First up in postgame interviews is … Aidan Morris? The young American concedes immediately that he can’t find the words to describe the moment.
Old-school Crew fans might choose the word “massive,” a cheeky reference to the fact that they are not residents of the largest city in the USA.
(Apologies to supporters of both New York teams, who have combined to win one-third as many MLS Cups as the team from central Ohio.)
MLS commissioner Don Garber steps up to give out the awards and ignore the boos from fans who have certainly not forgotten that he was quite willing to let the team walk off to Austin. Garber saw the league through near-extinction in 2001 and has built it into a league big enough to sign Beckham and Messi, but it’s nice that there’s still space at the top for Nagbe and the Nordecke, the Crew’s ever-loyal supporters group.
And with that, we’ll sign off. Congratulations again to the Crew and everyone for whom this moment seemed a long way off a few years ago.
Updated
A tale of two halves in a way, with a 2-0 halftime score accurately reflecting the one-way traffic. LAFC wound up equaling Columbus for shots on goal (5 each) as the defending champions turned up the intensity in the second half.
We can argue the merits of the MLS playoff system all day – personally, I’d like to see a Cup competition that runs concurrently to the season while the actual “playoffs” consist of a single game between the conference winners – but the Crew are worthy champions. Again.
Columbus Crew win their third MLS Cup
Small market? So what? From building the first stadium for an MLS team to winning three league championships, the Crew and their loyal fans have a lot to be proud of. None moreso than this game, with their young goalkeeper and poised veterans holding off a talent-rich defending champion to win the final.
90 mins +7: Columbus break away, and Ramirez takes the ball to the corner to do battle with oncoming defenders. He wins a corner kick and exhorts the crowd, which responds with a roar.
90 mins +6: Gressel botches a defensive assignment on Bouanga, and the Golden Boot winner races down the left. But the Columbus defense holds tight and clears.
90 mins +4: Pointless fouls all around now, and this one gives Columbus some breathing room. Molino may have hit the ground a little easily, but Palencia was close enough to justify the call.
90 mins +2: Columbus counter, and Ramirez is free! Off he goes! And … he’s pulled down! Or is he? No, Parillo may have fouled him, but if so, it was outside the area.
Columbus fans aren’t happy with that decision, especially after Morris gets yellow for a foul at the other end. But the Crew defend the set piece, and we play on.
90 mins: We’ll have at least seven minutes of stoppage time, and Rossi will not participate in them. Molino has replaced him.
89 mins: Oh, Chiellini should surely see yellow now. Schulte makes a comfortable save on a poorly struck header, but the Italian veteran crashes into the recently injured keeper. Villarreal has a whistle and a word. Chiellini has a few words in response, and Villarreal gives a gesture that effectively says, “I don’t care about your resume, my friend – get out of here now.”
88 mins: A beautiful run down the left, a cross to Rossi, and … he shanks it badly with his left foot.
86 mins: So with 40% of their field players replaced in the last three minutes, how will the Crew respond?
The immediate answer: Rossi gets fouled.
LAFC subs: Ilie is out, somewhat surprisingly. So is Palacios, winner of the last yellow card. Palencia and Gonzalez are the inbound players.
Updated
85 mins: Yellow to Palacios for any number of fouls at the same time on Cucho.
Another pair of Columbus subs – Julian Gressel and Christian Hernandez replace Cucho and Farsi.
Zawadszki and Cheberko were the subs in the last exchange.
83 mins: Vela hits the ground, Villarreal takes no action, LAFC maintain control, cross, knocked away, and now we get some subs – the goal-scorer Yeboah and the captain Nagbe will leave
80 mins: Everything happening quickly now. Yeboah is down in the LAFC penalty area, and we have some question of whether Kevin Stott will weigh in from his VAR spot, but no, that would be nothing.
Chiellini, in fact, is rather aggravated that Yeboah has remained down, and he shares that opinion with Villarreal.
79 mins: Columbus players finally remember they have a potent attacker in Cucho, and they play it forward to him, only to see a shot go miles wide. The Crew do earn a corner, though.
And to cite Eurythmics, here comes the rain again.
77 mins: Krastev replaces the invisible Acosta for LAFC while Schulte hops around to try to convince medical personnel that he’s OK to stay in. The young keeper confidently strides forward, hears the roar from the crowd, and waves his arms to get even more noise.
Game on, and the 22-year-old keeper who won the MLS Next Pro championship last year with Columbus’ reserves is here for it.
Goooooalll! Columbus 2-1 LAFC (Bouanga 74)
I’ll erase my “chance for LAFC” comment because the attackers won back the ball and worked it quickly to Bouanga, who forces a good save from Schulte. But the ball remains in play, and Bouanga finishes from an acute angle past a scrambling Schulte, who is down and being treated. It appears he made the initial save with a bit of his hand but a lot of his face.
71 mins: Rossi falls in the LAFC penalty area. Villarreal waves play on. What does Kevin Stott think as he sits in front of all the cameras available for VAR?
LAFC go the other way, and Bouanga takes the ball all the way to the line, then crosses through Schulte’s legs. Somehow, the LAFC attacker three yards from the goal doesn’t extend a foot.
69 mins: Bouanga splits two defenders … almost. Moreira wins it back, and Bouanga applies a Ronda Rousey-style armbar to try to regain possession. The Golden Boot winner’s frustration is evident.
67 mins: We’ve hit the “We’re going to foul you so you can’t counterattack” phase of the game. Ugh.
Ilie fouls Nagbe and gets yellow, and that is surely persistent infringement because there’s no explanation other than the fact that LAFC have played as if there’s a target on the Columbus captain’s legs. That’s no way to treat your elders.
64 mins: Are LAFC working their way back into this game? Columbus no longer look as comfortable. They’ve also shifted into counterattacking mode, and they may well put the game away in an instant.
62 mins: Free kick to LAFC from dead center about 35 yards out. It’s chipped into the penalty area and flicked over to Bouanga, but the Golden Boot winner’s swing at the ball sends it well off target.
59 mins: Foul by Tillman, and is this worth a second yellow? The replay shows that his foot is in front of Diego Rossi, and he gets a slight touch on the ball, so no, surely not. Villarreal has had a great game.
That will be it for Tillman, regardless. The German-born player who has declared his desire to represent the USA will make way for Mateusz Bogusz.
57 mins: CHANCE FOR LAFC! They go direct, and Camacho makes a mess of a header at the top of his own area. The ball goes to the onrushing Carlos Vela, whose shot is right at Schulte.
The French center back has been the weak link in the Columbus lineup thus far.
55 mins: CHANCE FOR LAFC! Or maybe not. Crepeau makes an easy save and tries to match his counterpart’s long distribution, sending it quickly up the field. It’s collected by LAFC and played forward, but a brilliant tackle cuts out the danger – which, as it turns out, didn’t really exist, because the flag went up (correctly) for offside as play continued.
53 mins: Another yellow to LAFC, and this is on Tillman for a foul on Nagbe. The commentators believe that’s persistent infringement. I’m not sure about that.
49 mins: BIG CHANCE for Columbus and some controversy!
Columbus go on the counterattack, and Carlos Vela is late sliding into a tackle on Cucho. While the Crew attacker rolls around in “pain,” Armando Villarreal expertly plays advantage, and Palacios ends up having to send the ball out very close to his own goal.
Villarreal returns to the scene to give Vela a yellow card. The Crew may argue for a red, but frankly, Cucho may have hurt his own case by rolling around so unrealistically. Whatever contact was made – and it certainly was – Cucho embellished, and it’s difficult for a ref to reach for the red when that’s obviously the case.
47 mins: CHANCES for Columbus! Cucho stings Crepeau’s hands with a well-struck shot from the top of the penalty area. The Crew keep possession and send a through ball on the right, and it’s some desperate defending to send the cross away from the net.
46 mins: We’re back. No subs. Really?
Some halftime stats from the MLS site ..
Possession: 68.2% Columbus
Shots: 8-4 Columbus (2-1 in shots on goal)
Total passes: 341-159 Columbus
Passing accuracy: 88%-74.2% Columbus
Corners: 5-1 Columbus, with the lone LAFC corner at the end of the half
Coaches with the experience and the roster depth to turn this around: 1-0 LAFC
Holiday candy eaten: Too much, by me
Halftime: Columbus 2-0 LAFC
So LAFC wraps up the half on a positive note. A small one. They were completely outplayed in the first 44 minutes, and the score is a fair one, even if the penalty was a little fortunate.
45 +3 mins: CHANCE FOR LAFC! Columbus defender Rudy Camacho very nearly put a cross into his own net. It’s a corner – the first for LAFC.
45 +2 mins: We’re in the second of three minutes of stoppage time, and Steve Cherundolo has to be hoping it flies by in an instant.
45 mins: LAFC gets a chance! Sort of. It’s a free kick, and it pings around in the area for a bit.
Patrick Schulte collects the ball and punts it about 70 yards for a counterattack that leads to a Columbus corner. Coincidentally, Kurt Perleberg just emailed to note that Columbus owner Jimmy Haslam also owns the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. The Fox commentators also take note and wonder if Schulte could have a second career as an NFL punter.
43 mins: The ball spends a brief second in the Columbus penalty area. It’s cleared with no LAFC player in the vicinity.
This isn’t a tactical decision by LAFC to allow Columbus this much possession. This is complete domination.
41 mins: To my knowledge, Yeboah isn’t related to the great Anthony Yeboah, who scored a series of mind-blowing goals for Leeds United back in the day.
LAFC still can’t get a meaningful touch on the ball.
Gooooal!! Columbus 2-0 LAFC (Yeboah 37)
That’s a much more satisfying goal. The Crew attackers simply pull the LAFC defense apart, and Ryan Hollingshead loses sight of Yaw Yeboah just long enough for Malte Amundsen’s perfectly weighted through ball to spring Yeboah one-on-one against Crepeau, and he finishes decisively.
34 min: To be clear – just because we were told a few years ago that it’s generally not a penalty when the ball caroms off a player’s body into the arm, that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to use such guidelines now. Keeping the same instructions from year to year would make too much sense. I suppose that’s now a penalty. Just a weak one.
In other news, it is pouring rain right now.
Goooooal! Columbus 1-0 LAFC (Cucho 33)
Crepeau goes to his left, and Cucho goes the other way. You’ll rarely see a goalkeeper end up farther away from the ball. But you have to guess sometimes, and Crepeau simply guessed wrong.
Penalty to Columbus
By what we referees were told a few years ago, that’s not a penalty. Rossi has his boot at hip level, and he plays it at close range into Palacios’ chest. The ball caroms off the chest and hits his arm. No hesitation from Villarreal, and Cucho will go to the spot against Crepeau.
29 min: Another awkwardly blocked cross as the LAFC defense creaks like a ship’s mast in a hurricane.
28 min: Nifty nutmeg by Yeboah, but the Columbus midfielder can’t maintain control.
27 min: Chance for Rossi goes into the side netting.
25 min: Another Columbus shot, this one not quite as close.
It’s one thing to let the other team have the bulk of the possession. It’s another to spend this much of the game with the ball 15-30 yards from your own goal.
23 min: CHANCE for Cucho just outside the penalty area. He misses just wide of the far post. Crepeau likely had it covered, but that’s not a sight LAFC will want to see often.
21 min: Big collision between Murillo (LAFC) and Morris (Columbus) as the ball bounds out for another Columbus corner.
18 min: “LAFC have become comfortable without the ball,” commentator Stuart Holden says of their playing style under longtime Hannover captain Steve Cherundolo. Given that, this match is the equivalent of a long sit in a recliner.
16 min: Deflected shot, cross, header high – still all Columbus right now.
14 min: A rare foray forward by LAFC, but Columbus are more than ready for it. Columbus have completed nearly 90% of their passes.
11 min: A replay of an earlier incident shows Villarreal was correct not to give Columbus a penalty when Aidan Morris fell over in the LAFC box.
10 min: LAFC finally cross midfield, but as soon as Columbus gain possession, they’re off to the races, and it takes a timely intervention by the 39-year-old Chiellini to stop the threat.
8 min: Bit of a shout for a handball in the LAFC box, but VAR has not yet intervened as far as we know.
The Crew have had roughly 350% of the possession so far.
7 min: Rossi shows what he can do when he’s not being fouled by his former team, unleashing a shot that deflects out for a corner. No good opportunity right away, but the Crew maintain possession.
4 min: LAFC left back Palacios takes a whack at Diego Rossi at midfield, forcing Armando Villarreal into his first rough decision with the whistle and the cards. He employs the latter but not the former. Palacios possibly a bit lucky there.
2 min: Give LAFC credit for being disruptive so far, with its attacking players tracking back to harass the Crew into some errant passes.
1 min: The traditional “unnecessary foul at midfield in the first minute” is committed by Murrillo for LAFC.
Peep peep … we’re underway.
The first email of the day comes from Justin Kavanaugh: “Can we please get rid of the by-now-accepted wisdom that LA FC won the MLS Cup last year because of Gareth Bale’s late-late heroics? They won because some nefarious witchcraft-practitioner-type clearly put the hex on all Philadelphia teams. Otherwise how to explain the dramatic World Series loss of the Phillies in the same season as the Eagles lost the Superbowl alongside the Union’s robbery? I’m not bitter, nor am I a conspiracy theorist, but just wanted to point out that the Welsh Wizard, Mr. Bale was merely a pawn in this supernatural sporting stitch-up.”
I live in the Washington suburbs. My sympathy for Philly teams is almost nil. Almost. We’ve had to suffer through decades under one of the most loathed owners in the NFL, we had the best NHL team for roughly a decade but got only one Stanley Cup to show for it, our NBA team is 3-18, our WNBA team won one championship but has had injury issues since then, our NWSL team won one championship out of nowhere but has had ownership issues and foolishly parted ways with its coach a couple of months ago after their star player had a meltdown in the last regular-season game, our AUDL team is stuck looking up at the unstoppable force of the New York Empire, and our MLS team is years past its glory years.
I’m told we also have a baseball team.
The most important man on the field … will be Armando Villarreal, who will be the center referee for the second time on this stage after being in charge in 2021. The ARs are Cameron Blanchard and Ian McKay; the fourth official is Jon Freemon.
VAR is in the hands of one of the most experienced officials in the USA – Kevin Stott, who was the center ref in 2001, 2005 and 2009 and has been the fourth official three times.
LAFC lineup and notes
The MLS Golden Boot winner is Gabon’s Dénis Bouanga, who netted 20 goals in 31 games in his first full season in the league. The second leading scorer is Mexican superstar Carlos Vela.
Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau is an inspiring comeback story after suffering a serious leg injury when he raced out to stop a breakaway late in extra time of last year’s MLS Cup final. He has slowly worked his way back into the lineup this season.
GK: Crepeau (Canada)
D: Diego Palacios (Ecuador), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy), Jesus Murillo (Colombia), Ryan Hollingshead (USA)
M: Kellyn Acosta (USA), Ilie Sanchez (Spain), Timothy Tillman (Germany)
F: Bouanga (Gabon), Vela (Mexico), Cristian Olivera (Uruguay)
Acosta, Murillo, and some unheralded player named Gareth Bale scored for LAFC in last year’s wild MLS Cup final, in which Philadelphia took the lead in stoppage time in extra time, only to see Bale score the equalizer. Palacios, Hollingshead, Sanchez and Bouanga were also in the starting XI.
Columbus lineup and notes
The Crew’s offensive sparkplug is Colombian Juan “Cucho” Hernandez (16 goals, 7 assists in 27 games). The only other player who scored 10 or more goals is Lucas Zelarayan, who transferred to Al Fateh SC midway through the season, but Diego Rossi is a capable replacement.
But in this knockout competition, the main reason the Crew got here is young American goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, who made a series of spectacular saves in the semifinals when Cincinnati was on the verge of running Columbus off the pitch.
Aidan Morris is another good young US talent, and he lines up alongside one of the league’s stalwart veterans, Darlington Nagbe.
GK: Schulte (USA)
D (left to right): Malte Amundson (Denmark), Rudy Camacho (France), Steven Moreiro (Cape Verde)
M: Yaw Yeboah (Ghana), Morris (USA), Nagbe (USA), Mohamed Farsi (Canada)
F: Diego Rossi (Uruguay), Cucho (Colombia), Alexandru Matan (Romania)
It’s a generation gap at MLS Cup this year.
Columbus is one of the original MLS clubs, and not long ago, they were thought to be part of the league’s history rather than its future. The Crew were set to depart to Austin. They did, sort of – in one of those “only in MLS” moments, Columbus owner Anthony Precourt was allowed to move his ownership rights to Austin, but Columbus still had a club.
What have they done since then? Well, they won MLS Cup 2020, for one thing.
LAFC is part of MLS 2.0 or 3.0 or whatever version started in the late 2010s. They already have two Supporters Shields and last year’s MLS Cup.
So if you like underdog stories, you’re all about the Crew here. If you like seeing stars shine, it’s LAFC. Either way, this is a compelling final. Let’s watch …
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Graham Ruthven’s lookahead to today’s final.
