The Columbus Crew kicked off their 2024 Leagues Cup campaign with a 4-0 drubbing of Sporting Kansas City. Columbus forward Diego Rossi struck twice in the first hour to build a 2-0 lead for the Black & Gold, continuing his hot run of form. Substitutes DeJuan Jones and Dylan Chambost marked their debuts in impressive fashion, scoring the other two goals in the match. Jones’ goal became the fastest debut goal in Crew history, only 20 seconds after he stepped onto the pitch. Columbus’ win now sets them on a crash course with Inter Miami CF, on Tuesday at Lower.Com Field.
The Black & Gold’s win over SKC was very similar to what they did earlier in the year against the same opposition. Let’s dive into all the tactics that went into this win for the Crew.
Running in behind from the half spaces
Columbus’ fluid attack gave Kansas City fits all night, especially in the second half once the Black & Gold found their stride. The main reason for this domination was the types of runs the Crew offense was making.
SKC opted to defend in a 4-4-2, with a flat midfield and backline. In this flat formation, there was five to 10 yards of space in between the defenders and midfielders. This space is where Columbus lived, and how they made Kansas City pay repeatedly.
The first key was to figure out what the visitors’ defensive line would do when the Black & Gold attack would drop deeper into the midfield. Some teams opt to have their defense man-mark and follow those runners, but SKC decided to stay in their defensive shape.
This gave Kansas City a sense of defensive solidity and safety. They were not going to concede by having the Crew pull their center backs out of position and play into the vacated space behind them. That tactic has worked immensely for Columbus this season, but in true Wilfried Nancy form, he had contingency plans.
Since SKC was not following the dropping runners, the Black & Gold could do a few things. The first passage of play they did was play directly into the attackers’ feet. This allowed the attacking player to turn into space and run at the backpedaling defense. With attackers as dynamic as Rossi, Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez, that can be a tricky situation for defenders.
The next step for the Crew was to try and get runners in behind, despite SKC’s reluctance to move forward and expose space in behind. Although they did not want to move up, they were forced to, because they had to defend the turning attacker who had just received the ball.
That is where the runs in behind opened. Because Columbus’ attacking players were dropping 5-10 yards in front of the defense, they were able to get a head start on their runs to blow by the stagnant defenders. This combination of speed and precision is exactly what led to the Black & Gold’s first goal of the night. Hernandez received the ball to feet, and the defense backed off. Rossi then made a diagonal run from right to left across the center backs. The defenders failed to communicate and pick the Uruguayan up, which allowed Hernandez to slot a pass in behind. From there, it was up to Rossi to put the ball away, which he did.
The Crew’s ability to be an attacking Swiss army knife has been lethal for other teams so far this season. That potent attack showed up again on Friday, to the tune of four goals and a knockout stage victory.
The positioning of Sean Zawadzki
Filling Aidan Morris’ shoes was never going to be an easy task. Despite the challenge, Sean Zawadzki has stepped up for Columbus, showing up all over the field on the offensive and defensive side.
Against SKC, Zawadzki flew around the pitch taking up a plethora of different positions. He started off as a central midfielder, but throughout the night he would become an attacking midfielder, wingback, and even a center back.
Starting off with his natural position, Zawadzki lined up as a central midfielder alongside Darlington Nagbe. Although he started in a deeper midfield position, he quickly transitioned into the attacking phase of the game.
Most of this switch is due to how Nagbe likes to play. The MLS veteran enjoys playing a deeper role, spraying passes around the field and controlling the tempo of the game. This prompted Zawadzki to move into a higher attacking midfielder position, shaded more towards the left side.
To balance the formation, Black & Gold attackers would drop into the midfield on the right side, forming an attacking midfield partnership with Zawadzki. Nagbe would complete the triangle by sitting as a central no. 6.
Zawadzki did not stay in the center of the pitch all night though. When the Crew wanted to attack down the left side, the young American shifted out onto the left side as a half-pivot between Max Arfsten and Malte Amundsen. This pushed Arfsten higher and allowed more space for the attackers to drop into the midfield.
Sometimes on that left side, Zawadzki would make overlapping or inverted runs around Arfsten to provide an additional attacking element. In a sense, he became a second left wingback with Arfsten pushed up so high.
With Zawadzki’s adaptability, it is impressive to see how many positions he can take on in one match. This positional fluidity is incredibly valuable to Nancy and the coaching staff, which is why Crew fans should get used to seeing Zawadzki’s name on the team sheet.
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