The Columbus Crew opened up the 2023 season with a 4-1 loss to the defending Eastern Conference champions Philadelphia Union. The Black & Gold would go up in the first half due to a Union own goal, but the home side would rattle off four unanswered goals, two of them penalties, to take all three points.
The Crew looked strong in the first half, but lost momentum in the second half, allowing the Union to take control. This game marks the beginning of the Wilfried Nancy era in Columbus, and with that comes a new set of tactics. Let’s dive in.
Playing in a 3-4-2-1/5-2-2-1
The biggest change from last season was the formation that the Crew lined up in on Saturday night. In the Berhalter and Porter eras, fans were used to seeing a 4-2-3-1 formation week in and week out.
Nancy, however, brings a big change because he usually prefers to play with three center backs and two wing backs. On Saturday, the defensive core consisted of Degenek, Quinton and Moreira in that central defensive role, with Will Sands and Mo Farsi in the wingback positions.
Wingback will be a position to keep an eye on as the season progresses, because Nancy’s system relies on those backs getting high into the attack, but also supplying defensive cover in transition.
Nagbe and Morris playing the two defensive midfielders was not a surprise, but in front of them they had two attacking midfielders, Lucas Zelarayan and Alexandru Matan.
Zelarayan and Matan would play almost positionless in attack, roaming from sideline to sideline and being able to create freely. They would often switch sides just based on the runs they were making and let those dictate where they were on the pitch.
Cucho Hernandez was the lone striker up top, and he played into what Zelarayan and Matan was doing as well. The front three would often press as a group as soon as the ball was turned over, not allowing Philadelphia to have too much time to settle on the ball.
Fans should expect to see more of this formation going forward in some capacity or another due to Nancy’s preferred system. Fans should also expect this team to get much better as time goes on. With new tactics comes new learning curves, and this team just needs time to get comfortable in their coach’s system.
Offensive strategy
In the first half, the Crew looked like a well-oiled unit, defending and attacking with purpose and even grabbing the opening goal. The second half was a different story, but the way Columbus went forward offensively was very promising.
The offensive emphasis for the Black & Gold was attacking down the wings and then getting a high number of players up in possession.
To attack the width, often the outside center back (usually Steven Moreira) would form a triangle with the defensive midfielder and wingback. This created a numerical advantage in that area and with the right combination gave the Crew an opportunity to move up as a unit.
Once they were into Philadelphia’s half of the field, Columbus would commit eight out of the ten field players forward to assist in the attack. The only players who stayed farther back was Degenek and Quinton. Since Moreira has the background of being a right back, he would go up from his right center back role to provide another attacking option.
When the Crew got into these situations, they were on the front foot. They looked more comfortable on the ball and were making some good combinations, it just fizzled in the second half. Conceding four straight goals is a blemish, but this can be a dangerous offensive team once things click.
Defensive strategy
The staple of Columbus’ defense on Saturday was having a disciplined high line that would catch the Union offsides. The Crew caught Philadelphia offsides nine times, an amount that was frustrating to the crowd at Subaru Park.
This high line was what contributed heavily to the Black & Gold’s success in the first half because the home side could not seem to figure it out. Of course, Jim Curtain made some smart switches at halftime and the offsides reduced dramatically and resulted in the Crew getting blitzed.
The other defensive key was how the Crew pressed. As soon as the ball was turned over Columbus switched into a high intensity press to try and win the ball back immediately. The good thing about having numbers in attack is that you have more bodies to press with if the ball does get turned over.
When Philadelphia was able to sustain possession for a period of time, the Black & Gold would still apply pressure with the front three. Typically, two players would press up onto the Union center backs, while the third player would mark the splitting midfielder so Philadelphia couldn’t break lines as quickly.
The problem with pressing after losing possession is if players overcommit. This was the case on the Union’s second goal. After Zelarayan lost possession, Nagbe and Morris stepped up to try and win the ball back and got caught out by a pass that split them. The gap between the midfielders and defenders was so wide that Philadelphia had a vast amount of space to work with and create, which led to a goal.
With time, these tactical mistakes will be sorted out and learned from, but the reality for Crew fans is that we have to allow players to make mistakes and learn if this team is ever going to challenge for a title.
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