The Columbus Crew emerged victorious on Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead on aggregate down to Mexico against Monterrey. Columbus struck first against the Rayados courtesy of Cucho Hernandez in the first half. Monterrey had its chances, but so did the Black & Gold. It was the Mexican club that would get on the scoreboard next, evening the tie on goals but going up on the away-goals rule. The Crew would find the winner though, by way of Jacen Russell-Rowe’s head. Columbus would hold onto that lead, taking a 2-1 advantage down to Monterrey.

Wilfried Nancy played his cards the way he has since he came to the Black & Gold. He employed a bold, brash, and beautiful style of soccer that would have major payoffs if the players executed. It was a hard-fought game against the Rayados, but the Crew got it done. Let’s dive into the tactics that went into this massive matchup.

Columbus’ strategy

The Black & Gold came out and played as they typically did; regardless of the competition. The Crew’s manager summed it up perfectly:

“We respect everyone,” Nancy said, “but we fear no one.”

In that mindset of not having fears or doubts, Columbus took the Rayados head-on.

The Black & Gold lined up in their typical three/five back set, with two defensive midfielders and an attacking trio of Russell-Rowe, Hernandez, and Diego Rossi.

The inclusion of Russell-Rowe in the squad was designed to combat how Monterrey wanted to go after the Crew. The Rayados’ press often left a gap between the Mexican side’s attackers and defenders. Russell-Rowe’s job was to drop into the open space and hold up the ball so the Columbus defense could move up the field.

If the Canadian was marked, Hernandez and even Rossi at times would drop in to try and help relieve the pressure. The attackers’ assistance got the Black & Gold out of tough situations and set them up to counter Monterrey quickly.

Because of the pressing nature of both teams, this game turned into a track meet for large portions of the match. The Rayados were very quick to dive into tackles to turn the Crew over and trigger a counterattack. After a nervous first few minutes, Columbus noticed and adjusted.

From that point on, the Black & Gold tried to prey on Monterrey’s overaggressive tendency. The Crew tried to switch and move the ball to get the away side to over-commit. When the Rayados would press too far, Columbus would pounce on the vacated space. Russell-Rowe was put into the starting lineup for this reason, to hold up play and create space in behind for the other attackers.

That is exactly what happened on Hernandez’s goal. The Colombian striker drew a Monterrey defender towards him and quickly played the ball into Russell-Rowe’s feet. The Canadian striker had previously dropped more into midfield, dragging a Rayados center back with him.

After a quick one-two with Russell-Rowe, Hernandez ran into the space vacated by the centerback and dispatched the ball in the back of the net. The Black & Gold took exactly what Monterrey was doing to make them uncomfortable and used that tactic against them to go ahead on the scoresheet.

On the defensive side, the Crew were focused on pressuring the ball and staying organized defensively.

The Columbus press’ goal was to not allow the Rayados to turn upfield. They wanted Monterrey to receive the ball with their back to the Black & Gold’s goal and force them back by applying pressure from behind. This contained but effective press made Monterrey need to combine to get around the Crew, but it left Columbus vulnerable in some areas.

If a player presses up, it could leave a hole in the space they just vacated. This is where the communication aspect comes in. Defenders Rudy Camacho, Steven Moreira and Yevhen Cheberko had to be on top of their game to organize and sort out the defense.

There were times when wingbacks Yaw Yeboah and Sean Zawadzki were caught out of position due to the press. If that happened, Aidan Morris and Darlington Nagbe needed to pull back to fill those wingback gaps. The midfielders did that job well for most of the match, with a few slip-ups here and there.

The bold style of the Black & Gold perpetuated by their manager shined once again, this time on the international stage. They did their job in the first leg, but a daunting date down in Mexico awaits them.

Monterrey’s strategy

The Mexican side came into the game looking to disrupt the Crew’s possessive tendencies by pressing high and fast. Their offense would be generated off Columbus turnovers high up the field, or through spells of possessive pressure.

Monterrey preferred to press with five players up top, and then drop another five deeper to play defense. This opened a big hole between the attack and defense, but they hoped to plug the passing lanes and bottleneck the Black & Gold defense.

The Rayados’ press attempted to limit the Crew from switching the ball. A striker would cover the middle centerback on his back shoulder, making a switch to the other side of the field almost impossible without turning the ball over.

What Monterrey did not consider was how Columbus could play through Patrick Shulte. The American goalkeeper became an additional option to switch the ball through when Camacho was marked. At times he turned the ball over, but having a goalkeeper who can play with their feet was paramount to this game for the Black & Gold.

At times, Monterrey would throw an additional defender forward to press with six. Although it did not happen as often, it turned up the pressure on the Crew and forced them to go long into the feet of Russell-Rowe, Hernandez and Rossi.

On the offensive end, Monterrey wanted to generate chances on the counter when possible. If they could retain the ball after a Columbus turnover, they were trying to fly forward through the Black & Gold’s re-press to take advantage.

Because of the Crew’s affinity for throwing eight to nine players forward in the attack, it left them undermanned on defense at times. Both outside center backs and defensive midfielders for Columbus did a phenomenal job recovering to do their defensive diligence.

The little things like playing through Shulte, remaining calm under pressure, and getting back quickly on defense won this match for the Black & Gold. They still have 90 more minutes to go, but they set themselves up nicely in the first leg.