By Justin Ruderman
Real Salt Lake took three points in their final match of Leagues Cup 2025 with a narrow 1-0 victory over Querétaro at America First Field on Wednesday night, exiting the tournament after Phase One.
The hosts dominated the ball and game flow to the tune of over 70% possession in the first half but neither side was able to generate quality chances. Querétaro sat in a low block, keeping RSL out of the box as best they could. Luckily for Braian Ojeda, he did not need to enter the box to curl his finish into the upper 90 at the far post. The only shot on target in the first half from either team gave the Claret and Cobalt a lead at the break.
The second half was not all that different, with RSL controlling slightly less of the ball and creating even less. In fact, the only shot on target of the half came from Los Gallos Blancos. The match concluded with one shot on target for each team from a combined 0.7 expected goals (xG).
Chances were few and far between as Ojeda’s stunner made the difference to earn Salt Lake’s first outright win of Leagues Cup 2025 as they depart the tournament without a regulation loss.
REACTIONS
- Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni:
- “I think these teams from LIGA MX are very difficult. They play differently than what we encounter in MLS... Overall, this tournament, I think it's a good barometer as to where our league is at and our team against some really good LIGA MX competition.”
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
- Real Salt Lake
- Braian Ojeda: The 25-year-old Paraguayan placed his looping curler where the spiders live to open the scoring.
GAME NOTES
- Braian Ojeda scored a third goal in his last two Leagues Cup games.
- Recent Designated Player acquisition Rwan Cruz made his RSL debut off the bench.
- Querétaro depart Leagues Cup 2025 without a point but avoid a last place finish in the LIGA MX Phase One table.
- Real Salt Lake have been eliminated from Leagues Cup 2025 despite earning their fist regulation victory of the tournament over Gallos Blancos. They finish on six points in Phase One.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards
- Real Salt Lake: Willy Agada, Pablo Ruiz
- Querétaro: Ali Ávila, Francisco Venegas, Juan Robles
LOOKING AHEAD
- Real Salt Lale return to MLS play with a cross-country trip to face New York Red Bulls on Sunday,
- Querétaro are back LIGA MX action on Saturday with a major test, visitng América.
