Columbus Crew have turned their bold, possession-centric style into the league's ultimate prize, capturing MLS Cup 2023 presented by Audi with a 2-1 win over LAFC.
Head coach Wilfried Nancy's team produced a masterclass performance Saturday at rain-soaked Lower.com Field, resulting in the Eastern Conference club's third-ever MLS Cup after their 2008 and 2020 squads also entered the history books as champions.
First-half goals from Cucho Hernández (33') and Yaw Yeboah (37') gave Columbus a cushion to absorb a Dénis Bouanga (74') lifeline, denying LAFC's MLS Cup repeat quest. In the process, head coach Wilfried Nancy's group has climbed the 29-team mountaintop that began with MLS is Back weekend on Feb. 25.
Columbus took a 2-0 lead into the halftime break after Cucho Hernandez converted a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, snapping LAFC’s 400 minute streak without allowing a goal, and Yaw Yeboah scored the eventual game-winning goal, finishing a pass from Malte Amundsen, four minutes later.
Columbus manager Wilfried Nancy speaks often his desire to see his team play with courage, and to take risks. It's a lot easier to play that way when you have two foundational midfield pieces in Nagbe and Morris. Morris won an eye-popping 70% of his duels, and Nagbe was even better at 87.5%. Nagbe misplayed but two passes the entire night, bringing peace to the game. Granted, his second misplay sparked the sequence that led to Denis Bouanga's 74th-minute tally that made for an anxious final 23 minutes, including stoppage time. But the tandem helped Columbus control the midfield for much of the night.
Following the Crew's first goal of the game, the rain started coming down and it would be on and off throughout the whole match. Making the ball move faster, the rain played to the Crew's advantage according to Yaw Yeboah.
"This is how we play," Yeboah said. "Especially like me, I want the ball to go faster because I'm more faster with a ball like that."
Columbus dominated possession, holding the ball for nearly 63 percent of the time. They also attempted more shots than LAFC, 14-to-10. The biggest discrepancy however came on corner kicks, where the Crew held a whopping 8-to-1 advantage.
The loss for LAFC marks their second loss in a final this season. The Black and Gold lost the CONCACAF Champions League final to Liga MX side León 1-0 at BMO Stadium in the second leg.
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