The Columbus Crew kicked off its title defense in familiar fashion with a 1-0 victory over Atlanta United. The Black & Gold were on the front foot for much of the first half, grabbing a lead courtesy of a Cucho Hernandez goal in the 27th minute.
The Crew earned a penalty in the second half after Mo Farsi was brought down in the box which forced him to be subbed off due to injury. After Hernandez’s penalty was saved, Atlanta United gained momentum going forward. The Black & Gold weathered the storm to pick up three points on the first matchday of the 2024 season.
Let’s dive into what Columbus did tactically to grab a win over Atlanta.
Attacking down the flanks
Much like last season, the Crew utilized their wide players to generate quality attacking chances. The ability to get both wingbacks high into the attack is priority number one for head coach Wilfried Nancy, and that is exactly what the Black & Gold did well.
When Columbus had possession, both Yaw Yeboah and Farsi pushed high up the field into a winger position. This allowed the backline of Rudy Camacho, Malte Amundsen and Sean Zawadzki to fan out and occupy more space. The attacking trio of Hernandez, Diego Rossi and Jacen Russell-Rowe to stay in the central area of the pitch.
As always, Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris stayed in the center of the pitch to pull the strings.
An added wrinkle to the Crew’s game plan was additional overlaps from the outside center backs. At times in the attacking half, Zawadzki and Amundsen made runs up past the wingbacks to provide another wide option. This meant sometimes Camacho was the only defender back for Columbus. Nagbe and Morris stayed in their defensive midfielder positions, but Nancy threw almost nine players into the attack at times.
This emphasis on using the width of the field worked out for the Crew, directly resulting in Hernandez’s goal in the 27th minute. Zawadzki possessed the ball near the midfield line on the right side of the pitch. A long switch over to Yeboah exposed Atlanta’s defense over-shifting to the right side to combat Columbus’ overload. Yeboah’s touch dragged the visitors’ outside back out of position, opening the space for Rossi behind. Another over-shift by Atlanta left Hernandez unmarked on the back post, resulting in the Colombian’s first goal of the 2024 MLS season.
It is a simple concept, but it is so hard to defend. The number of wide players the Black & Gold get into the attack forces teams to become stretched out formationally. If the defense widens to mark the width, the middle of the pitch is open for the Crew’s attacking trio and midfielders. If the defense stays compact, fast forward 27 minutes into Columbus’ first game to see the result.
Where did the Crew struggle?
Despite picking up three points, it was not a flawless victory for the Black & Gold. After Hernandez’s penalty was saved by MLS veteran Brad Guzan, Atlanta controlled much of the game. Part of this is due to Farsi having to be substituted due to injury, but there were other causes for Columbus’ struggles as well.
One of the most prominent errors was the amount of offside calls that went against the Crew. The Black & Gold had seven offside calls against them compared to Atlanta’s two. This is not a glaring issue due to how attack-minded this Columbus team is, but it is something to watch for over the next few games.
The real issues arose after the penalty miss.
Suddenly, Atlanta gained momentum and generated a few good chances that tested Patrick Schulte. This change of momentum showed up on the stat sheet as well. The Crew only had 49.5% possession in the game, a huge drop from their league-leading average of 57.1% in 2023.
The lack of possession in the second half which allowed Atlanta to get back into the game was due to a few factors. First, the Black & Gold went away from what was working. In the first half, attacking down the wings was prioritized. In the second half, there was more emphasis on attacking through the middle of the pitch.
Not only did this increase the amount of turnovers Columbus gave up, but it proved harder for the Crew to counter-press and win the ball back. This change in attacking avenue could largely be due to Farsi’s substitution, but it also could be explained by a change in the Black & Gold’s defensive tactics.
While protecting a one-goal lead, the wingbacks were a little more hesitant to fly up the field and be caught out of position. This meant there were not as many attacking options available out wide, which meant the Crew had to go through the middle to build the attack. It was a subtle change, but it allowed Atlanta to generate turnovers and get chances at Columbus’ defensive end.
These miscues are easy fixes and will be ironed out with time. Even the defending MLS Cup champions have a little rust from time to time. Stats may indicate that it was a closer game than many anticipated, but the only stat Nancy and the Black & Gold care about is the three points they picked up.
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