The Columbus Crew returned to MLS regular season action with a bang on Saturday, thrashing the New York Red Bulls to the tune of a 3-0 victory. It was a comprehensive and dominating win for the Black & Gold, controlling the game from the opening kick. Cucho Hernandez put Columbus up 1-0 in the first half courtesy of a Yaw Yeboah cross that he rocketed into the roof of the net. In the second half, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Aidan Morris helped secure all three points for the Crew with goals of their own. Wilfried Nancy set up his team as usual, but they shifted to play a different formation for the entire match.

Let’s dive into the tactical and formational decisions that went into the Black & Gold’s big win.

Playing in a 3-3-4

The Black & Gold lined up in their normal 5-3-2/3-5-2 to start off the game but quickly shifted to a different formation. They changed to a 3-3-4, which sparked an impressive attacking game and a dominant performance for Columbus.

New York set up in a 4-4-2 that could shift and change as Emil Forsberg roamed the field.

The visitors also like to employ a high gegenpressing system that tends to prey on opposing teams’ mistakes high up the pitch. Although the Crew switched to three in the back on offense, the Red Bulls’ press did not seem to affect them.

The Columbus backline consisted of Steven Moreira, Rudy Camacho, and Malte Amundsen still operating in their usual positions. Yeboah pushed high up the field as a left winger to join Hernandez, Russell-Rowe, and Diego Rossi in the attack. Sean Zawadzki pinched inside from his wingback position to join the midfield alongside Morris and Darlington Nagbe.

This put the emphasis on the attack for the Black & Gold. With four attackers up top, the Crew stretched New York’s backline and forced their midfielders to help on defense. Spreading the Red Bulls backline led directly to Columbus’ first goal. When Morris shifted out to the left to play as a half-pivot, New York’s right back stepped up to mark him. This allowed Yeboah to get in behind and provide the assist for Hernandez’s goal.

Another concern for the Black & Gold was the midfield battle. With four midfielders slated to start on the pitch for New York, the Crew would be outnumbered. With Columbus switching to the 3-3-4, the numbers were still not in their favor. They evened those odds by having the attackers drop in to help build up and around the Red Bulls’ midfield when needed.

The Black & Gold did not use the middle of the pitch to build up throughout much of the game though. This meant the midfield battle did not turn out to be as important. With Columbus building up on the wings, they could overload the outsides by shifting midfielders outside. Morris and Zawadzki would move out wide if the ball was on their side of the pitch to play as half-pivots and connect to the wingers.

In the 3-3-4, the Crew were able to stifle New York with long spells of possession. Typically, a team like the Red Bulls can win the ball back quickly with their pressing, but Columbus showed their skill by retaining the ball time after time. New York even changed tactics in the second half and started to man-mark the Black & Gold backline. This led the Crew to drop the midfielders inside to help build out, so it did not slow them down much.

No matter what New York did, the Crew countered with more possession and attacking chances. It was one of those games where they just could not do any wrong. The shift to the 3-3-4 paid off in a big way, to the tune of three goals and yet another win in this 2024 season.

It was a total dismantling of New York by an elite Columbus team that only seems to be getting better. It was only a matter of time until this team caught their stride, and it showed up in the form of a 3-0 win over a talented Red Bulls squad.