Equalling their highest goal total in their MLS history, the Timbers tallied six goals, and so many things went well on the night in a 6-1 win over Real Salt Lake. Felipe Mora, Dairon Asprilla, Yimmi Chará, Diego Chará, Jarosław Niezgoda, and Cristhian Paredes all scored for the Timbers, while Damir Kreilach had the lone goal for Real Salt Lake. The last time the Timbers scored six was a 6-3 win away against the Los Angeles Galaxy on October 7, 2020, just a few weeks after a 6-1 win in San Jose. Tonight is the first time the Timbers have scored six at home in their MLS history.
The Timbers nearly got on the board one minute into the match, when a cross from Claudio Bravo found the head of Bill Tuiloma, but his header would be off the crossbar.
But in the 27th minute, the Timbers would make a counter-attack pay off when Sebastián Blanco made a break down the left side and his cross found the foot of Felipe Mora, who one-timed the shot into the net past Real Salt Lake goalkeeper David Ochoa, and the Timbers had a 1-0 lead. It only took another nine minutes for the Timbers to double the lead, when Dario Župarić played a long ball from the Timbers side of the field that was headed by Dairon Asprilla and past Ochoa into the net, and the Timbers lead had doubled to 2-0.
Then in the 41st minute, Real Salt Lake would pull a goal back when the ball got free in the Timbers box in front of goalkeeper Steve Clark, and Damir Kreilach blasted a shot into the net from close range to make the score 2-1 Timbers, which would be the score at the break.
It didn’t take very long for the Timbers to take their lead back to two goals in the second half, when in the 48th minute, Yimmi Chará played a nice ball into the run of Blanco, who one-timed a pass back to Chará at the top of the box, and Chará would curl a perfect shot into the upper right hand corner of the net, and the Timbers lead had widened to 3-1.
Then in the 68th minute, Yimmi would play a nice pass into the open run of his brother Diego Chará, who easily beat Ochoa with a low shot, and the lead was now 4-1. But the Timbers weren’t done yet, when in the 85th minute, Jarosław Niezgoda played an unintentional give-and-go with Santiago Moreno, and Niezgoda blasted home a high one-timer to widen the lead to 5-1.
But the Timbers would add one more goal to finish their six-pack on the night, when in the 88th minute, Marvin Loría would drop a soft pass to a charging Cristhian Paredes, who blasted a shot over Ochoa for the final goal on the night, and gave the Timbers a resounding 6-1 victory.
Steve Clark had eight saves on the night, while David Ochoa tallied three saves for the visitors.
MATCH RECAP | Portland Timbers rout Real Salt Lake in 6-1 victory | Timbers website
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS | Six different Timbers score as Portland destroy RSL | Sept. 25, 2021 | Timbers website
