The Columbus Crew collected its second straight road win on Saturday, besting the Chicago Fire 3-1. Columbus opened the scoring courtesy of Diego Rossi in the 30^th minute before doubling their lead in the second half through Christian Ramirez. A late scramble in the box gifted Chicago a goal, but Jacen Russell-Rowe would restore the Black & Gold’s two-goal lead just three minutes later.

This game was filled with formation changes and adjustments on the Crew’s side, especially after seeing some struggles in the first half with the Fire’s press. These tweaks by Wilfried Nancy allowed Columbus to grab another vital three points on the road after a rough stretch over the last month and a half. Let’s dive into these tactical decisions.

Changing the offensive formation depending on the situation

As many fans of the Black & Gold know, the Crew will alter their formation several times throughout a match. Whether it is an adjustment based on what the other team is doing, the personnel on the field, or the situation they are in, Columbus likes to try different shapes.

Against Chicago, their thinking was no different. On the offensive side, the Black & Gold went through multiple different variations and formations.

Starting off at the beginning of the game, the Crew opted to line themselves up in a 1-4-5 when they were attacking. Rudy Camacho stayed deep as the lone center back while Yevhen Cheberko and Steven Moreira moved up into the midfield outside of Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris. The attacking five consisted of both wingbacks and the front three.

This primarily was to try and attack Chicago’s backline. The Fire countered in a four-back defensive system, so Columbus tried to overload the defense by committing five players forward. One caveat that happened in the attack was the front three decided to stay very narrow. Marino Hinestroza and Rossi both tucked high and inside with Ramirez to give the wingbacks space, but also to attack the channels in between the Fire defenders.

The Black & Gold utilized the 1-4-5 when they were even with Chicago and chasing the opening goal. When they found that goal, they switched automatically to a 2-3-5.

The 2-3-5 is a simple switch from the 1-4-5. Cheberko dropped in alongside Camacho and Morris shifted more out to the left. Nagbe played in the middle as a lone central no. 6 and Moreira stayed out on the right but shifted inside a touch to compensate for losing Cheberko in the midfield.

The front five remained virtually unchanged up top, with a slight change. With Cheberko dropping back, more space opened in the midfield. This meant that Rossi and Hinestroza now had more room to drop into that attacking midfield space and receive the ball into their feet.

Finally, the Crew changed their formation one last time later in the match to pack it in and defend their lead. After making some substitutions, Columbus morphed into a 4-2-4 on offense.

The backline now consisted of Malte Amundsen at left back, Cheberko and Camacho as dual center backs, and Moreira at right back. In front of them, Sean Zawadzki and Nagbe held the midfield down as dueling defensive midfielders. Up top, Russell-Rowe stayed in the center with Rossi and Alexandru Matan, while Mo Farsi went up high as a winger to round out the front four.

The 4-2-4 gave the Black & Gold more defensive stability with four defenders deep, while still having enough players in attack to make Chicago pay. The downside was that the two lone midfielders could have trouble fighting the overloads that the Fire was trying to create. In that event, Rossi and Matan could drop in and help, but they stayed high for the most part.

These three formations helped the Crew accomplish their goals at each moment of the game. The 1-4-5 put pressure on Chicago and pushed Columbus to find the opener and grab the lead. The 2-3-5 allowed the Black & Gold to have more defensive cover as a safety valve, while still pushing for more goals. Finally, the 4-2-4 locked down the backline for the Crew, while still allowing players like Russell-Rowe to attack (and score) on the counter.

It was yet another solid game plan filled with good adjustments for Nancy and his staff. They will look to keep that going next weekend as they take on Orlando, and in two weeks against Pachuca for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Final.