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The Columbus Crew avenged the team’s loss to Nashville SC earlier in the season on Saturday night, earning a 2-0 win at Lower.com Field. The game marked the fourth straight win at home for the Black & Gold and extended the team’s unbeaten run to five matches. Striker Christian Ramirez opened the scoring for Columbus early in the first half. Despite controlling much of the match, a second goal didn’t come until substitute Max Arfsten forced a Nashville own goal in second half stoppage time. The win puts the Crew in fifth place in the Eastern Conference during the unbeaten stretch. Those who pay attention to tactics might have noticed the Black & Gold tried some new shapes and tactical setups due to the personnel available for this game and it paid off. Let’s dive into those tactical decisions. A different midfield setup Due to Columbus midfielder Aidan Morris being called up for international duty with the United States Men’s National Team for the Gold Cup, the Crew was forced to go with a different midfield trio than what head coach Wilfried Nancy has preferred for much of the season. Nancy decided to insert attacking midfielder Alexandru Matan for Morris, which isn’t quite a like-for-like switch and changed the shape of the midfield. Lucas Zelarayan played in his typical No. 10 with Matan slightly deeper and Darlington Nagbe anchoring the midfield. Because Matan isn’t a true central midfielder, he was tasked with pushing a bit higher and carrying the ball into the attacking third. Zelarayan too contributed in this way, dropping deeper at times, especially after the Crew took the lead. Playing as the lone No. 6 meant Nagbe was afforded more space and freedom to operate in the deeper midfielder. He roamed from side to side and found gaps to help the Blackk & Gold build out of the back. On the defensive side though, he was not left to fend for himself. Matan helped defend in transition to make up for the loss of a Morris. Zelarayan was not tasked with as much defensive work, but Matan did his due diligence to help Nagbe when Nashville was on the ball. On the offensive side, both Matan and Zelarayan dropped to help Columbus build out of the back. Because Nagbe didn’t have another midfielder alongside him to combine with and skirt around the pressing attackers, he needed help from Matan and Zelarayan. Additionally, the outside center backs had different duties when the Crew had possession. Both Malte Amundsen and Sean Zawadzki stepped up to form a cupped backline so that they could be alongside Nagbe to help build and possess. Building out of the back without using the wing backs The Black & Gold’s wing backs have been utilized in a number of different ways throughout this first half of the season, but on Saturday it was all about how they were not used. The object of Columbus’ attack was typically to break lines, get the ball out wide, create numerical advantages and then pick out Cucho Hernandez, Ramirez or Zelarayan inside for an open shot. That philosophy changed a bit against Nashville. While the Crew’s wing backs usually help the team build out of the back, this was not the case on Saturday night. Instead, the wing backs stayed higher up the pitch like true wingers and vacated that space for the midfielders to drop in and receive the ball. Once the buildup reached Nashville’s defensive half, the wing backs operated as normal, overlapping, possessing and crossing the ball. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was that they were not being involved in the buildup play. This could have been done for a host of reasons. Nancy knew that Nashville was stout defensively and likely wanted to attack at a different angle or throw a wrinkle the opponent wouldn’t be ready for. He also trusts his midfielders with breaking the lines, which they often do better than the wide player. Another big reason could be the absence of Morris. If he was alongside Nagbe and Zelarayan was the lone attacking midfielder, the open spaces in attack would be on the sides. Playing with Matan more advanced than Morris typically is, the open space was inside in the channels, rather than out wide with the wing backs. Regardless of the reasons, this new strategy of buildup worked well for Columbus who was on the front foot early on in the match and eventually got the coveted opening goal against a tough Nashville side. How the Crew pierced through Nashville’s tough defense Nashville has one of the most recognizable and effective tactical setups in all of Major League Soccer. The team thrives on being defensively sound and then hitting on the counter attack with former MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar and other potent attacking options. One of the difficulties the Black & Gold had in recent seasons is breaking through that tough defensive tactical setup. On Saturday though, fans got a glimpse of Nashville’s weakness. The Columbus attackers often made the same type of runs, a check and go, and got in behind over and over again. The attacker checked to the ball and drew the marking defender out, and then turned and ran into the vacated space as soon as the defender took the bait. The Crew used this type of run multiple times, forcing Nashville to either continue getting burned or adjust the tactical setup. Although it sounds simple to change, it isn’t. The entire reason Nashville defenders were drawn out is that they didn’t want the duo of Hernandez and Zelarayan to receive the ball in space to shoot from distance. If the defenders don’t step out and press, that dangerous duo punishes them. This is the threat the Columbus attack poses. The Crew has the speed and finishing ability to get in behind, but also the technical ability to score goals from outside the penalty box, and even outside the attacking half. Nashville eventually did adjust and pulled the midfielders deeper so that the defenders didn’t have to jump forward so much, and they still had pressure on the ball. Even so, the Black & Gold still created good chances and ended up taking all three points.

The Columbus Crew snapped the team three-game win streak on Saturday with a 1-1 draw at New York City FC. The Black & Gold went up 1-0 courtesy of a Christian Ramirez finish but conceded in stoppage time to leave with just a point. Columbus played without the team’s best player, Lucas Zelarayan, who was away on international duty with Armenia. However, the Crew still fielded a strong lineup without major changes. Yet again, head coach Wilfried Nancy made minor adjustments based on the opponent but did not change a host of tactics. Let’s dive into what the Black & Gold did tactically against NYCFC Pressing with a stacked midfield Throughout the season, Columbus had the same overall game plan on offense and defense. Offensively, the Crew wanted to keep the ball but also went forward with purpose when the opportunity presented itself. Defensively, the Black & Gold wanted to force City to make quick decisions by pressing and staying sound at the back. While this has been a constant, the fine points and nuances in how that game plan is carried changed in this game. The way Columbus pressed on Saturday had been done before, but not recently. Like in other games, the Crew pressed in a 5-2-3 formation. The front three pressed the ball hard to force the defenders to make a mistake or give up possession with a bad pass. Behind the attackers, midfielders Aidan Morris and Darlington Nagbe had a different job to press to fill all the gaps. The idea is that wherever the ball went, there was a defensive player who can provide pressure on whoever receives the pass. This is why Nancy didn’t have his American midfield duo play next to each other. Instead, Morris and Nagbe played in front and behind each other. Morris’ job was to take away NYCFC’s split option to advance the ball into the midfield. This meant that when the hosts dropped a defensive midfielder back to try and relieve the pressure, Morris simply followed that player. He man-marked the dropping midfielder so he had to pass the ball out wide where the wing backs could pounce. Nagbe’s job was to win the ball when the Pigeons long. When the New York City defense came under pressure and there was no way to play through it, the home side resorted to launching the ball upfield. Whether Nagbe wonn a header himself or collected a second chance ball knocked down from the defense, he wanted to be the one to regain possession. The downside to playing a stacked pressing midfield is the team ran the risk of leaving open space in the midfield that one player can’t handle alone. The Crew combated this problem by playing aggressively. If space opened to the right or left of Nagbe and an opposing player dropped into the space to receive a pass, the center back on that side stepped on his back to not allow a turn upfield. Outside center backs Malte Amundsen and Sean Zawadzki stepped higher, leaving the backline vulnerable. But if they force the attacker to play the ball backward, they could recover. This press plugs all the gaps if it is executed perfectly, but there are times when it breaks down and leads to scoring chances for the opposition. On Saturday, the press didn’t yield any chances that ended its goals, but it was the defensive shell the Crew switched to late in the game that caused them to concede. How Columbus breaks out of presses in the back The Black & Gold are a team that thrives with the ball at their feet, regardless of where that possession is on the pitch. As the season has progressed, Columbus has become more comfortable on the ball and building out of the back, sometimes to the queasiness of their own fans. Against NYCFC, this composure was on full display with the Crew beating New York City’s press with ease at times. The Black & Gold made this look easy based on passing triangles. Soccer is a game that is played in triangles. Often, midfields set up in some form of a triangle, but formations are not the only use for the three-sided shape in the game. A coach will typically set up his team in a formation that has natural triangles, but because of players’ dynamic movement in games, these triangles often form themselves. This idea of creating a space where three players can form this shape is how Columbus is able to break presses calmly. Oftentimes, triangles will form between the outside center back, the wing back and one of the central midfielders. The goal is to get a numerical overloads or to get the opponent to overstep and double-team a play in the triangle so one side will be wide open. This is exactly what happened in the 23rd minute. The Crew played out of the back after winning the ball and two players pressed Amundsen. At that point, he had two options for a pass. The first option was to play that ball out wide to wing back Yaw Yeboah, but he had a defender less than five yards away from him. The second option was to play a split pass through to Morris, which was what the Dane did. The split pass allowed the American midfielder to turn upfield and relieve pressure off the backline. A simple string of passes and options between three players broke a press quickly and effectively. Triangles happen in other areas of the pitch as well. In the attacking half there was a natural triangle formed between strikers Cucho Hernandez, Ramirez and attacking midfielder Alexandru Matan. Granted, the shape of the triangle changed depending on how far Hernandez or Matan goes out of position to receive the ball, but it still is a triangle. A simple geometric shape has been the key to Columbus’ success in building out of the back and turning defense into attack.

The Columbus Crew won in stunning fashion, 2-1, on Saturday night against the Chicago Fire. The Crew wasn’t the best team throughout the game but got two goals from the team’s stars, including an MLS Goal of the Year candidate. After a 0-0 first half, the Black & Gold took the lead midway through the second courtesy of a deflected Cucho Hernandez shot but allowed the hosts to fire back late in the game to tie it up. Lucas Zelarayan’s incredible effort from beyond the halfway line salvaged all three points for the Crew deep into stoppage time. Tactically, the Black & Gold did not change much, but here’s what they did against Chicago. Let’s dive in. Different build up approach Often this season the Crew has had a certain pattern of build up play the team likes to utilize regardless of the opponent. Typically, the Black & Gold try to advance the ball up the wings through the wing backs and then work the ball inside from the flanks. On Saturday though, this approach changed. Columbus possessed the ball in a 3-2-2-3 formation. Wing backs Mohamed Farsi and Yaw Yeboah played higher up the wings, leaving Zelarayan and Hernandez as the dual attacking midfielders. Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris lined up as their typical central midfielders. Due to the wing backs pushing so high up the field, the Fire spread out and restricted balls out wide. This meant that the vacated space was inside. So, instead of trying to get the ball out to the wing backs out of the back, the Black & Gold had to improvise. Columbus ended up going forward through the middle channels of the pitch more. Zelarayan and Hernandez dropped deeper to receive the ball frequently, drawing in the defender marking out wide and freeing the wing backs became. Once the attacking midfielders received the ball, they were free to play it out wide. Because Chicago was so stretched, the space between the pressing attackers and defenders was massive. This allowed the Crerw midfielders to have more time and real estate to create and find passes. This is also a possible explanation for why the Black & Gold were not as potent in attack on the night. They did get their goals, but the Fire disrupted their typical pattern of play causing Columbus to figure out a new way to attack and get forward. Eventually, this did lead to Hernandez’s goal. It will be interesting to see if other teams opt to take away the Crew’s width in this manner and force the Black & Gold to rely on other players to build the attack. This is a double-edged sword though, because it puts the ball at the feet of Hernandez, Zelarayan, Morris and Nagbe. Why the new Columbus backline aides the offense In recent games, the Crew has playing a back-five system with zero true center backs in the lineup. This was the case on Saturday. And the crazy thing is, the Black & Gold won three straight using that backline. Nobody could have guessed that a defensive partnership between Steven Moreira, Sean Zwadzki and Malte Amundsen would be successful, but those three players have helped out the Columbus offense. In the past games that those three have played, the offensive approach has changed. Against the Fire, Zwadzki and Amundsen got higher up the field and formed a cupped backline with Moreira. This means that the Frenchman was deeper for emergency defensive purposes, but the other outside center backs pushed forward to help possess in the opponent’s defensive half. Basically, Zwadzki and Amundsen played as a pivot position on offense. They step up higher and bridged the gap between Moreira and the wing backs. It helps that these two aren’t true center backs, because they play better with their feet and are able to thread harder passes through the defense. This benefits the Crew because it means Nagbe and Morris no longer have to slide into the half-pivot position and help their side break out. Instead, the midfielders can roam the middle of the field and find splits to advance the ball. Granted, there has been some blowback from this defensive lineup. Mistakes have been made that have led to goals. The two goals conceded at home against Charlotte FC, for example, were bad goals given up by a naïve backline. Some can make the case that with Milos Degenek or Gustavo Vallecilla in the lineup, those mishaps wouldn’t happen. That being said, Wilfried Nancy is banking on one thing: his team outscoring the other. Gone, for now, are the days when Columbus plays for a 1-0 win and racks up nervous clean sheets with a bend-but-don’t-break mentality. Nancy wants to score more goals than the other team because, at the end of the day, a 1-0 and a 2-1 win count the same. So, for the time being, he is putting his trust in a backline that yields him a better defensive output. At the moment, it is working to the tune of three straight wins.

The Columbus Crew made it a double-win week on Saturday night with a resounding 4-2 win against Charlotte FC at Lower.com Field. This came following a 3-2 win against the Colorado Rapids at home the prior Wednesday for much-needed six points. Columbus went up 3-0 in the first half before a flurry of goals in the span of three minutes by both teams put the game at 4-2. Despite not starting a single true center back in a defensive system that requires three center backs, the Black & Gold played well for stretches and showcased some real offensive firepower. Yet again, the Crew didn’t change much tactically but there were some nuances that head coach Wilfried Nancy showcased. Let’s dive into these tactical changes. The wing backs and midfielders working in sync An issue that the Black & Gold had in the past was the midfielders not covering well enough for the wing backs when they push forward. In these recovery situations, the back three was sometimes left out to dry and Columbus vulnerable to counter attacks. In the game against Charlotte, central midfielders Aidan Morris and Darlington Nagbe did a much better job at covering for the wing backs and limiting the counter chances. When Max Arfsten and Yaw Yeboah were caught up in the attacking third, the midfielders often slid out wide to cover the wings. This gave Columbus a back five to defend with and allowed cover while Arfsten and Yeboah came back. The midfielders also stayed a little bit deeper than normal, which is why they were able to help so often on the defensive side. This little tweak also had repercussions on the offensive side. When the Crew regained possession, the wing backs were already in good attacking spaces to receive the ball. At times of long-sustained pressure by Charlotte, the wing backs had to come back and relieve the midfield duo of their covering duties, but that was not the case every time. With a player like Morris pressing and winning the ball back, the Black & Gold had a better chance to counter with the wing backs higher up the field. While this wrinkle may seem like common sense, it had a profound impact on how the game played out. The midfielders helped out and stayed deeper more frequently because Arfsten was slotted into the lineup after a pregame injury to scheduled starter Mohamed Farsi and Nancy wanted to help him high as much as possible. This nuance worked to perfection for Columbus, allowing the team to defend with numbers and stay on the attacking edge after winning the ball back quickly. Formation changes on defense, attack, in possession Often this season, the Crew has used two formations in games, one on defense and one on offense. In the game against Charlotte, the Black & Gold actually used three formations, one on the defensive side and two on offense. The defensive formation isn’t much of a shock, a 5-2-3. Forward Christian Ramirez pressed in the middle with Cucho Hernandez and Lucas Zelarayan on the outside. Behind those three were the midfield duo of Morris and Nagbe with the five defensive players. On the offensive side, one formation was used to keep possession and the other to attack and go to goal. The possession formation was a 4-2-2-2, but with an offset winger on the left side. The back four consisted of Malte Amundsen on the left, with Steven Moreira and Sean Zawadzki in the middle rounded out by Arfsten on the right. Morris and Nagbe stayed as the two central midfielders with Zelarayan sitting in front of them as the No. 10. Hernandez and Ramirez played as two strikers, with Yeboah up high on the left flank. This gave Columbus a lot of options in terms of possessing the ball. The back four provided width and stability to possess and switch the ball around the back. The midfield was free to find space to get splits and then advance the ball if that option was open. Hernandez could occupy the vacated space on the right side to get the ball and Yeboah was always an option for a long switch. Once the Crew felt comfortable enough to attack and go forward, the formation shifted. Yeboah moved higher as a left winger and Arfsten followed suit on the right wing. This formed a 3-2-1-4 in the attacking half. The rest of the formation stayed similar to the 4-2-2-2 except for the wing backs stepping higher up the field and Moreira dropping deeper than his defensive partners to be a support option. Nancy keeps playing with formations and trying to find ways to get his players in spaces to score goals and control the game. That’s what he did on Saturday night with three formations up his sleeve. What needs to improve Fans witnessed the three-minute period where the Black & Gold conceded two poor goals and then redeemed themselves with a Ramirez strike. The glaring issues were shortly dwelled upon due to Columbus adding a fourth goal, but the defense remains a liability. Take this criticism with a grain of salt because the Crew has been ravaged by injuries at the back and resorted to starting no center backs in a system that requires three. One of those three was Zawadzki, who is still incredibly young and is usually a midfielder. That being said, there were definitely shaky moments. Former Black & Gold star and current Charlotte winger Justin Meram’s disallowed header was a defensive calamity. No communication and lack of discipline tracking runners almost hurt Columbus, but luckily the play was ruled offside by VAR. On Charlotte’s first goal, it was obvious the need for a true center back. Moreira got out muscled and the home side ended up paying the price for it. The Frenchman had some other nervous moments as well. Allowing Charlotte’s Partick Agyemang to turn him easily and get a free shot on goal was another bullet the Black & Gold dodged. A mere minute after conceding the first goal, a miscommunication between goalkeeper Patrick Shulte and Moreira and a bad pass by Amundsen gave the away side a second and new life. Again, these are things that happen when players are played out of position. Luckily for the Crew, it did not come back to hurt Columbus in the end and the team still got all three points. The injured players will return in due time but, for the time being, the Black & Gold have to work on these issues in training because harder games will come and the mistakes will not be forgiven.

The Columbus Crew picked up three points on Wednesday night, beating the Colorado Rapids 3-2. It was a rough start to the game for Columbus when a defensive error lead to the opener for Colorado. From there though, the Black & Gold continued to press forward and scored three goals to go up comfortably. The Rapids added a second goal in stoppage time, but it was too little, too late. Head coach Wilfried Nancy still opted to go with his usual set of tactics to start the game despite injuries to key defensive players, but adjustments were made that could be promising for the Crew going forward. Let’s dive into those tactical adjustments. Switching to a 4-2-3-2 offensive formation in the first half The Black & Gold lined up in the team’s typical 5-2-1-2, but that formation changed on the offensive side of the ball. In possession, Columbus morphed into a 4-1-3-2, with central midfielder Darlington Nagbe shifting wide into a right back spot. This formation yielded some good and bad results for the team in the first 45 minutes. On the good side, switching to this formation gave the Crew players in the areas Nancy wanted to attack. Wing backs Mohamed Farsi and Yaw Yeboah played higher up the pitch, while Nagbe and left center back Malte Amundsen took their spots as outside backs. This helped give playmaker Lucas Zelarayan space in midfield to create and find players out wide to pick out one of the strikers. Another positive was this formation created good offensive chances in the opening half. Zelarayan had multiple opportunities from distance, as did midfielder Aidann Morris. Forward Cucho Hernandez had a couple of dangerous plays. Striekr Christian Ramirez had a glancing header that the entire Nordecke thought went in, but settled on the top of the net. These positives are important takeaways going forward for the Black & Goold as they continue to have alternations to their style, but there were some major issues as well. One glaring issue was how the team recovered defensively. When Columbus got higher up the pitch, Nagbe wanted to pinch in toward the middle like a true midfielder. This left the right side of the Crew’s defense vulnerable, leaving only right center back Steven Moreira to cover. This led to some dangerous counter attacks from Colorado, but luckily only one of them hurt the Black & Gold. The other issue was how vulnerable this formation left center back Philip Quinton. The second-year pro is still in the learning phase of his career, but a lot has been asked of him in Nancy’s system. Playing a high line next to two converted fullbacks would be difficult for any player, let alone a young one. Columbus is in a tough spot with injuries at center back. Having Milos Degenek or Josh Williams next to Quinton would make him more comfortable and likely limit mistakes like the one that led to the Rapids’ first goal. Second half adjustments Nancy has been criticized before for his lack of adjustments. At halftime on Wednesday night though, he made some switches that greatly impacted the game in favor of the Crew. The first adjustment was the decision to bring on Sean Zwadzki in place of Quinton. This meant the Black & Gold played two converted wingbacks and a central midfielder in the three center back positions. While Nancy said there was some pre-planning involved, this change was based solely on pace and experimentation. Nancy moved Moreira to the inside center back spot and Zwadzki occupied the right center back position. The Frenchman provided more pace on the inside and Zwadzki provided the composure of a midfielder to help build out of the back. This change moved Nagbe back into midfield alongside Morris. The MLS veteran sat deeper but was no longer as wide. Morris being pushed higher got him into more attacking areas and allowed him to combine with the wingers and attackers. Occasionally, the young American midfielder dropped into a half-pivot role to push Farsi higher and connect with him and the defense. This option made it easier to advance up the flanks and get the ball into the Columbus attackers. The second minor adjustment had to do with Hernandez and Zelarayan. In the first half, the Colombian striker drifted wide to attack from outside in, leaving a gap between him and Zelarayan. In the second half, Hernandez stayed closer to the Armenian international, allowing them to combine more effectively. This is when the Crew’s attack really began to create multiple goalscoring chances. When Hernandez and Zelarayan are close to each other and are able to work together, they are so much more dangerous. This little tweak resulted in Hernandez’s goal to put the Black & Gold up 3-1 and out of reach of a Colorado equalizer. These adjustments changed the game for Columbus and ultimately resulted in the team getting all three points. How Colorado was effective On the other side, the Rapids had a few tactics to go at the Crew and try to steal a game away from home. Dealing with the Black & Gold’s high press and high rate of possession is never easy, but Colorado had a few ideas of how to attack it and counter. The first thing the Rapids did was try to retain possession and build out of the back using their wing backs. This typically happened throughout the first half, because of a lack of pressure on the visiting wing backs. On goal kicks, Colorado played a lofted ball over Columbus’ pressure out to the wing backs. This was clearly a tactical design to use the feet of goalkeeper Marko Ilic and something the staff noticed on film. Playing this ball allowed Colorado to advance up the pitch and get through the press without much pressure. The second thing the Rapids did well, was wait for the Crew to make a mistake and then pounce. This philosophy landed Colorado a goal off of a Quinton mistake and nearly led to a second goal as well if not for offside being called. Finally, the visitors took the limited amount of chances they had. The Rapids had a grand total of three shots on target and converted two. This efficiency is what kept the game close. These factors are what the Black & Gold will continue to see the rest of the season. They must continue to work on how teams are attacking them while also continuing to build under Nancy.

The Columbus Crew bounced back from consecutive disappointing results at home in MLS play on Wednesday with a 2-0 win over Western Conference side LA Galaxy at Lower.com Field. The Black & Gold were dangerous from the start, controlling the ball from front to back with very few attacking chances for the visitors. Columbus found its breakthrough from midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and added another goal before halftime from newcomer Malte Amundsen. From there, the home side did not look back, closing out the game with a shutout in front of a sellout crowd. Like other matches this season, the Crew did much of the same when it came to style of play, but also made some tactical tweaks. Let’s dive into those changes. Alexandru Matan playing right wing back When the lineups came out before Wednesday’s game, many fans thought the same thing: There were only four defenders listed. Would the Black & Gold switch to a back four for the first time this season? Is this to combat what LA will try to do? Is the change in formation due to personnel rotation? True to form, head coach Wilfried Nancy’s tactical choice rendered none of those questions relevant. Columbus lined up in a back five, with Matan on the right side of the defense, Steven Moreira, Phillip Quinton and Gustavo Vallecilla as the three center backs and Amundsen at left wing back. The Romanian isn’t the prototypical wing back, but he did not have to be. Nancy wanted to make the Galaxy pay down the flanks, and with Zelarayan and forwards Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez all starting, the Columbus manager put Matan in a position where he could do damage. Under former head coach Caleb Porter, Matan was considered more of a wide player, but Nancy has typically opted to play him on the inside as a No. 10. Regardless of where he plays, Matan is always difficult to defend with the ball, which is why Nancy wanted him on the pitch even if it was at right wing back. Contrary to how other wing backs play, the Romanian didn’t have the same defensive duties. While he did track back into the defensive structure if the visitors had possession, Matan often remained high up the pitch, more like a typical winger position. When Matan was not able to recover when the Galaxy attacked, Moreira slid over into his position and central midfielder Aidan Morris dropped in deeper to help defend. This gave Matan more freedom to play higher and not be worried about being caught out. Morris also helped out offensively, dropping in as a half-pivot in the midfield to help push Matan up even higher into attacking spaces. The Crew backline also adjusted when the group pressed after losing possession. Matan often stayed high to help press and the backline would shift into a back four, with Moreira taking up the right back position. Matan playing right wing back probably isn’t something that Black & Gold fans will see on a regular basis, but it shows that Nancy is willing to be flexible with where his players play. Columbus’ buildup strategy It’s no secret that the Crew loves to keep the ball. Nancy stated in the preseason that he wanted players that could be comfortable on the ball. This was apparent on Wednesday, but they didn’t keep the ball without purpose. The Black & Gold love to pass the ball around the backline, which sometimes draws the ire of fans who want the team to go forward. This possession is not passive though. It’s a chess match. In the game against LA, the backline tried to get the ball switched to one of the wing backs or outside center backs to advance forward. This is where the soccer IQ comes into play. If the Galaxy was able to shift the formation over to the side the ball was on, Columbus simply recycled the ball quickly back to Quinton to go the other way. From there, the Crew tried to find the quick switch to the opposite wing back. There’s an old coaching adage, “The ball moves faster than the players.” In this case, that saying rings true because before the visitors could shift back across to cover the other wing, the ball was already there. This same pattern happened time and time again over the course of 90 minutes, and LA did not adjust. So, the Black & Gold just kept possessing and switching the field until they caught the Galaxy out of position and could attack. Don’t be fooled, Columbus isn’t just keeping the ball for the point of keeping it (except to kill off the game). The Crew has a plan for the opponent and picks the right moments to strike. The attacking trio’s game plan A front three of Zelarayan, Hernandez and Ramirez can be rather problematic for opposing teams. Each player brings something different to the field, but are all on the same page in terms of how they want to attack. Ramirez is a classic No. 9, while Hernandez played up top alongside him but also roamed the field trying to get involved in pockets of free space. Zelarayan played his typical attacking midfielder role, still with the freedom to move off Ramirez and Hernandez. When the Black & Gold attacked down the wings, the front three sprang to life in a coordinated pattern. Either Hernandez or Ramirez went to the ball as a short option of support, hoping to pull his defender out of position and open space for others to occupy. Then, the other striker made a diagonal run into the space that was just vacated, trying to get into that secondary passing window. The third option, typically Zelarayan, trailed the runners and acted as deeper support. If he got the ball in space, he could run at defenders or look to pick out a pass. This is the beauty of playing with two strikers. It is hard for opposing defenses to track and mark both of them successfully all the time, especially if they are players the caliber of Hernandez and Ramirez. To top it all off, the opponent still has to worry about where Zelarayan is at all times. He becomes an instant danger as soon as he steps within 30 yards of the goal. This is the dilemma Nancy wants to impose on other teams. Want to take away Hernandez? Fine, he has two other players who can torture the defense in a plethora of ways. And vice versa. The reality is, with a front three that talented, the Black & Gold shouldn’t have issues scoring goals. Defenses can’t be entirely sharp for 90 minutes when this group mixes up runs, roams and attacks in a coordinated fashion.

The Columbus Crew bounced back from consecutive disappointing results at home in MLS play on Wednesday with a 2-0 win over Western Conference side LA Galaxy at Lower.com Field. The Black & Gold were dangerous from the start, controlling the ball from front to back with very few attacking chances for the visitors. Columbus found its breakthrough from midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and added another goal before halftime from newcomer Malte Amundsen. From there, the home side did not look back, closing out the game with a shutout in front of a sellout crowd. Like other matches this season, the Crew did much of the same when it came to style of play, but also made some tactical tweaks. Let’s dive into those changes. Alexandru Matan playing right wing back When the lineups came out before Wednesday’s game, many fans thought the same thing: There were only four defenders listed. Would the Black & Gold switch to a back four for the first time this season? Is this to combat what LA will try to do? Is the change in formation due to personnel rotation? True to form, head coach Wilfried Nancy’s tactical choice rendered none of those questions relevant. Columbus lined up in a back five, with Matan on the right side of the defense, Steven Moreira, Phillip Quinton and Gustavo Vallecilla as the three center backs and Amundsen at left wing back. The Romanian isn’t the prototypical wing back, but he did not have to be. Nancy wanted to make the Galaxy pay down the flanks, and with Zelarayan and forwards Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez all starting, the Columbus manager put Matan in a position where he could do damage. Under former head coach Caleb Porter, Matan was considered more of a wide player, but Nancy has typically opted to play him on the inside as a No. 10. Regardless of where he plays, Matan is always difficult to defend with the ball, which is why Nancy wanted him on the pitch even if it was at right wing back. Contrary to how other wing backs play, the Romanian didn’t have the same defensive duties. While he did track back into the defensive structure if the visitors had possession, Matan often remained high up the pitch, more like a typical winger position. When Matan was not able to recover when the Galaxy attacked, Moreira slid over into his position and central midfielder Aidan Morris dropped in deeper to help defend. This gave Matan more freedom to play higher and not be worried about being caught out. Morris also helped out offensively, dropping in as a half-pivot in the midfield to help push Matan up even higher into attacking spaces. The Crew backline also adjusted when the group pressed after losing possession. Matan often stayed high to help press and the backline would shift into a back four, with Moreira taking up the right back position. Matan playing right wing back probably isn’t something that Black & Gold fans will see on a regular basis, but it shows that Nancy is willing to be flexible with where his players play. Columbus’ buildup strategy It’s no secret that the Crew loves to keep the ball. Nancy stated in the preseason that he wanted players that could be comfortable on the ball. This was apparent on Wednesday, but they didn’t keep the ball without purpose. The Black & Gold love to pass the ball around the backline, which sometimes draws the ire of fans who want the team to go forward. This possession is not passive though. It’s a chess match. In the game against LA, the backline tried to get the ball switched to one of the wing backs or outside center backs to advance forward. This is where the soccer IQ comes into play. If the Galaxy was able to shift the formation over to the side the ball was on, Columbus simply recycled the ball quickly back to Quinton to go the other way. From there, the Crew tried to find the quick switch to the opposite wing back. There’s an old coaching adage, “The ball moves faster than the players.” In this case, that saying rings true because before the visitors could shift back across to cover the other wing, the ball was already there. This same pattern happened time and time again over the course of 90 minutes, and LA did not adjust. So, the Black & Gold just kept possessing and switching the field until they caught the Galaxy out of position and could attack. Don’t be fooled, Columbus isn’t just keeping the ball for the point of keeping it (except to kill off the game). The Crew has a plan for the opponent and picks the right moments to strike. The attacking trio’s game plan A front three of Zelarayan, Hernandez and Ramirez can be rather problematic for opposing teams. Each player brings something different to the field, but are all on the same page in terms of how they want to attack. Ramirez is a classic No. 9, while Hernandez played up top alongside him but also roamed the field trying to get involved in pockets of free space. Zelarayan played his typical attacking midfielder role, still with the freedom to move off Ramirez and Hernandez. When the Black & Gold attacked down the wings, the front three sprang to life in a coordinated pattern. Either Hernandez or Ramirez went to the ball as a short option of support, hoping to pull his defender out of position and open space for others to occupy. Then, the other striker made a diagonal run into the space that was just vacated, trying to get into that secondary passing window. The third option, typically Zelarayan, trailed the runners and acted as deeper support. If he got the ball in space, he could run at defenders or look to pick out a pass. This is the beauty of playing with two strikers. It is hard for opposing defenses to track and mark both of them successfully all the time, especially if they are players the caliber of Hernandez and Ramirez. To top it all off, the opponent still has to worry about where Zelarayan is at all times. He becomes an instant danger as soon as he steps within 30 yards of the goal. This is the dilemma Nancy wants to impose on other teams. Want to take away Hernandez? Fine, he has two other players who can torture the defense in a plethora of ways. And vice versa. The reality is, with a front three that talented, the Black & Gold shouldn’t have issues scoring goals. Defenses can’t be entirely sharp for 90 minutes when this group mixes up runs, roams and attacks in a coordinated fashion.

The Columbus Crew bounced back from consecutive disappointing results at home in MLS play on Wednesday with a 2-0 win over Western Conference side LA Galaxy at Lower.com Field. The Black & Gold were dangerous from the start, controlling the ball from front to back with very few attacking chances for the visitors. Columbus found its breakthrough from midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and added another goal before halftime from newcomer Malte Amundsen. From there, the home side did not look back, closing out the game with a shutout in front of a sellout crowd. Like other matches this season, the Crew did much of the same when it came to style of play, but also made some tactical tweaks. Let’s dive into those changes. Alexandru Matan playing right wing back When the lineups came out before Wednesday’s game, many fans thought the same thing: There were only four defenders listed. Would the Black & Gold switch to a back four for the first time this season? Is this to combat what LA will try to do? Is the change in formation due to personnel rotation? True to form, head coach Wilfried Nancy’s tactical choice rendered none of those questions relevant. Columbus lined up in a back five, with Matan on the right side of the defense, Steven Moreira, Phillip Quinton and Gustavo Vallecilla as the three center backs and Amundsen at left wing back. The Romanian isn’t the prototypical wing back, but he did not have to be. Nancy wanted to make the Galaxy pay down the flanks, and with Zelarayan and forwards Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez all starting, the Columbus manager put Matan in a position where he could do damage. Under former head coach Caleb Porter, Matan was considered more of a wide player, but Nancy has typically opted to play him on the inside as a No. 10. Regardless of where he plays, Matan is always difficult to defend with the ball, which is why Nancy wanted him on the pitch even if it was at right wing back. Contrary to how other wing backs play, the Romanian didn’t have the same defensive duties. While he did track back into the defensive structure if the visitors had possession, Matan often remained high up the pitch, more like a typical winger position. When Matan was not able to recover when the Galaxy attacked, Moreira slid over into his position and central midfielder Aidan Morris dropped in deeper to help defend. This gave Matan more freedom to play higher and not be worried about being caught out. Morris also helped out offensively, dropping in as a half-pivot in the midfield to help push Matan up even higher into attacking spaces. The Crew backline also adjusted when the group pressed after losing possession. Matan often stayed high to help press and the backline would shift into a back four, with Moreira taking up the right back position. Matan playing right wing back probably isn’t something that Black & Gold fans will see on a regular basis, but it shows that Nancy is willing to be flexible with where his players play. Columbus’ buildup strategy It’s no secret that the Crew loves to keep the ball. Nancy stated in the preseason that he wanted players that could be comfortable on the ball. This was apparent on Wednesday, but they didn’t keep the ball without purpose. The Black & Gold love to pass the ball around the backline, which sometimes draws the ire of fans who want the team to go forward. This possession is not passive though. It’s a chess match. In the game against LA, the backline tried to get the ball switched to one of the wing backs or outside center backs to advance forward. This is where the soccer IQ comes into play. If the Galaxy was able to shift the formation over to the side the ball was on, Columbus simply recycled the ball quickly back to Quinton to go the other way. From there, the Crew tried to find the quick switch to the opposite wing back. There’s an old coaching adage, “The ball moves faster than the players.” In this case, that saying rings true because before the visitors could shift back across to cover the other wing, the ball was already there. This same pattern happened time and time again over the course of 90 minutes, and LA did not adjust. So, the Black & Gold just kept possessing and switching the field until they caught the Galaxy out of position and could attack. Don’t be fooled, Columbus isn’t just keeping the ball for the point of keeping it (except to kill off the game). The Crew has a plan for the opponent and picks the right moments to strike. The attacking trio’s game plan A front three of Zelarayan, Hernandez and Ramirez can be rather problematic for opposing teams. Each player brings something different to the field, but are all on the same page in terms of how they want to attack. Ramirez is a classic No. 9, while Hernandez played up top alongside him but also roamed the field trying to get involved in pockets of free space. Zelarayan played his typical attacking midfielder role, still with the freedom to move off Ramirez and Hernandez. When the Black & Gold attacked down the wings, the front three sprang to life in a coordinated pattern. Either Hernandez or Ramirez went to the ball as a short option of support, hoping to pull his defender out of position and open space for others to occupy. Then, the other striker made a diagonal run into the space that was just vacated, trying to get into that secondary passing window. The third option, typically Zelarayan, trailed the runners and acted as deeper support. If he got the ball in space, he could run at defenders or look to pick out a pass. This is the beauty of playing with two strikers. It is hard for opposing defenses to track and mark both of them successfully all the time, especially if they are players the caliber of Hernandez and Ramirez. To top it all off, the opponent still has to worry about where Zelarayan is at all times. He becomes an instant danger as soon as he steps within 30 yards of the goal. This is the dilemma Nancy wants to impose on other teams. Want to take away Hernandez? Fine, he has two other players who can torture the defense in a plethora of ways. And vice versa. The reality is, with a front three that talented, the Black & Gold shouldn’t have issues scoring goals. Defenses can’t be entirely sharp for 90 minutes when this group mixes up runs, roams and attacks in a coordinated fashion.

The Columbus Crew hosted Orlando City SC on Saturday night, settling for a 2-2 draw. The Black & Gold watched a two-goal lead evaporate at home on Saturday, as Orlando stormed back in the second half to force a tie. Columbus went up 2-0 courtesy of midfielder Darlington Nagbe and forward Jacen Russell-Rowe finishing chances just before halftime but could only manage a point in the end. The Crew is now winless in the team’s last four games against MLS competition after a hot start to the season. Head coach Wilfried Nancy had to make some tactical and personnel switches for this game, but it was a tale of two halves for the home side. Let’s dive into what happened in this match. Formation change Yet again, Nancy made a switch in the formational department, opting to start in a 3-4-3. This look morphed into a 5-2-3 on defense with the wing backs moving back in recovery, but the big change was in the midfield and up top. Nagbe and Aidan Morris played in the middle as the two lone midfielders. At times, forward Cucho Hernandez dropped into the attacking midfielder role, but spent more time in a wide position on the left. The two American midfielders did not play in a straight line across the field though. Oftentimes Nagbe stepped higher into more of an attacking position while Morris trailed behind. In these moments, the Crew had more attacking success, which is definitely something Nancy will take away from this game. Up top, going with a front three featuring Alexandru Matan and Hernandez out wide was different from what the Black & Gold have done more much of the season. Despite getting an assist in the first half, Matan’s natural position is inside, and it showed early in the game on Saturday. At times he could get disjointed from the play and disappear, but Matan is dynamic enough that he can hurt defenses with a few touches. Hernandez is versatile but his natural position seems to be inside as a pure No. 9. Russell-Rowe did a good job of getting into dangerous areas and getting a goal, but the Colombian in the middle is a different force. This attacking trio is likely to have looked different if playmaker Lucas Zelarayan had played, but he didn’t. Emphasizing attacking down the wings Playing in a 3-4-3 adds to the attacking danger on the outside of the pitch because the squad now has wingers and wing backs together. This allows the team to create simple overloads out wide and double up on the opposing outside backs. A high percentage of the Crew’s attacking play in the first half was centered around getting the ball out wide and getting crosses into Russell-Rowe. Both goals that Columbus scored were served in from an outside area and tapped home. With this emphasis on attacking from the width came a pattern of play that the Black & Gold repeated often throughout the match. It was a simple combination to free up space down the wing so that the wide players could serve in crosses. This combination is simply a give-and-go from the outside back down the wing into space behind the outside back. Because the winger and wing back are both occupying the same space, the outside back has to mark both players. This forces the player to make a decision to follow the runner or stay put, which opens up a pass either way. If the defender stays, the ball is played behind abd is an easy one touch pass to make. If not, the player on the inside can just give it back to the one who passed him the ball and reset or switch the play. This is yet another component that Nancy will want to keep in mind going forward because it worked well for the Crew. Now in his preferred 5-2-2-1, there isn’t any natural wingers other than the wing backs. For this pattern to work in that formation, the striker or one of the attacking midfielders would have to shift out wide to a winger position, which we have seen before. These are just little components that worked on Saturday to keep in mind and look for going forward. At this point in the season, it’s about finding what works and getting rid of what doesn’t. What went wrong in the second half The Crew was in control for the majority of the first half, keeping possession, creating chances and building a two-goal lead. In the second half, that came crashing down for a few reasons. The first reason was Orlando adjusted to Columbus’ emphasis on attacking from wide. Instead of leaving the outside back on his own, the Lions sent another player to double team the wingers on the outside. This meant both players were marked, which made it harder to advance the ball down the wings. Secondly, OCSC did a better job on offense of controlling the buildup and keeping the ball. The Crew wants teams to fall into the trap of breaking too quickly and giving the ball back right away. In the first half, the visitors didn’t sustain buildup in the attacking half. That changed in the second half. The Lions did a good job of slowing the play down, keeping the ball and then striking when Columbus was vulnerable. If teams can survive the Black & Gold’s quick burst of pressing after losing the ball, they can be dangerous. Lastly, Orlando took the chances created. The first goal was smart by the Lions. The visitors beat the first flurry of the Crew press and still attacked while the defense was in recovery. That is when Columbus is in the most danger, when the team has to recover from being so high up the pitch. The second goal was smartly taken. The simple fact is the Black & Gold need to be better defensively. The Crew has to cover better in recovery, and has to clear balls that are put into the penalty box. Two mistakes cost the Black & Gold points on Saturday, and they need to fix it sooner rather than later.

The Columbus Crew fell at home to Inter Miami 2-1 on Saturday night in a game the Black & Gold dominated for large stretches. Miami broke through first, but Columbus answered just minutes later with a sensational Cucho Hernandez strike. Hernandez’s first goal of the season came at a perfect time to pull the Crew even with the visitors. Miami regained the lead later in the first half though courtesy of a front post corner that snuck in past Schulte. The Black & Gold went on to dominate in the second half but were unable to find the equalizing goal. There are some issues that seem to be arising around the Columbus squad and adjustments that need to be made by head coach Wilfried Nancy. Let’s dive into some of the tactical decisions he made against Miami. Pushing the outside center backs higher This is something that the Crew has done throughout this season, but the center backs were farther up the pitch than usual on Saturday. Steven Moreira and Gustavo Vallecilla both pushed up to join the attack while Philip Quinton, after he came off the bench fo the injured Milos Degenek, stayed on the halfway line to mark the opposing striker. Fans have seen Moreira push up the field throughout the year, sometimes acting as a third central midfielder, but both center backs did this more together against Inter. This could be a reaction to the early Miami goal, but the logic of it is simple. Since both defenders were higher up the field, central midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris both could push up as well into a wider space to link up with the wing backs. It also added pressure onto the Inter defense, forcing the defenders to mark more bodies in the attacking third. Because Nagbe and Morris were higher on the fiedl, playmakers Lucas Zelarayan and Alexandru Matan had the freedom to roam and find open space to collect the ball and possibly link up with Hernandez. This forced Miami back into a low block — which is probably what the visitors wanted after taking the lead — and put Inter under considerable pressure for long periods, only able to counter, which they did a couple of times. The downside of pushing the defenders higher is this exact risk: getting beat and the counter and not having the numbers to recover. This is exactly what happened on the first goal the Black & Gold conceded. Miami was able to break the Crew’s press and Vallecilla was caught too high up the field. The ball was played over his head and the visitors were able to combine and grab the opener. Playing a high line will never be successful all the time, but this goal was preventable. If Matan forces his mark back instead of letting him go down the line, or if Vallecilla checks his shoulder, the Black & Gold are in a better spot to avoid conceding. The idea of pushing the center backs higher did result in Hernandez’s goal, but the high line ultimately hurt Columbus more than it helped in this and in the last game against Charlotte FC. The return of Cucho Hernandez The Crew with Hernandez in the starting lineup is a different team than with any other striker. Christian Ramirez and Jacen Russell-Rowe want to be more central and attack balls into the penalty box. Hernandez on the other hand, wants to be involved as much as possible in the buildup. From the first kick, the Colombian was all over the field. Oftentimes, Hernandez shifted out wide anded allow Zelarayan or Matan to make secondary runs in behind. Other times, he dropped so far back into midfield that the forward was almost in the area occupied by Morris and Nagbe. Even on the goal that he scored, Hernandez started in the typical striker position in the penalty box, but then just drifted back out to the edge and ripped a curler back post. This glimpse of his creativity and adaptability to other areas of the pitch is what makes him so dangerous. Despite this, the Black & Gold still only managed one goal and lost at home against a weaker Eastern Conference side. The problem that Columbus ran into was they didn’t shift the team’s attacking focus to the right places. The Crew was so focused on getting the ball outside to the wing backs and whipping in crosses even when it wasn’t working. Yaw Yeboah’s crosses were poor all night and Mohamed Farsi didn’t get a lot of chances because most of the attacking was done down the left side. It doesn’t help either when there is no true No. 9 in the 18-yard box to get on the end of these crosses. The adjustment that needed to be made was to try and combine inside between Hernandez and the midfielders to unlock the Miami defense. Once the visitors went up 2-1, Inter was ready to head out every cross that came in and the adjustment never came. The Colombian striker’s return means that tweaks will need to come from Nancy on how to get Hernandez scoring goals, because crossing the ball 20 to 30 times per game isn’t working at the moment. The left wing back spot Probably the most glaring issue for the Black & Gold on Saturday was the play on the left flank. With Will Sands out for the season, Columbus is still searching for a replacement on that left side. Yeboah is not the answer. Yeboah has filled in for Sands a few times throughout this season, whether it be starting or off the bench, and while he has his moments, he is wildly inconsistent, particularly defensively. That inconsistency, coupled with the fact that often he gets stuck crossing only with his left foot, is an issue that Nancy has to resolve. The Crew did make a trade for Malte Amundsen from New York City FC, but he still has to learn the system. With time, he could be a good option at left wing back. Jimmy Medranda is another option for the Black & Gold. An offseason signing, Medranda is a seasoned veteran with lots of playing time under his belt. Why he hasn’t seen more time when healthy is a mystery. Nancy even experimented with rookie Max Arfsten at right wing back in the U.S. Open Cup against Indy Eleven and he seemed to have a decent night against the USL Championship side. But Arfsten is still young and probably not the best option to slot in on the left side. No matter what the decision is, even if Nancy decides to stay with Yeboah, that is the position of need for Columbus right now. The way the Crew sets up to play relies heavily on wing backs, so someone in the squad needs to step up to help stop this skid.

The Columbus Crew lost to Charlotte FC 1-0 on the road last Saturday night before returning back home for a mid-week clash with USL Championship side Indy Eleven in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The Black & Gold dominated throughout the game, but only managed a 1-0 victory against Indy. In a game with plenty of opportunities to score, substitute Mohamed Farsi combined with Steven Moreira on a give-and-go to send Indy back home with a loss and the Black & Gold into the fourth round of the Open Cup. Tactically, there wasn’t much different from past matches against Charlotte, but head Wilfried Nancy changed some things, both in terms of personnel and tactics, in the Open Cup match. Let’s dive into what happened tactically. Different playstyle between Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez It’s no secret that Hernandez and Ramirez are two very different players, despite their knack to score goals. Fans haven’t seen both strikers on the pitch together yet due to injuries, but with Hernandez coming back, the time could be coming soon. In the Charlotte game, Ramirez was the primary striker and often stayed central, often dropping into midfield to help Columbus possess the ball and build out of the back. In the Open Cup game, Hernandez’s movement was obvious. He started the game up top alongside Jacen Russell-Rowe but drifted out to the wing and dropped into the midfield in a roaming role. When both Hernandez and Ramirez are healthy, Nancy will have to make a decision on what Ramirez’s role will be. It will all depend on what formation the manager wants to play. In his days coaching at CFMontreal, Nancy sometimes played a system with two strikers and one attacking midfielder. Pairing both strikers together could be a viable option for the Crew, but that means you have to bench one of the attacking midfielders. Both Alexandru Matan and Lucas Zelarayan have played well, making this decision less cut and dry. The other option is to have Ramirez come off the bench. Hernandez is more dynamic than Ramirez due to his athletic ability and versatility. The Colombian can play on the wing as well as in the traditional striker role. It’s this versatility that makes him difficult to play against because he can hurt you in so many different ways. This is not a slight on Ramirez, who has proven his worth when thrust into the starting role. He is deserves playing time in this team. But with Hernandez coming back, and other starters playing well, only time will tell what Nancy will decide. Nancy’s formational fluidity It may look like the Black & Gold line up in the same formation each game, but there are some subtle tweaks each time out. There hasn’t been much change to Nancy’s preferred defensive system, but he likes to adjust positionally on a game-to-game basis. Against Charlotte, the Crew lined up in a 3-4-2-1, which is what the team has done for the majority of this season. Three center backs anchored the backline with two wing backs pushing up the pitch to contribute on both ends. Two central midfielders sat behind the two attacking midfielders with a single striker up top. Now, that formation seems pretty bread and butter for Columbus, but occasionally one midfielder pushed higher, or one attacking midfielder roamed more. Those are some nuances that Nancy has toyed with in this early part of the season. Against Indy, the Crew manager tweaked things slightly, adding in a second striker and opting to go with only a defensive midfielder behind two central midfielders, a 3-5-2 with an inverted triangle in the midfield. This meant the back three was the same, but Sean Zawadzki played the lone defensive midfielder while Darlington Nagbe and Isaiah Parente played as central midfielders. Hernandez and Russell-Rowe were the strike partnership up top. This fluidity is something that Columbus hasn’t used very much this year. Typically, former Crew head coach Caleb Porter would line up in his classic 4-2-3-1 and go, but Nancy makes these little formational adjustments more frequently. These adjustments are not limited to a game by game basis either. At halftime of Wednesday’s game, Hernandez came off and Matan in, playing more like a striker at first. As the game wore on, Matan dropped back a little bit more into midfield, and because of that, Nagbe dropped back a little further too. These little tweaks have been going on since the season began, and will likely continue as the campaign goes on.

The Columbus Crew battled back in dramatic fashion to tie the New England Revolution 1-1 at Lower.com Field on Saturday night. This was a tough test for the Black & Gold, facing one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference early in the year, but they managed to grab a point due to a 98th minute equalizer from substitute midfielder Sean Zawadzki. The Revolution provided a more challenging opponent than Columbus faced in recent weeks, but the Crew managed to find the tying goal against a 10-man New England team to maintain a four-game unbeaten run. The Black & Gold made a few formational tweaks to begin the game and made some adjustments after the Revolution were reduced to 10 men. Let’s dive into the tactical side of this match. Attacking in a 4-2-3-1 formation, defending in a 5-2-3 Yet again, head coach Wilfried Nancy made a tweak to the formation in which Columbus attacked against New England. Set up in his favored 3-4-2-1, Nancy opted to go at the Revolution in a formation familiar to Crew fans, the 4-2-3-1. In this game, Gustavo Vallecilla and Milos Degenek play as the two center backs, while Steven Moreira played more like a right back. For much of the match in attack, Will Sands played a traditional left back. Aidan Morris and Darlington Nagbe played as central midfielders, while Lucas Zelarayan was the lone attacking midfielder. This meant Alexandru Matan shifted out wide to the left, while Mohamed Farsi occupied space as a right winger more often than not. Christian Ramirez remained as the lone striker. The Crew’s formation looked more like what Black & Gold fans were used to seeing under previous managers at times on Saturday. Having Matan and Farsi out wide opened space in the middle for Zelarayan to move and get the ball into his feet. From there, Zelarayan could turn and run at the opposing defense with multiple options to his left and right. Ramirez mixed his runs up top, occasionally checking in alongside Zelarayan to provide another build-up option. Other times, Ramirez stayed high and waited for service from out wide. When the Black & Gold defended, Columbus reverted to a 5-2-3 formation with traditional back five and Morris and Nagbe in front of the defense. Zelarayan went out wide right, while Matan stayed on the left. This formation allowed the Crew to set up the press. Ramirez’s job was to man mark the central defenders, while Zelarayan and Matan marked the outside backs. From there, the the Black & Gold midfielders stepped high up the pitch to mark their New England counterparts. The back five dealt with the rest of the attack, pressing as soon as they touched the ball. This often meant Degenek or Vallecilla press their man backward all the way up the field until they released the ball. Then they would simply recover back to their position. Forcing the Revolution to play the ball long and force their forward to get into an aerial battle with the Crew defenders was the key. Nancy continues to make these formational tweaks, and they have worked pretty well so far. Saturday was another test of his tactical adjustments. Columbus’ mistakes and miscues While the Crew did not play the team’s best game on Saturday, the Black & Gold managed to salvage a point. There were some uncharacteristic mistakes from Columbus that fans have not seen consistently this season, some of which had to do with the quality of the Revolution. One of those was Degenek’s own goal. It was a freak mistake that unfortunately happens from time to time. The center back mishit the ball on a clearance, pin-balling it off his heel to his plant leg and into the net. Degenek could have positioned himself better to make a clean clearance, but it’s not a mistake the defender will make often. New England was able to take advantage of the Crew’s high line. There were multiple times when forward Giacomo Vrioni received the ball behind the Black & Gold backline and nearly had a free path to goal. Columbus has not seen this as an issue consistently in games this season, so New England was attacking a weakness that they saw in the Crew’s defensive set up. Playing a high line can be like playing with fire if not handled correctly. A coach needs smart, disciplined players commanding the line and making sure the defenders are together. If one piece is out of place, the striker has a good chance as Vrioni did. It will be interesting to see if other opponents can exploit this issue that the Revolution made apparent. Marking in recovery situations was also spotty for the Black & Gold. In the 40th minute, the Revs attacked down their left flank while the Columbus defense receoved. As Vallecilla retreated, Sands didn’t shift over to mark the far-side winger and forced goalkeeper Patrick Shulte to come up with a big save. It’s just these little miscommunications that can be the difference between winning and losing, or in this case tying. The Black & Gold did not do a good job of marking at times against New England. The Crew also had spells when the team could not find the final pass in the final third, typically between Zelarayan and Ramirez due to miscommunication. Ramirez has proved his worth already for the Black & Gold, but Saturday was a reminder that he and Zelarayan still have to develop chemistry after limited playing time together. Changes after New England’s red card The game flipped on its head when the Revolution’s Dylan Borrero got sent off in the 65th minute. To put the Revs under significant sustained pressure with a man advantage, Nancy made some changes to the formation and personnel. In the 79th minute, forward Jacen Russell-Rowe, and winger Yaw Yeboah came into the game and the formation changed. Columbus shifted into a variation of a 4-3-3 with an inverted diamond in midfield. Moreira and Degenek played center back, with Farsi out right and Sands on the left. Nagbe played as the lone central midfielder, with Zelarayan and Matan as double attacking midfielders. Russell-Rowe played on the left side of a front three, with Yeboah out right and Ramirez through the middle. It wasn’t a pure 4-3-3 though, because the Crew wanted to overload the right side and free up space on the left. Russell-Rowe shifted almost alongside Ramirez as a second striker to make space out wide for Sands, and eventually Jimmy Medranda, down the flanks. Yeboah stayed out wide right with Farsi tucking inside a bit to provide support. Moreira pushed up the field to add another body into the mix with Degenek as the lone defender back. Even he was 10 yards past the halfway line often, really pinning the Revolution in. Nagbe, and eventually Zawadzki, waited at the top of the penalty box while Zelarayan and Matan probed to try and get in behind the defense. It was Zawadzki making a late run into the box that no opposing defender picked up that gave him the header opportunity.