The Columbus Crew had an up and down week, losing 4-3 to Orlando City SC last Saturday before bouncing back in dominant fashion against the Chicago Fire 3-1. The Black & Gold’s late, dramatic collapse against Orlando gave fans doubts about the defense going forward, but Columbus responded just days later, holding a shutout to clinch an MLS Cup playoff position.
Columbus’ tactical breakdown at the end of Saturday’s game was followed by an outclassing of Chicago midweek. So let’s dive into some of the tactical decisions in these two games.
What went wrong against Orlando
Giving up three goals in the final 17 minutes plus stoppage time to lose a game is unacceptable at any level. For the Crew, it was an absolute meltdown in the back that happened for a few different reasons.
First, there was a lack of urgency from the defense to attack and clear the ball in the defensive third. Facundo Torres’ goal in the 73rd minute is evidence of this. The ball started with one of the Lions’ center backs, and he just played a long ball straight up the field, hoping to find the run of the striker.
Both center backs Rudy Camacho and Steven Moreira followed the striker instead of communicating, and one of them switching off to attack the ball. This led to Orlando winning the second chance ball and scrambling Black & Gold defense pay to pull within one.
Defensive mistakes happen, but a common theme among Columbus defenders this year has been their lack of fervor in going after aerial balls. Come playoff time, it will be a weakness teams will pick up on and try to exploit.
Second, marking and on-ball defending was extremely poor. Orlando’s first goal on the night was preventable. The Lions’ crosser put the ball in a dangerous area, but it was slow coming in and should have been dealt with.
The breakdown occurred on the backside between Moreira and wing back Julian Gressel. Moreira dropped deeper because he doesn’t have a mark, but Gressel is too slow getting back, which gives Martin Ojeda the goal scoring opportunity.
Columbus also tends to have a bad habit during transition moments to jump into tackles trying to win the ball back despite being outnumbered. This just makes a bad situation worse during a numbers disadvantage. Sometimes playing contain defense and waiting for the cavalry to recover is better than trying to make a hero tackle.
Finally, the defense just ran out of gas. Head coach Wilfried Nancy said after the game that players were cramping and going down on the defensive side of the ball, prompting him to make substitutions. As a coach, sometimes you have to make those tough calls, but the substitutes didn’t do their job in seeing out the game.
If this team can figure out how to kill off games, the Black & Gold will be arguably one of the favorites going into the playoff.
What worked offensively against Orlando
While the defensive calamity was the Crew’s story in South Florida, the offense again produced a three-goal game that put the team in a good position to win.
The object of the offensive game plan early on was to advance the ball down the right flank to Gressel. This meant the Black & Gold shifted into an offset formation favoring the right to create an overload.
Midfielder Aidan Morris shifted towards the right and Gressel stepped up high like a winger. Moreira moved out into a right back position to bridge the gap between him and Gressel. When needed, Morris slid into the half-pivot spot between Moreira and Gressel to help link up the play better as well. Playmaker Alexandru Matan also was positioned more on the right to add another attacking piece to the mix.
This really helped Columbus get the second goal of the game. Orlando had a throw in on the right side, and the Crew retained possession and switched the ball all the way to opposite wing back Yaw Yeboah on the left. Since Orlando was covering the overload, the backside was wide open, allowing Yeboah to slide in a ball to forward Diego Rossi to make it 2-1.
Rossi and forward Cucho Hernandez still had the attacking freedom to roam up front but stayed in the central part of the pitch for much of the game. The attackes occasionally dropped deeper to help with possession, but one of them typically stayed high to stretch the defense.
The Crew’s attack is potent because they can score in every imaginable way. On Saturday, the Black & Gold were able to score by sustaining possession in the attacking third while also having the ability to hit on the counter. This offense is not a one-trick pony. Columbus can hurt teams by knocking the ball around and playing patiently, but they can also hurt opponents on the quick counter.
Adjusting the offense based on the opponent
On Wednesday, the Crew took on the Fire. While not as much of a test as Orlando, Chicago is still a team hovering around the playoff line and looking to make a run. The Black & Gold answered the challenge thanks to an adjusted game plan.
In the first half, it was evident that Chicago wanted to limit Columbus’ chances of building up through the middle. The Fire packed the middle of the pitch and didn’t allow midfielders Darlington Nagbe or Morris to turn and run at the defense. Since Chicago so compact, it left the wings open for the the Crew wing backs.
Because of this, Nancy pushed Gressel and Yeboah higher up the field and essentially played with a back three in possession. Nagbe and Morris occasionally drifted out wide to help bridge the gap, but it was Hernandez, Rossi and Matan who occupied that space more often.
This allowed the speedy attackers to go at the defense from a new angle, pulling the outside defenders in while the wing backs overlapped. Once the wing backs advanced the ball down the side, they could pick out a pass in the box to create chances.
In the second half, the philosophy changed. Down 3-0, the Fire threw more men forward, trying to claw back into the game. This meant the game became more open and the middle opened up as well for Columbus.
Since the space was in the middle, the wing backs pinched in more to find those half spaces inside. After Xherdan Shaqiri’s red card, the outside center backs stepped higher to aid the attack.
This adjustment, and Chicago’s poor play, helped the Black & Gold see out a convincing 3-0 win to clinch an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
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