Three Takeaways from LAFC’s 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake.
Los Angeles FC got back to winning ways on Saturday night. The visitors held on for a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake to register their fourth win of the 2021 Major League Soccer regular season. Jose Cifuentes’ goal in the 69th minute proved to be the decisive moment of the march with Eddie Segura also coming up with a massive goal-line clearance a few minutes later. Here are three takeaways from LAFC’s win.
First road win of the season
It hasn’t been an easy first few away fixtures for LAFC this season. Entering this match, they had a record of 0-3-1 on the road. Struggling to record road victories was a theme last season as well with LAFC winning just one regular-season match away from home.
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Against RSL on Saturday, they showed a resolve that could result in a much better away record this time around. It was a hard-fought team effort to get all three points and is something the club can build off of moving forward this season. They have let two leads slip away in the second half of away fixtures this season and they were able to avoid a third match where this scenario occurred.
An interesting statistic from this away match is that Rio Tinto Stadium continues to be an MLS stadium where LAFC has had consistent success. They have now won in four of their last five visits to Utah.
Romero picks up another clean sheet
Tomas Romero registered his second clean sheet in his last three appearances. The LAFC goalkeeper had three big saves to help his club pick up a road victory. Two of his notable saves included denying Albert Rusnak’s long-range effort in the 57th minute and then stopping a shot from Maikel Chang in the 63rd minute. He was certainly one of the key players for LAFC in the win over RSL.
Cifuentes is off to a great start in 2021
It’s been a great start to the 2021 season for Cifuentes. The Ecuadorian midfielder has scored three goals and registered one assist in 11 appearances. He has already surpassed his goal-scoring numbers from last season when he scored one goal in 18 appearances. With his goal against RSL, Cifuentes is now tied with Corey Baird and Diego Rossi for the team lead in goals. He has certainly been one of the most improved players for LAFC so far this season and it could be a breakout campaign for the 22-year-old.