assists and one goal on the night deservedly earned him the man-of-the-match award, but this was more than just that. This was a statement of intent from one of the continent’s brightest talents, and a man in arguably the best form of his career. A masterclass of an attacking performance. ¡Qué jugador!

Captain Chicho Arango remains the star man and RSL’s most singular leading light, and very rightly so, but this team is now almost as much Luna’s as it is his Captain’s. Nearly every single successful attack flows through him, and the 20-year-old provided the ultimate evidence of that with a breathtaking display on Saturday night.

RSL’s diminutive creator-in-chief was once again his team's central most creative hub and at the heart of practically everything that went right for the Claret-and-Cobalt going forward.

Picking things up from his performance on Wednesday against the Dynamo, Luna wasted no time in making his mark against Atlanta, providing the assist for RSL’s opener merely 43 seconds into the game. With less than a minute on the clock, the winger was on hand to receive a through ball down the right half-space from Ojeda and deliver a first-time cross into the box to find the late run of Crooks, “Tree” with a first-time finish into the back of the net to get the ball rolling for the hosts.

Luna’s second assist of the game came from an attacking set piece in the second half. In the 68th minute, after Chicho had won a foul high up in the visitor's half, Luna stepped up and delivered a beautifully weighted right-footed lofted ball into the area to find the Captain unmarked at the back post, Chicho heading the ball with precision and power beyond Brad Guzan for the hosts’ third goal of a captivating contest.

It only took another 10 minutes for RSL’s creative magician to notch his third assist of the night. In the 78th minute, and from a simple corner kick routine, Luna played a low, hard pass from a left-sided corner to find Katranis on the inside, the dynamic Greek wingback meeting his teammate's pass with the purest of finishes, a one-time left-footed curler which sailed beyond Guzan’s reach for RSL’s fourth goal of the night.

With his “hat trick” of assists secured, Luna later decided to get himself on the scoresheet, doing so in style. In the 84th minute, RSL substitute Maikel Chang won a turnover in the Atlanta half, driving forward down the right side and sending a cross into the penalty box, finding Luna. On the day his U.S. Olympic dream died, Luna controlled the ball with his chest 15 yards from goal, volleying an effort to Guzan’s near post and into the bottom right corner to wrap up the win and send the Claret-and-Cobalt faithful into ecstasy.

Luna’s three assists in the match now represent his second triple-assist game of the year (March 2, 30 home win v LAFC) and only the fourth time an RSL player has recorded three assists in a single contest in RSL’s 636-game MLS history (Fabian Espindola, 2012; and Pablo Ruiz, 2023). Luna’s 12 assists this season now rank him third in all of Major League Soccer, amongst such luminaries as Cincinnati’s Lucho Acosta (15), Miami’s Lionel Messi (13), and teammate Chicho Arango (11).

In a comprehensive showing, Luna made a total of 35 passes across 90 minutes with an accuracy of 83 percent, including four key passes, with two shots on target, and a personal xG of 0.27 to add to his goal and hat trick of assists. Summarily, a lesson in control and precision.

Chicho Ties Decade-Long Record; Crooks, Ojeda, Katranis all Impressive

Captain Chicho Arango also continued his record-breaking season on Saturday night, a year encapsulated by his goal for RSL’s fourth of the game. In the 68th minute, the 29-year-old lost his marker at the back post and rose highest to head home a cross from Luna, from a free kick for his 17th goal of the 2024 MLS campaign.

With his strike, Chicho tied the Utah franchise’s single-season record of 17 goals, set by Club legend Alvaro Saborio more than a decade ago in 2012. RSL’s captain now needs just one more to break the long-standing mark and claim sole possession of the all-time single-season RSL scoring standard.

The goal also extends the Colombian’s MLS Golden Boot lead to three goals, ahead of both Christian Benteke (DCU) and Denis Bouanga (LAFC), each of whom have 14 goals thus far in 2024.

The trio of Matt Crooks, Braian Ojeda, and Alex Katranis also got on the scoresheet on a night of several notable performances. In the first minute, Crooks was on hand with a late run into the penalty area to steer home a low right-footed strike from Luna’s cross for RSL’s opening goal of the contest after merely 43 seconds, making it the fourth-fastest goal scored in RSL Club history.

Midfield engine Ojeda scored for a second time in as many matches - following his strike v Houston Dynamo - and his second-ever RSL/MLS goal in his 68th game for the club across all competitions, since first joining the Claret-and-Cobalt in Sept. 2022. In the 59th minute, the Paraguayan international reacted quickest following a ricochet in the box from a corner to volley home from close range and re-establish RSL’s lead on the night, continuing his recent impressive vein of form this season.

Fullback Katranis also scored his third goal for the club since joining in February, a sweetly struck left-footed curler from a simple corner kick routine which sailed over the heads of the opposing defenders and curled in beyond the reach of Guzan. Katranis also played an important role in RSL’s second goal, providing the cross into the box which eventually led to Ojeda’s goal on the night.

The win keeps RSL even with LAFC on 43 points atop the Western Conference standings. Pablo’s men now stare down a three-match road trip to Portland Timbers, LAFC, and Colorado Rapids on July 13, 17, and 20, before the MLS All-Star break and then the Leagues Cup kickoff.

Man of the Match: Diego Luna

Important Milestones

• Chicho’s goal tonight represents his 17th this year, tying the franchise single-season record of 17 goals, set by Alvaro Saborio over a decade ago in 2012. RSL’s captain now needs just one more to break and claim sole possession of the all-time single-season RSL scoring mark.
• Matt Crooks’ goal 43 seconds into the match now stands as the fourth-fastest goal scored in RSL Club history, and the fifth-ever RSL goal scored inside of 60 seconds in the Xlub’s 20year MLS history.
• Captain Chicho Arango extends his MLS Golden Boot lead to three goals with his 17th of the campaign, ahead of both Christian Benteke (DCU) and Denis Bouanga (LAFC), with 14 goals each.
• Diego Luna’s three assists now represent his second triple-assist game of the year, and only the fourth time a player has recorded up to three assists in a game in RSL’s 636-game MLS history (Fabian Espindola and Pablo Ruiz in 2012 and 2023); Luna’s 12 assists this season now ranks him third in all of Major League Soccer.
• MF Braian Ojeda earns a goal for the second time in as many matches, and the second MLS/RSL goal in his 68th game across all competitions since first joining the Claret-and-Cobalt in Sept. 2022.