Crew tactical review: Columbus finds out Messi can still shine in Ohio

The Columbus Crew returned home after grabbing a draw in D.C. to face Inter Miami with the Supporters Shield on the line. Columbus had to avoid a loss to keep their Shield hopes alive, while Miami only needed a victory to capture the regular season title. The visitors would strike first with two goals in the last five minutes of the first half. After being taken out of the game for much of the first half, Lionel Messi sprang to life and scored a brace to give Miami the 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

The Black & Gold would answer back immediately after halftime, with Diego Rossi netting a curler. The celebrations did not last long, because miscommunication between Patrick Schulte and Rudy Camacho gifted Luis Suarez a tap-in header to extend Miami’s lead back to two goals. Shortly after, Camacho would be sent off for receiving a second yellow card on a “dangerous” challenge. Cucho Hernandez would cut the lead to one from the spot but could not convert a second spot kick to tie the game later in the match. The game would end 3-2 in favor of the visitors, who clinched the Shield for the first time in their short history.

Putting a couple questionable refereeing decisions aside, this game was electric from start to finish. The Crew had chances to get the job done but fell short in the biggest moments. Let’s dive into all the tactics that went into this highly anticipated Eastern Conference matchup.

Controlling the game

For the majority of the first half, Columbus had complete control of the game and looked like the better team. This is partly the way the Black & Gold changed formation based on the area of the pitch they were in, and Miami’s defensive structure.

The Crew lined up as usual, with a full-strength lineup in their 5-2-3/3-2-5 formation. The biggest difference on offense was the positioning of Alexandru Matan. Since the Romanian has more of an attacking midfield background, he was staggered with Darlington Nagbe to be higher up the pitch.

Columbus utilized three formations in different areas of the pitch. On defense, the Black & Gold went with their classic 5-2-3. In possession/buildup, they switched to a 3-2-5, with Matan as an attacking midfielder. The final formation change happened in Miami’s defensive half. When the Crew got up in that area, they moved into a 1-3-6.

The defending and buildup formations are pretty cut-and-dry. Columbus has used those formations all season, with slight variations. The attacking formations for the Black & Gold tend to change based on who they are playing and the personnel available.

Camacho stayed deep as the lone center back, while Malte Amundsen and Steven Moreira pushed up alongside Nagbe. Matan moved into an attacking midfield role, flanked by the wingbacks and behind the front three.

The Crew knew Miami had some holes on defense. Messi and Suarez were going to essentially be non-factors on the defensive side. Because of this, Miami had to defend in a 5-3-2.

At this point, the visitors had to make a defensive decision. Do they play their three midfielders wide and attempt to cut off passes to the outside, or stay compact and limit passes into the front three? Miami went with the second option, playing their three midfielders very narrow.

This of course gave Columbus space to exploit in the wide channels. Christian Ramirez would often drop into the channel on one side, with Max Arfsten or another attacking coming back on the opposite side. If the Black & Gold got the midfielders to over shift and they were able to switch the ball to the opposite channel, the space would open up to generate really strong attacking chances.

This is exactly what happened on Hernandez’s disallowed goal in the eighth minute. The ball was switched to Arfsten wide by Ramirez. Arfsten drove at the defender and allowed Ramirez to catch up with an overlapping run, freezing both of the near-side defenders. Hernandez snuck his run right behind them, but the ball from Arfsten came too late.

Those are the looks the Crew wanted to get. They wanted to shift Miami to one side and then attack down the opposite channel. With the resisted press that the visitors were going with, Columbus had time on the ball to pass around and find those opportunities.

The combination of the different formation phases and the way the Black & Gold attacked Miami’s defense gave them a chokehold on the game early. Unfortunately for the Crew, they did not take those chances and allowed Miami to fight back, ultimately causing them to lose the game.

Miami’s resurgence

About 35 minutes into the first half, Miami changed up their tactics, especially on the defensive side. The visitors had not shown much of their offensive hand, but that would soon change when their defense was able to get the ball back.

In the opening moments of the game, Miami put forth a highly resisted press, meaning that they would press on certain cues. When the ball was central with Camacho, the defense was keen just to sit, cover their areas, and keep Columbus in front of them. When the ball was played out wide, then Miami would slowly close down that player and attempt to make him play passes backward.

This led to the Black & Gold finding their rhythm, controlling the ball, and getting good looks at goal because of it. Something had to change for Miami, and it did.

Later in the half when the Crew got a throw-in deep in their half, Miami suddenly stepped up and began closing the ball down quickly. This took Columbus by surprise and led to a period of Miami dominance that yielded the visitors two goals.

This change of press tempo and adding more players into the press surprised the Black & Gold, which was exactly what Tata Martino and Miami wanted to do. It is not often that teams change their pressing tactics in the first half without a break in between to discuss it, but this seemed planned.

Miami’s newfound defensive structure and press led to a lot of sloppy mistakes by the Crew. Poor passes, touches, and decisions were made due to the amped up nature of the press, and it gave Miami a foothold in the game.

The defensive side of the game was only one half of the puzzle for the visitors though. Miami still had to figure out how to break down the best defense in MLS to find a goal. What they did was simple really, they went directly and attacked Camacho.

Messi and Suarez are not players anymore that can beat centerbacks with pace, especially Columbus’ defenders. So instead, they had to come up with another way to get around them, which ultimately led Miami to go with a direct approach.

While Suarez may be aging, he is still somewhat physical. And even if he does not win the battle, he is a master at drawing fouls. That led to Miami’s second goal of the night off a Messi freekick.

However, their first goal was more indicative of how they tried to attack the Black & Gold. The Crew did not apply pressure on Miami, so it gave them time to look up and play an aerial pass in behind. Nobody’s first aerial option is Messi, but his ability to bring the ball down while still going forward with momentum made him dangerous.

A lack of communication between Camacho and Amundsen kept the Argentine onside, and then a lucky bounce put Messi in on goal with Schulte. Part Miami brilliance, part luck, but they will all count the same.

From there, that was Miami’s offensive game plan. Even in the second half after the Crew got a goal, the visitors played a long ball into the box. Another miscommunication between Camacho and this time Schulte saw the goalkeeper spill the ball to the head of Suarez. 3-1 Miami.

This game was the perfect storm of tactical adjustments by both sides, controversial decisions, and Columbus effectively shooting themselves in the foot. Sure, the refereeing could have been better and there were a few decisions that changed the game, but the Black & Gold could have ended this game on their own terms. If Arfsten plays the pass to Hernandez quicker, it ends up being a goal. If Schulte and Camacho communicate, it stays a one score game. If Hernandez had buried that second penalty, the game would have become a race to the finish.

There were so many opportunities for the Crew to take this game, and they did not do it. Refereeing and outside factors aside, the Black & Gold lost this game.