The Columbus Crew returned to MLS league play on Saturday, heading into the nation’s capital to take on DC United. After a trip to the White House to celebrate their 2023 MLS Cup title, Columbus came out with a very strong lineup only two changes different from their XI that went against Club America. DC would strike first, with Christian Benteke scoring in the 30th minute to continue his Golden Boot chase. Two spectacular goals by the Black & Gold would give them the lead in the second half, but DC’s big Belgian striker would score his brace to end the game in a draw. A tie is not the worst result in the world though, as the added point sees the Crew leapfrog FC Cincinnati into second place in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.
There is still a level of continuity from Wilfried Nancy’s tactics, but he did tweak a few things to combat DC. Let’s dive into those tactical changes that gave Columbus a point.
The positioning of Max Arfsten
One of the Black & Gold’s best storylines of this season is the play of Max Arfsten. A low-level backup last season, Arfsten has solidified himself as a starter at the left wingback position. Given his technical skill and ability to play with both feet, he can line up anywhere on the pitch and be comfortable.
Nancy took that into account, tweaking Arfsten’s offensive position as opposed to playing him out on the wing. Against DC, Arfsten would have a more central role, alongside central midfielder Darlington Nagbe.
The reasoning for pushing Arfsten in is based on personnel, but also tactics to go against DC. The inclusion of Alexandru Matan in the starting lineup meant either Matan was going to play alongside Nagbe in central midfield, or he was going to move into an advanced position like a no. 10.
When the Crew attacked, Matan would do that latter and move into an attacking position. This left Nagbe alone as the lone defensive midfielder, with Matan up in the attacking midfielder role.
Now why Arfsten? We have seen Steven Moreira and Malte Amundsen move into the midfield, so why did Columbus not do that? Again, this all comes back to Matan’s positioning.
When the Romanian moved forward, he cheated towards the right side of the field. He stayed closer to Farsi and whichever attacker was on that side. Moreira did move up into the midfield on the right side of Nagbe, which formed a 2-3-1-4 formation.
So that is the positioning reason, but there was a tactical reason for Arfsten’s midfielder move as well. DC United lined up in a 5-4-1, with Benteke as the focal point of the attack. They were content to absorb pressure, force a turnover and counter with pace. Because of the nature of DC’s playstyle, Nancy opted to always keep two centerbacks deep to have a buffer against the counterattack.
Having Arfsten and Moreira in the midfield meant the Black & Gold not only had a balanced formation, but they also had multiple avenues of attack. With Diego Rossi drifting out wide to assume a left winger position, he could now combine with Arfsten making an underlapping run inside. Same thing with Moreira and Arfsten on the right side.
This also created some unique opportunities for the front three to drop in more and become interchangeable with Arfsten and Moreira. Cucho Hernandez became a facilitator throughout the match, dropping in deep and spraying passes all over the field. When this happened, Moreira and Arfsten were freed up to make runs into the attacking third as an extra attacking option.
Again, the capability of these players to assume different positions is what makes this Crew team so special. There is a lot of talk about how deep this Columbus team is, but they also have players who can cover multiple positions, and that is why they are so deep. Nancy and the front office have unlocked the secret to building a championship-caliber team and making that squad deep with players who are multifaceted. We saw another example of it on Saturday night, with Arfsten playing in the midfield.
DC United’s tactics
Although the Black & Gold had tactics to combat DC, the home side had some tricks up their own sleeve that helped them grab a draw in this game. Despite being out-possessed, DC still found a way to generate good attacking chances and score goals against MLS’ top defense.
They did this by playing the way so many other teams tried to play against the Crew, going direct and countering quickly. Opponents of Columbus have tried this in the past and mostly failed, buy DC did so very well and ended up with two goals to show for it.
The first and most obvious reason was having Benteke up top. The ultimate hold-up striker was able to fend off Rudy Camacho and the other centerbacks so that DC could advance up the field. Often, teams do not have strikers who can hold up the ball well enough to get into an attack against the Black & Gold. Benteke’s large frame and experience gave the home side that chance, which allowed their faster players to make overlapping runs in behind a recovering Crew defense.
The second big reason was DC’s comfortability on the ball. Columbus’ press often ruffles their opponent’s feathers and causes them to play quickly and out of control. DC looked comfortable on the ball and were always fast to look for the next pass. One way to beat the Black & Gold’s pressure is by rapidly passing around them and moving into vacated spaces, which is exactly what DC United did.
On the defensive side, DC had plans for the Crew as well. On of the big things they did was press immediately on Columbus’ touch. This very much mirrored what the Black and Gold like to do, especially when passes go into attacking players facing away from goal.
This pressure was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it kept attackers who took bad touches at bay. One poor touch and the DC defense would be able to recoup the ball and go forward. On the other hand, it opened space in behind the defense for the Crew to exploit with quick one-twos. When Columbus has attackers who can play out wide like Hernandez and Rossi, this is a big risk for DC.
The other defensive tactic DC utilized was being over-aggressive on jumping the Black & Gold’s passing lanes. The home side did their homework and analyzed the Crew’s typical patterns of play and were able to capitalize off that. Too often Columbus played a ball direct to a pressing DC defender who simply stepped in front of the intended target. It’s simple film study, and DC made sure to prioritize every film session they had available to them.
In the end, DC was caught out by a brilliant strike from Hernandez and a super header from Russell-Rowe, but they will be feeling good to get a draw against the Black & Gold. On the other side, the Crew will be content with a draw heading into the final stretch of this season.
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