Real Salt Lake's road trip went from bad to worse Saturday night.
Morgan Guilavogui set up Juan Manuel Sanabria's first MLS goal in the 18th minute, then got himself sent off 13 minutes later for kicking Portland's Jimer Fory in the face. Playing a man down for nearly an hour, RSL conceded two Felipe Mora headers off corner kicks and fell 2-1 to the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Saturday, July 25.
The loss dropped RSL to 8-6-2 (26 points) on the season and marked the club's second straight defeat on a three-game road swing that began with a 3-1 loss at LAFC on Wednesday, July 22.
Sanabria scores, Guilavogui self-destructs
Guilavogui threaded a through-ball into the left side of the penalty area for Sanabria's opener. It was the Guinean international's sixth assist of the season.
Less than 15 minutes later, he was gone.
Match officials ruled Guilavogui kicked out his leg and connected with Fory's face, earning a straight red for violent conduct in the 31st minute.
"What they said was he reached out his foot and hit the guy in the face," RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni told reporters after the match. "If that's the case, it's a tough position to put the rest of the group in. There's emotions in the game, and we've got to be able to maintain our poise."
Guilavogui has logged six goals and six assists in roughly 900 minutes across 14 matches this season, but also 17 fouls, four yellow cards, and the red. He will miss RSL's next match at St. Louis City SC on Saturday, August 1, and will sit one yellow away from an accumulation suspension when MLS play resumes Saturday, August 15, against Minnesota United.
Mora punishes RSL on set pieces
Portland dominated possession after the red card, out-shooting RSL 25-7 overall with seven shots on target. Mora, playing what the club confirmed as his final match in a Timbers jersey with a reported move to Atlético San Luis pending, made the numerical advantage count.
His first header came in the 56th minute off an Ariel Lassiter corner. His second arrived in the 67th minute, glancing a Kristoffer Velde in-swinger inside the far post to give Portland its first lead.
Mastroeni was blunt about the defensive breakdowns: "To concede two goals on set pieces is really poor. Our zone on the front line did a really poor job of attacking the ball, and left a very dangerous player to knock two in."
Victor Olatunji nearly rescued a point for RSL in stoppage time, but his finish was ruled offside by the assistant referee.
What's next
Defender Noel Caliskan, who was drafted by Portland in 2023 before joining Real Monarchs and eventually signing a multi-year extension with RSL, urged perspective after back-to-back road losses.
"We can't get too low after a loss, and stay the course," Caliskan said. "We have a lot of games left to play."
RSL closes the road trip Saturday, August 1, at St. Louis City SC (6:30 p.m. MT, Apple TV). The club then returns to America First Field in Sandy for three Leagues Cup home matches: Tigres UANL on Tuesday, August 4 (8 p.m. MT); Atlante CF on Saturday, August 8; and FC Juárez on Tuesday, August 11.
