The Columbus Crew opened their 2025 MLS campaign against rivals Chicago Fire, who came into this match looking for a win against the Crew for the first time since 2021. The Crew on the other hand, were looking to hold on to their streak of not losing at home to the Fire since 2013.

It took all of 13 minutes for the home crowd to be silenced, as Jonathan Bamba found Brian Gutierrez at the top of the 18-yard box for a shot that snuck just under the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to give the Fire a 1-0 lead.

In the 20th minute, the Crew found an equalizer through Jacen Russell-Rowe. Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady found a teammate just inside the penalty area, who got pressured by Sean Zawadzki, causing a turnover that found the feet of Russell-Rowe, who calmly put this shot to the far post past Brady. Though the Fire wanted a foul on Zawadzki, match official Fotis Bozakos deemed there was no foul, and allowed the goal to stand.

Just a minute later, the deadly duo of Bamba and Gutierrez struck again, with Gutierrez putting his shot through the legs of Schulte to give the Fire a 2-1 lead.

The Crew fought hard, adding more and more pressure on to the Chicago Fire backline, looking for an equalizer.

And Columbus got just that, as a Mohamed Farsi through ball found an overlapping Steven Moreira in the right channel. Moreira served in a cross that deflected off of defender Jack Elliott, that then deflected off of centerback partner Carlos Teran and over the head of Brady into the net.

Just before halftime, Columbus took their first lead through Diego Rossi.

Farsi got the attack started dribbling towards the endline before circling back and laying the ball off to Moreira. The Cape Verde international served a cross towards the top of the six-yard box that found a rising Rossi, who headed home the Crew’s third goal of the night.

Diego Rossi found the back of the net again six minutes into the second half to increase the Crew’s lead to two goals as, once again, heavy pressure by Malte Amundsen saw the Fire turn the ball over in their defensive third, allowing Rossi to collect and turn before hitting home his second of the night.

The Black & Gold thought they added another goal the 63rd minute, when Aziel (AZ) Jackson pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area, to give the Crew a 5-2 lead. However, after video review, the goal was nullified offside as Zawadzki was in an offside position when he collected the initial pass from Max Arfsten and had his shot ricochet off of the post.

The score remained 4-2 until the final whistle, giving Columbus all three points and extending their unbeaten streak against the Fire.

Diego Rossi shines

Diego Rossi started off his 2025 campaign with a brace against the Chicago Fire. Without the likes of Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez, all eyes will be on Rossi for goal contributions in hopes to guide Columbus to a deep playoff run.

Darlington Nagbe reaches 400th MLS start

Captain Darlington Nagbe started his 400th career MLS game, in the Crew’s 4-2 win over the Fire. Nagbe now sits behind Kevin Hartman, who sits ahead of the Crew captain in MLS appearances at 416, and has tied Sean Johnson for MLS career starts.

What’s next?

The Columbus Crew are on the road next week as they travel to take on the New England Revolution. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. from Gillette Stadium. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.